First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez   /   Photo: Estudios Revolución
 

“Firm, without boasting about their own acts of heroism, with a dignity that has been left out of any possible negotiation, the Cuban people are living through extremely challenging days,” stated its First Secretary and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, at the conclusion of the 10th Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party on Saturday.

And he does so, he asserted, putting all his knowledge to the test, even unleashing his imagination on that complex, earthly path, demanding inventiveness and adaptability: a path that we Cubans know very well—that of intelligent resistance—which doesn't mean enduring rigidly, but seeking, against all odds, how to overcome obstacles, how to move forward, and, moreover, winning.

The Cuban Head of State also spoke of advancing, creating, uniting... because there are many challenges ahead of us, and "the great task that all Cuban revolutionaries and patriots face emerges today in all its enormity and beauty: to save the Homeland, the Revolution, and Socialism, an endeavor in which—and we have known this for a long time—every helping hand, every good idea, is essential, valuable, sacred, in that inclusive force we call resistance."

The Cuban President also referred to the increasingly complex and overwhelming reality facing the world, plagued by multiple crises, first and foremost a humanitarian one, emphasizing how “we, in the midst of global turmoil, despised and punished by the most powerful enemy in history, challenged by numerous internal problems, have at our disposal the training of six decades, always seeking and finding possible solutions in exceptional situations and extreme contexts.”

Bold by nature, alert in action, children of a Revolution that has defended knowledge, we Cubans will always know how to discover multiple doors, wherever a crisis arises that may herald the impossible for others, the president reflected.

That explains, he emphasized, why we are here, “because successive crises have always catapulted us to successive achievements; because we love to surpass ourselves; because we don't like to lose, and not even remotely like to give up; and because the attitude of struggle is embedded in our identity like an ineradicable code in our genetic sequence.”

The Cuban president also mentioned in his speech how much the people expect "from us, their principal representatives and public servants": "concrete and immediate actions that help overcome the profound economic crisis that is doing so much damage to the spiritual fabric of our nation."

Today, more than ever, he emphasized, it is reaffirmed that these solutions depend entirely on us, in a highly challenging and threatening context.

"We are a country at war. Cuba has lived and resisted for more than 60 years under conditions of war. Every day, the bombs of economic warfare fall around us, blocking, hindering, halting, or slowing down all efforts, and the bombs of disinformation, distortion, and hatred that surround the former," he reflected.

And in the midst of this immensely difficult context, where the "Machiavellian combination not only aims to destroy the scarce resources of a small country," but also pursues the most perverse purpose of "fracturing the nation and causing the victim to end up blaming themselves and not the perpetrator," our Party must work to strengthen unity, perfect its political-ideological work, politically secure the Government Program to correct distortions and boost the economy, while simultaneously addressing the negative trends present in society.

The president also referred to the current complex international scenario, describing it as "particularly dangerous" due to the events taking place, in which he highlights the complicit role of the large transnational communications and information corporations.

Faced with these realities, he emphasized, we are obligated to better inform, educate, and guide the people in a convincing, fair, and creative manner: "It is time to strengthen the consciousness, culture, and anti-imperialist spirit that is at the heart of our struggle and the defense of national sovereignty and socialism."

President Díaz-Canel also referred to the importance of making the content of the Government Program more widely known, as well as to the priority that must be placed on control actions, increasing food production, and combating crime and illegal activities, among other issues vital to the nation's development.

In his keynote address, the president praised the 10th Plenary Session of the Central Committee for approving the call for the 9th Party Congress and the general ideas for its implementation as transcendental.

"This will be the Congress of a five-year period where progress lies in having resisted, fighting, and building socialism, confronting with unparalleled heroism and dignity the disgraceful and genocidal policies of the empire, clinging to the never-abandoned plan to wipe us out.

"The 9th Congress must present a strategy to improve the Party's work, both ideologically and socioeconomically, that sheds light, that perfects what we have, that responds to the problems."

"It will constitute a congress of continuity for the Revolution in the midst of an adverse global and national situation," he reflected.

There were several moments in his speech in which he evoked the thoughts and legacy of Martí, Fidel, and Raúl, whose ideas are increasingly essential in the midst of an extremely difficult and challenging scenario.

We are a people who know how to fight, the president emphasized, because we have the fiber of our Maroons and Mambises, so daring and intelligent; because we are heirs of women and men who often went against all logic and knew how to win; because we are children of a Revolution built through intelligence and courage.

And so, with intelligence and courage, we will continue forward, because as the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party said at the end of his remarks:  "In Cuba, there are millions of us who are capable of combining our intelligence; capable of also being that torrent of feelings -- as Haydée Santamaría beautifully defined the Revolution -- capable of maintaining the state of human dignity to which we were all once able to ascend through the work and love of the Revolution, and from which nothing and no one will make us descend."

[ SOURCE:  CUBA DEBATE ]