Julio Fuentes, president of the Latin American and Caribbean Confederation of State Workers (CLATE), who read the statement at a recent international forum in Havana, said: “Cuba never ceases to amaze.”
“Maintaining patriotism amid the tremendous difficulties of making ends meet is something almost unimaginable in this age of globalization,” Fuentes told Prensa Latina.
CLATE is one of the organizations behind the current solidarity campaign “We Are with Cuba,” an initiative of the Argentine Solidarity Movement (MASCuba) to raise funds to purchase solar equipment and send it to the island.
“As an Argentinian, I compare it to the Jujuy exodus 200 years ago, or to the resistance against the invaders in the streets of Buenos Aires, or, closer to our time, to the courage shown by the conscripted soldiers in the Falklands, who, despite their inferior resources, put their patriotism above all else,” the union leader explains.
He continues: “This May Day in Havana, I saw hundreds of thousands of people mobilized and convinced in the streets.”
“I went to Cuba,” he recounts, “to listen more than to speak, not to tell anyone what I think should be done, but to learn what needs to be done in these difficult times.” “Having the greatest power in the history of humanity threatening to destroy and subjugate you, just a few kilometers from your territory, is unimaginable,” he described.
“We, the men and women who believe that another world is possible, have an obligation to the history of humanity to prevent Cuba from being subjugated by the United States. That is the fighting position we must occupy now; this is the moment,” Fuentes declared, showing his support for the Cuban people.
He reminded Prensa Latina in Buenos Aires that the international solidarity meeting, presided over by President Miguel Díaz-Canel, brought together 766 delegates from 36 countries and a total of 152 international organizations in solidarity with the island and against Washington’s intensified hostility.
The president of CLATE was part of the forum’s main panel and proudly stated that he had the honor of being chosen to read the Final Declaration.
In his address to the attendees, Fuentes told them: “Today, more than coming here to speak, we must come to listen to this people, to their leaders, and Women leaders, to the average Cuban, to listen more than to speak, and to make concrete commitments.”
And he urged: “We too have a place on the front lines. Upon returning to our countries, labor and political organizations must stand in front of U.S. embassies and express our condemnation of the blockade and our opposition to the aggression against Cuba.”
[ SOURCE: PRENSA LATINA ]
