The Secretary General of the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), Paulo Raimundo, urged the Portuguese government to use its diplomatic capacity to help lift the “criminal blockade” imposed by the United States on Cuba.
During the Festa do Avante, a cultural festival promoted by the PCP and named after its newspaper, Raimundo took advantage of the event’s international platform to renew support and solidarity with Cuba.
“Here we are expressing our solidarity with the heroic Cuban people who resist, with the Socialist Revolution, with the homeland of Fidel Castro, which faces a blockade of more than 60 years that now prevents them from accessing fuel, medicine, and food,” stated the top leader of the PCP.
He pointed out that there are “seven thousand containers of essential goods, medical products, and food blocked in various ports around the world and unable to enter Cuba,” and called on the Portuguese government to help these shipments reach their destination.
Raimundo believes that the Portuguese administration, with its authority, capacity, and extensive diplomatic experience, should at least do everything within its diplomatic power to resolve this situation.
“I am not demanding that the Portuguese government declare war on the United States over this—that’s nothing—but rather that it use its diplomatic capacity to resolve this problem,” he emphasized.
In that regard, he praised “the Portuguese government’s stance in joining the vast majority of the world’s people in condemning the blockade at the UN” and also for “not abandoning diplomatic relations with Cuba.”
However, he warned that good intentions are not enough, recounting his visit to Cuba in mid-August, when he witnessed the “great difficulties” affecting the Cuban people.
“I wasn’t there as a guest of honor, although I was proud to participate in the events commemorating the centenary of Fidel Castro’s birth, and at the same time, I had the opportunity to see the situation in which Cuba is currently immersed,” commented the PCP leader.
The Avante Festival concludes its 50th edition this Sunday at Quinta da Atalaia, in Amora, in the municipality of Seixal, with a program that combines political debate, music, theater, film, literature, science, sports, and gastronomy.
Its central theme is “Solidarity and Peace, No to Imperialism, No to War.”
[ SOURCE: PRENSA LATINA ]
