People's Democracy

Greetings from the Communist Party of Cuba

THE links between our parties have strengthened during our common struggle for a better future of the whole mankind.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has always counted among its membership outstanding and militant cadres who have made their service and devotion to the cause of socialism the objective of their lives. Since the foundation of the CPI(M), thousands of communists have generously dedicated their lives in the struggle for freedom and justice.

You are a true example of proletarian internationalism. The Cuban Revolution, harassed by the US imperialism for almost 50 years, will never forget the active and militant solidarity of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)

Comrades,

This Congress takes place at a very difficult time for all the peoples, just when the future of humanity and our planet is facing terrible threats.

The Bush administration, in spite of the hundreds of thousands of dead people, the destruction; the tortures, the secret prisons, the abuses in Guantanamo, continues on its preventive wars disguised under the pretext of the fight against terrorism, when its true and selfish objectives are to take over those people�s natural resources, especially the oil, and to guarantee its world hegemony through the use of force.

Washington�s huge military expenditure, which is the biggest in the world, and its neo-liberal economic prescriptions have increased the imbalance of the world economy, a clear example of which is the rocketing prices of oil.

It has imposed on the world a predatory economic order that devours the non-renewable energy resources and pollutes the planet. The most recent expression of such irrational policy is the use of food to produce bio-fuel, which will have a dramatic impact on the increase of food prices and hunger in the world.

We live in a polarised and exclusive world based on an unprecedented development of science and technology, but the majority of the people in the world have been left out of the growth of the economy as capitalism and the market function on the principle of exclusion: 2 billion people live below the poverty line, one billion are unemployed, 845 million are illiterate and 1.4 billion do not have access to drinkable water. Sixty five percent of mankind has never made a telephone call and 40 percent of world population do not have access to electricity; and even more terrible is that each day 30 thousand children die of curable diseases and every 500 thousand become definitively blind due to lack of vitamins.

According to the World Bank itself, 20 percent of the world population control 80 percent of the world economy, and life expectancy in the developed countries is 30 years higher than in the underdeveloped nations. The income gap between the richest and the poorest countries, which was 37 times in 1960, is now 74 times.

In the case of Cuba, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the socialist community meant great challenges and big difficulties for our people. In this difficult context the US government thought that time had come to definitively destroy the Revolution.

Washington tightened the economic war and the blockade against Cuba, which have caused a loss amounting to more than 89 billion U.S. dollars to our country, and strongly engaged itself in slander and misinformation campaigns against the Revolution, trying to achieve the international isolation of our country.

But Cuba resisted and continues to resist on the basis of our people�s will and sacrifice, the example of the historical leadership of the Revolution led by Fidel and Raul, and the crucial role played by the Communist Party.

Cuba has diplomatic relations with 184 countries. We were elected to chair the Movement of the Non-Aligned Countries and, at the same time, even under difficult conditions, we continue developing and widening our internationalist cooperation.

Forty seven thousand Cuban doctors and other workers in the health, educational and sports fields work in more than one hundred countries. We are training free of charge in our universities more than thirty thousand young people from one hundred and eighteen countries, out of which twenty thousand are studying medicine. Likewise, free of charge operations have performed on more than one million Latin Americans, allowing them to recover their sight. Another 3 million people in the world have learned to read and write as a result of Cuba�s support.

We recently held local and general elections in which our revolutionary project received an overwhelming support. However, we are aware that, as any human endeavour, our socialism can and should be improved, and we are engaged in that battle.

We feel motivated and encouraged in our struggle by the example, will and strength by our Five Heroes, unjustly jailed in US prisons for their fight against terrorism. We ask you to increase your solidarity as the only way to achieve their freedom.

Comrades,

The Latin American and Caribbean peoples have begun to overcome the impact of centuries of colonialism, imperialism and neo-liberalism.

Revolutionary, popular and progressive forces have come to power in our continent to undertake the deep transformations required by Latin America: the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela led by President Chavez; the revolutionary process in Bolivia led by Evo Morales, and the projects which seek to achieve greater social justice in Nicaragua and Ecuador. They all need our solidarity to face the growing pressures and aggressions by the US government.

For Latin America and the world, the unity of the revolutionary, progressive and Left forces is a crucial need. Division weakens us, but unity multiplies our strength.

The Cuban national hero, Jose Marti, said: �a just idea from the bottom of a cave is more powerful than an army.� This has been shown by the validity of Che�s revolutionary thinking and work, which are more alive than ever 40 years after his assassination by US Imperialism. Che Guevara�s example is a universal symbol of heroism and justice.

Dear comrades of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the future belongs to solidarity, belongs to freedom, belongs to true democracy, belongs to socialism.

Long Live the Communist Party of India (Marxist)!

Long Live the Revolution!

Long Live Socialism!

We shall overcome!