Havana, April 8 (Prensa Latina) Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel called the people of the Caribbean nation heroic and expressed his willingness to die to defend all their rights, according to reports today.
“It’s a conviction that is reinforced in every encounter we have with this people. We must die for this heroic people. Because every day they are giving lessons in exemplary conduct and heroism,” the head of state declared.
During an interview with Spanish journalists Pascual Serrano, Javier Couso, José Manzaneda, and Carlos González Penalva, Díaz-Canel emphasized that, despite the country’s current difficult circumstances, its people are making great efforts to overcome them.
“Instead of seeing discouragement, instead of seeing frustration, he’s always on the move, always looking for ways to move forward, always looking for ways to fight and how to succeed,” he said during the exchange, broadcast Tuesday in a joint broadcast of the local television program Mesa Redonda, Cubainformación in Spain, and Venezuela News.
The president acknowledged that “we have negative tendencies, which become more acute and manifest themselves in times of crisis,” and which, he said, are addressed by “discussing our problems honestly.”
He also emphasized that “the heroism of the people is greatly fueled by the solidarity they receive from their friends around the world.”
“We know what it costs to defend Cuba and how pressure is brought to bear, how attempts are made to prevent individuals, groups, countries, organizations, and parties from defending it. Therefore, we will not let that down,” he asserted.
“Rest assured: the generation or generations that are today assuming the continuity of the revolutionary process are assuming the responsibilities of the government, of the party,” he commented.
They are, he emphasized, “generations loyal to the thinking of Fidel, to the thinking of Raúl, to the Centennial Generation. We learned from them. We share their convictions, and we will defend the Cuban Revolution to the bitter end.”
Responding to a question from Manzaneda, the president stated that “what most hinders our dreams, the achievements of the Cuban people, and I say this responsibly, is the blockade (economic, financial, and commercial by the United States government).”
But, he concluded, we also have to improve and perfect our work.
“The Cuban people resist by their own will, by their own conviction, by their own ability; but also because they know what the Cuban Revolution means to the world,” he noted.
For us, he noted, it is a great responsibility to see how so many people around the world, even in the most distant latitudes, have made it their lives to support the Cuban Revolution.
We cannot betray that, he reiterated, and clarified that “we do not want to be seen as a perfect society, but we do aspire to build a better society, and we want to work with those who want a better world, which is not only possible, but must be possible.”
“What I can assure you, and I dare to say this responsibly on behalf of the majority of the Cuban people, is that no one here gives up. No one here gives up,” he asserted.
And, he declared, they can continue to tighten the blockade, they can continue to slander all the achievements on social media, but there is a lot of morality, there is a lot of history to defend, and there is a lot of courage among the Cuban people.
npg/raj
