Organizations and individuals from social, labor, cultural, student, and scientific movements in various countries have launched an international appeal addressed to the Prime Minister of India and BRICS Chairman, Narendra Modi, and the President of the New Development Bank, Dilma Rousseff, demanding an extraordinary response from the bloc to the serious economic, energy, health, and social crisis facing Cuba.
The letter denounces the impact of the “total blockade” imposed by the United States, which, according to its signatories, is affecting basic food supplies, the operation of hospitals and daycare centers, the electricity supply, and the mobility of the Cuban population. In light of this situation, they are requesting that the BRICS adopt emergency measures to alleviate the consequences of the US embargo.
The appeal highlights the role of the BRICS as a space for building alternatives to the inequalities of the international system and particularly values the participation of social organizations in the BRICS Social forums. Its proponents believe that the bloc possesses the necessary economic, technological, and material capacity to organize a solidarity operation with Cuba.
Extraordinary Funding for the Cuban Energy System
The letter’s main request is the creation of an extraordinary financing line from the New BRICS Development Bank for the modernization of Cuba’s energy system. The signatories argue that the island faces enormous difficulties in accessing international credit due to the restrictions stemming from the US financial embargo.
The document also recalls the practical solidarity already demonstrated by various BRICS member countries. It cites Russia’s oil supplies and debt forgiveness, China’s donation of solar panels, rice, and financial support, and Brazil’s donations of food and medicine.
However, the promoters believe that the gravity of the situation demands “a special measure” from the bloc to urgently strengthen Cuba’s energy infrastructure and help guarantee essential services for the population.
A Debt to Cuba
The letter also acknowledges Cuba’s international contributions, recalling its medical brigades, vaccines, training of healthcare professionals, and literacy brigades sent to other countries. It also points out that the United Nations General Assembly has repeatedly supported lifting the US embargo against the island.
The appeal concludes by calling on the BRICS’ international responsibility: “Humanity owes a debt to Cuba,” its signatories maintain, believing that the time has come for the bloc to take a step forward and translate its principles of cooperation and solidarity into concrete action to support the Cuban people.
The initiative is open to international support through the collection of signatures. Those wishing to endorse the letter can do so using the form provided by its promoters.
Urgent: BRICS Emergency Support for Cuba
Taken from Cuba en Resumen
Your Excellency Narendra Modi, M.D., Prime Minister of India and BRICS Chairman;
Your Excellency Dilma Rousseff, M.D., President of the New Development Bank (BRICS Bank).
We, members of social, labor, cultural, student, and scientific movements, in the face of the extremely serious total blockade imposed by the United States on the Republic of Cuba, which is causing widespread damage to the Cuban population’s standard of living, affecting their basic food supply, the operation of their hospitals and daycare centers, as well as public and domestic lighting, creating a situation so aggressive that it must be considered a planned and organized genocide, and which worsens every day, call upon Your Excellency to present to the BRICS decision-making body the adoption of extraordinary measures by the Bloc in order to save the Cuban population from this tragedy.
The overwhelming majority of the world’s population applauded with hope and admiration the determination of the courageous group of countries that decided to create BRICS, given the unjust international situation and the growing economic inequalities between countries on a global scale. These inequalities are caused by an international system marked by the undue dominance of the dollar—issued without backing—and by the draconian imposition of sanctions on countries that do not submit to the policies dictated by the IMF. This results in a lamentable and widening gap between rich countries and an increasingly impoverished and miserable global majority.
The emergence of the BRICS Bank, chaired by former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, also generated increased realistic expectations regarding the necessary financing for productive projects capable of driving industrialization programs and generating employment and income for a more balanced and integrated world.
It is important to emphasize that we support the participation of social movements in the forums known as “BRICS Social,” and that we especially value the Bloc’s demonstrated capacity for dialogue, with a democratic and respectful openness to receiving proposals and suggestions from organized civil society.
It is with this expectation that we call for an extraordinary stance from BRICS regarding the framework of calamity imposed by the United States on the Republic of Cuba. The world has come to admire Cuba’s capacity to offer concrete solidarity to the countries and peoples most in need—whether through medical brigades, vaccines, the training of doctors, or the deployment of literacy brigades—and has also witnessed on countless occasions how the overwhelming majority of countries have repeatedly voted at the UN in favor of ending the US blockade against Cuba. Despite this, what we regrettably observe is that the United States, in addition to the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and the assassination of Iranian leader Ali Khamenei—while bombing both countries—continues to strangle Cuba with measures that violate the most basic rights of its people to food, electricity, healthcare, and freedom of movement.
We believe that the BRICS has the moral authority and the economic and social strength, as well as sufficient technological and material resources, to organize a solidarity operation with Cuba, which is fully contemplated in the bloc’s Charter of Principles, especially since Cuba is a member country of this group of nations that is forging an alternative path toward a more just humanity.
We greatly value the practical and concrete solidarity that several BRICS countries have been offering to the Republic of Cuba for years, especially the Russian Federation, with its oil supplies and debt forgiveness; the People’s Republic of China, with its donations of solar panels, rice, and financial aid; and Brazil, with its donations of food and medicine. However, we believe that the economic, energy, health, and social situation on the island has become so dramatic and grave that a special measure from the bloc is urgent and cannot be postponed: an extraordinary line of credit from the BRICS Bank for the modernization of Cuba’s energy system, given that the Caribbean island cannot access credit from the international financial system linked to the IMF. Only the BRICS Bank would have the autonomy, capacity, and determination to respond to the growing global outcry against the genocide that the United States is imposing on Cuba.
Mr. President Modi, humanity owes a debt to Cuba; the time has come for BRICS, on behalf of humanity, to begin to repay this debt and fulfill this just task, which is fully in line with the high principles of the BRICS bloc.
IMAGE CREDIT: Photo: Government of South Africa
[ SOURCE: www.cubainformacion.tv ]
