By Manuel Johnson
On September 12, the Cuban government published and distributed its annual report on the effects of the criminal and genocidal US blockade on the country’s economy and people. Calling the blockade “a crime against humanity, an act of genocide and a flagrant and massive violation of the human rights of over 11 million Cubans,” the report cites alarming statistics as it documents the ravages of this imperialist policy.
Between March 1, 2023 and February 29, 2024 the blockade cost the Cuban economy more than US$5 billion, an increase of nearly $190 million over the previous year.
The Biden-Harris administration has maintained the restrictive measures added by Donald Trump and has pursued them with even greater zeal, including renewing Cuba’s inclusion on the list of countries allegedly supporting terrorism. Other coercive and hostile measures maintained and reinforced by the Democrats include sanctions and threats of sanctions against shipping, transfer and insurance companies involved in supplying fuel to Cuba, and the intense and comprehensive persecution of Cuba’s financial transactions, resulting in considerable obstacles to obtaining basic commodities.
Cuba estimates that, were it not for the blockade, its economy would have grown by 8 percent in 2023. Instead, faced with a disastrous economic situation, young people from the socialist island continue to emigrate at a high rate.
The figures speak for themselves. The cost of 21 hours of blockade is equivalent to the cost of insulin required to cover one year’s national needs. Eight hours of blockade costs the same as that of the toys and teaching aids required in all the country’s early childhood education centers. The cost of just a half hour of blockade could pay for the electric and manual wheelchairs required to meet the needs of the country’s special education system. Four months of the blockade is equivalent to the cost of distributing basic foodstuffs to the entire population for one year, and 25 days of the blockade is equivalent to the cost of essential medicines for one year.
Since it was first imposed by the Kennedy administration in 1960, the blockade has cost Cuba US$1.5 trillion. Despite this, Cuba has succeeded in developing a health system that in many respects surpasses our own, offering free and universal education to its entire population, and even contributing to the development of other countries in the Global South by sending medical brigades to the 4 corners of the world. Imagine how Cuban socialism would have flourished without the cruel and inhuman obstacles created by the blockade!
On September 12, the same day that the report on the effects of the blockade was published, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel announced, in the presence of the Palestinian ambassador to Cuba, that Cuba would train 200 Palestinians as health professionals, free of charge.
Imperialist disinformation maintains that Cuba’s economic difficulties are not the result of the blockade, but merely reflect the failure of socialism on the island. But if the blockade has no effect, why maintain it? Why not remove it and let socialism collapse on its own?
The reason, of course, is that it’s a blatant lie to say that the blockade has no effect, and the US knows it. All US administrations – Democrats and Republicans alike – maintain the blockade because they fear Cuba’s example. Imperialist states and their governments cannot allow human rights – the right to a decent standard of living, the right to education, the right to health, the right to peace and security – to take precedence over the rights of capital. So, Cuba must be crushed, and its model discredited, because the Revolution puts human beings at the heart of its concerns, rather than the interests of monopolies.
For these same reasons, the world cannot afford to lose Cuba.
Condemnation of the criminal and genocidal blockade is universal on the international stage. In 2023, 187 countries in the United Nations General Assembly voted in favour of a resolution calling on the United States to remove the blockade. Two countries voted against: the US and Israel.
Another vote will be held this autumn, and in the meantime, the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) is calling on all forces for peace and international solidarity to step up their solidarity activities, to raise public awareness through demonstrations and assemblies. Every action and every voice against the blockade is important.
“Together we can contribute to building a more just world, where respect for human rights and the dignity of all peoples prevails,” ICAP writes. “The struggle for peace is universal and united we can echo our voice in favour of a future free of blockade and terrorism. For a free Palestine! For a blockade-free Cuba! For a future of peace and sovereignty!”
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