Assata Shakur is a Hero, not a Terrorist

Eugene Puryear

On May 2, the Federal Bureau of Investigation suddenly announced that they had placed Assata Shakur on its “Most Wanted Terrorists” list, making her the first woman to be so designated. The state of New Jersey also raised the bounty on her head to $2 million. These government actions came on the 40th anniversary of the shoot-out in which police allege that Shakur killed an officer.

It is clear that these are the vindictive attempts of the Empire still outraged that a rebel could escape, survive outside its reach, and continue to expose its long history of exploitation and oppression. The recent provocations are part of a long-term smear campaign by the U.S. government to erase her revolutionary legacy.

The FBI’s accusations target Shakur as an individual, but the labeling of her as a terrorist is an attack on all revolutionaries.

Shakur has been living in exile in Cuba for the last 29 years. So what changed in the recent days and weeks to now put her on the “Most Wanted Terrorists” list? The FBI presented no evidence against her and revealed no terrorist plots. Assata’s real crime, FBI spokesman Aaron Ford said, was that from Cuba she continues to “maintain and promote her … ideology” and “provides anti-U.S. government speeches espousing the Black Liberation Army message”—an ideology and message that the U.S. government has declared “terrorism.”

In other words, President Obama’s and Eric Holder’s FBI is charging Shakur with a political crime, the advocacy of revolutionary politics and Black liberation as “terroristic” and “criminal.” According to the outrageous “War on Terror” legal doctrines currently employed in Washington, she could be targeted for assassination. In addition, the designation of Shakur as a terrorist helps them justify the targeting of socialist Cuba as a “state sponsor of terrorism.”

The defense of Assata Shakur is therefore part and parcel of a general defense of the right to espouse revolutionary politics, of Black liberation and of free speech more generally.

‘I wanted a name that had something to do with struggle’

Assata Shakur was born JoAnne Chesimard, and her change in name was reflective of her desire to fully identify with the revolutionary struggles of her African heritage. Assata means “she who struggles,” her middle name Olugbala means “love for the people,“ and her last name Shakur was taken in honor of her comrade Zayd Shakur.

It is no surprise that the U.S. government now seeks to further criminalize Shakur. In fact, it is just the latest extension of the government’s counter-revolutionary COINTELPRO initiative waged against the Black liberation movement in the 1960s and 1970s. At that time, the U.S. government was so fearful of the growth of revolutionary movements that J. Edgar Hoover even declared the Black Panther Party, of which Shakur was a member, the “greatest internal threat” facing the ruling class. It used a wide range of tactics, all the way up to assassinations of leaders, to disrupt this radical movement.

It must be recalled that the government described much of the political activity of the era—in the anti-war movement, the Black freedom movement, the fight for independence of Puerto Rico, and solidarity with revolutionary Cuba, among others struggles—as explicitly criminal.

Of course, while they were locking up and killing activists and revolutionaries within the country, the U.S. government was engaged in a wide-ranging brutal and murderous campaign in Southeast Asia. They were dealing cosmetically with the terrible conditions of poverty and class oppression inside the United States, while deploying troops to suppress growing rebellions among oppressed Black, Latino and Native peoples. They were launching coups in multiple nations. They were attempting—and sometimes succeeding—in assassinating revolutionary leaders. They were backing apartheid and Portuguese colonialism in Africa.

When Martin Luther King Jr. famously said that the U.S. government was the “greatest purveyor of violence in the world today,” he laid bare the essence of the “American Century.”

It was in this world context, which in its core features is unchanged today, that Assata Shakur grew up. Millions took part in the growing movements against the injustices of the U.S. government and Shakur was one of those millions. As a college student, Shakur did not use her degree as an “escape valve” to distance herself from the mass of poor, oppressed and exploited people. Instead, she joined—body and soul—in the fight for their collective liberation.

Out of the mass movement in the United States, a wing emerged that advocated for various forms of armed struggle as a way to expedite the revolutionary movement and give solidarity to peoples of the Third World. Assata was part of this trend—and she and her comrades were targeted for severe repression, often framed and incarcerated under false pretenses.

Assata Shakur is not guilty

Shakur was falsely convicted of having killed an officer on May 2, 1973. While driving on the New Jersey Turnpike, Assata, Zayd Shakur, and Sundiata Acoli were stopped by state troopers, allegedly for having a “faulty taillight.” A shootout ensued where one state trooper killed Zayd Shakur, and another trooper, Werner Foerster, ended up dead. Shakur was charged with both murders, despite the fact that the other trooper, James Harper, admitted he killed Zayd Shakur.

Assata had been, following police instructions, standing with her hands in the air, when she was shot by Trooper Harper more than once, including a bullet to the back. Trooper Harper lied and said he had seen Shakur reach for a gun, a claim he later recanted. He also claimed she had been in a firing position, something a surgeon who examined her said was “anatomically impossible.” The same surgeon said it was “anatomically necessary” for her arms to have been raised for her to receive the bullet wounds she did. Tests done by the police found that Shakur had not fired a gun, and no physical or medical evidence was presented by the prosecution to back up their claim that she had fired a gun at Trooper Harper.

While she was in trial proceedings, the state attempted to pin six other serious crimes on her, alleging she had carried out bank robberies, kidnappings and attempted killings. She was acquitted three times, two were dismissed and one resulted in a hung jury.

Shukur was put on trial in a county where because of pre-trial publicity 70 percent of people thought she was guilty, and she was judged by an all-white jury. Without any physical evidence to present, the prosecution had to rely totally on false statements and innuendo aimed at playing on the prejudices of the jury pool against Black people, political radicals, and Black revolutionaries in particular. Finally, after years behind bars, the state secured her conviction for the Turnpike shooting.

Terrorism double-standard and potential of assassination

Being placed on this Most Wanted Terrorist list means that hypothetically Shakur could be targeted for assassination. The legal white paper released by the Obama administration around the confirmation of CIA Director John Brennan stated that the United States would pay no attention to another nation’s sovereignty in choosing targets who they deem to be “terrorists.” The massive expansion of the security powers and the methods used in the “War on Terror” are being fashioned to target revolutionary militants.

Placing Shakur on the Most Wanted Terrorists list is also a significant attack on Cuba. On May 1, 2013, the United States refused to remove Cuba from the “State Sponsors of Terrorism” list. The next day, Assata became a “Most Wanted Terrorist.” By claiming that Cuba supports “terrorism” and is harboring a “terrorist,” the government provides itself with a pretext to continue the illegal blockade of Cuba and starve the revolution of trade.

Further, the United States does absolutely nothing to apprehend, convict or punish in any way the violent anti-Cuba groups who routinely and openly boast from U.S. soil of planning terrorist attacks on Cuba. Despite having killed thousands of Cubans, none of these organizations or individuals have ever been placed on America’s list of “Most Wanted Terrorists.”

For instance, Luis Posada Carriles, a former CIA operative who currently walks free in Miami, publicly admitted to The New York Times that he had engaged in a campaign of fatal hotel bombings in Cuba. In 1976, Posada was a key figure in the bombing of a Cuban airliner where 73 people perished. In 2000, Posada was caught attempting to set up a plot to assassinate Fidel Castro as he spoke to university students in Panama. If successful, the attack would have killed hundreds.

Threat to political prisoner solidarity work

Ominously, by criminalizing Assata Shakur, the government has also taken a step towards criminalizing the broader movement in support of political prisoners. Many political prisoners in this country have also been alleged to be members of the Black Liberation Army. If Shakur is a terrorist simply for giving speeches in support of the BLA, what about those convicted of crimes alleged to have taken place while they were members? Will political prisoner support groups now be targeted as “supporters of terrorism” or “terrorists” themselves?

The new attacks on Shakur aim to have a chilling effect on those who seek to express their support for political prisoners. This is especially true when one considers that drone strikes and indefinite detention at Guantanamo Bay are the typical U.S. responses to those accused of terrorism.

The placement of Assata Shakur on the Most Wanted Terrorist list is another example that the U.S. government, and the capitalist class it represents, will go to any length to intimidate, repress and defeat potential threats.

Because Shakur remains a symbol of resistance, and is unrepentant in her politics, the government will never stop their attempts to smear, kidnap or kill her. But millions of people know the truth. Her legacy cannot be whitewashed or dismissed; it cannot be distorted. So even though she is in Cuba, the government remains afraid of her example. They know that while decades have passed, the conditions still exist to give birth to a million Assata Shakurs.

Cuba’s Impeccable Human Rights Record

“Few Governments Have Done as Much For Their People as Cuba”

Granma Internacional

The Cuban Foreign Affairs Ministry submitted, on April 23, its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) to the United Nations Human Rights Council, to be reviewed by the UN on May 1 in Geneva, Switzerland.

The document reports on the situation in Cuba, its legal framework and the human rights programs available for the benefit of all. At its center are the recommendations accepted by Cuba in 2009, in the first round of the UPR, a process with which all 193 UN member states are required to comply, according to Vice Minister Abelardo Moreno.

Many state, government and civil organizations contributed in drafting the report, Moreno added during a videoconference with Geneva, also attended by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marcelino Medina, and representatives from the diplomatic delegation which will present the report before the UN.

“The main violation of human rights in Cuba is the economic, trade and financial blockade imposed by the United States, which is an act of genocide,” expressed the Deputy Minister. However, he said, the country has succeeded in fulfilling a large number of Millennium Development Goals and scores highly in terms of human development.

“Few governments have done so much for their people as Cuba, since the triumph of the Revolution in 1959, despite enormous obstacles,” he added after condemning the media campaigns which ignore or distort the country’s achievements, causing a negative impact on the Human Rights Council. Moreno also criticized terrorism promoted, organized and led by the United States, the recruiting of agents who attempt to destroy the Cuban constitutional system, acting contrary to the people’s right to self-determination, national security and integrity.

The Cuban UPR report, which was distributed to the press, highlights many achievements including in the areas of education, health, culture, sports, food, social security, religious freedom, treatment of prisoners, and gender equality.

***

Granma Internacional

Cuba is honored to present its second National Report to the Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism. It does so proud of its humanistic work and its achievements in guaranteeing the exercise of all human rights for all its citizens.

The economic, political and media blockade imposed by the United States, which Cuba has resisted, undefeated, for more than 50 years, is a massive, flagrant and systematic violation of human rights which provokes damage, shortages and suffering, but it has not detained the country’s equal opportunities, equity in the distribution of wealth, or social justice.

Persistent efforts on the part of the United States to impose a “regime change” on Cuba are a serious violation of the nation’s right to self-determination. These efforts have been unable to prevent the active, democratic and direct participation of its citizens in the construction of constitutional order, in government decisions and in the election of its authorities.

Before this Council is a country without homeless persons or people deprived of dignity, in which no child lacks an education of quality, the sick enjoy sterling medical attention and the elderly social protection. A nation in which the rights of workers, farmers, intellectuals and students are protected by law. A country with citizens’ security, without organized crime, or drugs. Before this Council is a united people, with profound social cohesion. A state in which no one has been executed without trial, tortured or disappeared, and there are no kidnappings or secret prisons.

This exercise coincides with International Workers’ Day, joyfully celebrated in Cuba’s plazas and streets by millions of compatriots and hundreds of friends from all over the world. They do so as free women and men, in defense of rights that have been won. They are not masses of justly angry people, workers on strike, students besieged by education costs and debt, immigrants persecuted by self-interest, racism and xenophobia. We offer our solidarity to all those fighting – everywhere on the planet – for human rights for all, for peace, for development, for the survival of humanity, threatened by colossal military arsenals and climate change.

Mr. President:

This report is the result of a wide-ranging and participative consultation process which involved countless government institutions, Parliament, civil society organizations and other relevant institutions.

The follow up on the recommendations accepted in the first UPR cycle was the principal objective of the work of the National Group, which coordinated the process and prepared the report.

From Cuba’s first presentation to this mechanism in 2009 through today, significant changes have taken place in the economy and society. Advances have been made in the institutional perfection process, greater citizens’ participation and control as a fundamental aspect of our democracy, and the undertaking to achieve sustainable development with social justice has been maintained.

Cuba remains committed to its irrevocable decision to advance its socialist, national, original, democratic and freely participative socialist development.

We did not come here to present a completed task, nor do we pretend that the Cuban socialist model should be considered for anyone or everyone. Nor do we accept that there is a unique or universal model of democracy, and far less the imposition of the political system of Western industrialized countries which have entered into crisis. We likewise reject the political manipulation, hypocrisy and double standards frequently present in the debate on human rights issues.

Mr. President:

One of the most significant events since the previous session is the adoption by the National Assembly of People’s Power of the Economic and Social Policy Guidelines, which constitute a body of decisions essential to the updating of the Cuban economic and social model and a government program.

The guidelines were adopted after an extremely wide-ranging popular debate in which millions of Cuban women and men formulated, with total freedom, more than 400,000 amendments modifying two thirds of the draft document, and voted on each one of its 12 chapters. This was a unique experience of citizens’ direct popular consultation in order to reach consensus on government economic, monetary and social policies, in con junction with measures to overcome the effects of the global economic crisis and problems of the Cuban economy without neoliberal austerity formulas, without saving banks at the cost of unjust social cuts.

Cuba has continued strengthening the democratic nature of its institutionality with laws, policies and programs of a popular and participative nature, in accordance with the people’s aspirations.

New regulations have been adopted to expand the legislative base of human rights, such as those related to social security, housing, employment and exclusively self-employed work, the granting of land in usufruct, among others. In parallel, advances are being made in perfecting and updating the country’s legal system, by implementing a number of modifications responding to the needs of Cuban society and the highest international standards in this context.

Outstanding among these amendments is the Migration and Travel Act, which has had a notable impact and has benefited the Cuban nation’s relations with its émigré community, despite constant manipulation of the migration issue.

Mr. President:

The legal system for the protection of human rights in Cuba is not confined to their constitutional drafting. The system is duly developed and implemented in other substantive, procedural regulations, in accordance with rights recognized in the Universal Declaration and other international human rights instruments.

Cuba has made significant advances in the realization of economic, social and cultural rights. Education has is universally accessible and is free of charge at all levels of teaching.

Through its various programs, the Cuban state guarantees every girl, boy and young adult the possibility and right to study within the National Education System and to continue in their education as far as their aptitudes and efforts allow them, with equality of opportunity. The First Vice President of the Council of State and Ministers was invested with the responsibility to protect and supervise children’s rights.

The right to education is assured for every child and young adult with any kind of mental or physical disability through the Special Education Program, in cases where the full integration of differently-abled children in general educational institutions is not possible. Attention is given to these children throughout the country in different forms and at all levels of teaching.

In the most recent UNESCO World Report on the follow-up of Education for All (2012), Cuba appears in 16th place, given its educational development indices. UNESCO recognized Cuba as the Latin American and Caribbean country to direct the highest proportion of its national budget to education.

Under the Martí doctrine of “being educated in order to be free,” Cuba is outstanding in terms of its cultural development, its population’s full access to art and literature, for the preservation and defense of our culture and the enrichment of our spiritual values.

Cuba is equally recognized for its outstanding results and the high quality of its public health system, with universal coverage and free medical attention. With an infant mortality rate of 4.6 per 1,000 live births, Cuba has established indicators higher than those of many industrialized countries. With one doctor for every 137 inhabitants, Cuba is – according to the World Health Organization – the most endowed nation in this sector.

From 2009 through 2011, 19,371 mothers of children with severe disabilities received social security protection, thus giving them the possibility of personally caring for their children.

Attention to older adults is a priority and for that reason, multidisciplinary and cross-sector work is underway to guarantee quality of life for this growing population sector. Life expectancy at birth stands at an average of 78 years. In the next decade, more than 87% of Cubans will have exceeded 60 years of age.

Rights to life, freedom and personal security are sustained by the principle of respect for human dignity and constitute pillars in the conduct of Cuban authorities and the functioning of the entire society.

The five Cuban anti-terrorist fighters who are enduring unjust and long prison terms in the United States lack protection. They were tried without guarantees of due process, in an atmosphere of revenge and hatred, under a slanderous press campaign paid for by the District Attorney’s Office, subjected to prolonged solitary confinement, impediments to their legal defense, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and a number of them have been deprived of visits from their families.

We are deeply concerned at the legal impasse which is sustaining the permanent and atrocious violation of human rights occurring on the illegal Guantánamo Naval Base, Cuban territory usurped by the United States, a center of torture and deaths in custody, where 166 detainees have been held for 10 years, without guarantees, a trial or defense. Currently, 100 of them are on hunger strike, with 17 of these, whose lives are in danger, being force fed through tubes. This prison and military base must be closed and this territory returned to Cuba.

Cuba recognizes, respects and guarantees religious freedoms without discrimination of any kind.

Approximately 400 religions and religious institutions exist in the country.

The freedoms of opinion, expression, access to information and the press are recognized for all citizens. The high educational and cultural level of the people; the social and public nature of communications media; the inexistence of giant for-profit media corporations which in other places impose economic and political interests; the absence of generally stultifying commercial publicity; and the exercise of popular power, all facilitate the material conditions which allow for the enjoyment of these freedoms.

The right to truthful information, free of charge, should be guaranteed by the state. The democratization of internet, the transference of resources and technology appropriate for social communication, is an urgent need. The technological and content monopoly; the political and military use of networks; linguistic and cultural discrimination must be ended. The digital gap must be closed.

The blockade prevents Cuba from connecting to nearby underwater cables, making services more expensive and access for the population more difficult. It prohibits international providers from supplying Cuba with services, software and technology. Our country is denied, for example, diverse Google services and access to international digital platforms.

Between 2010 and 2013, the United States has, as well, allocated 191.7 million dollars to finance organizations, paid agents, the subversive use of information technology and illegal radio and television broadcasts promoting regime change in Cuba. Additionally, millions more are channeled through special services and private groups. Some U.S. allies participate in this effort.

Mr. President:

In Cuba, equality and non-discriminatory policies are fully guaranteed. Advances in terms of gender equality are outstanding. The Cuban government continues to implement numerous laws, policies and programs directed toward reaffirming these.

The percentage of Cuban women in the National Assembly of People’s Power, our Parliament, has reached 48.86%. Cuba occupies second place on a world scale in terms of the percentage of female parliamentarians. For the first time, two women are now Council of State Vice Presidents, and women constitute 41.9% of this body. A third of our ministries are headed by women.

Institutional racism has been eradicated, ample opportunities for development and concrete benefits are provided for less favored sectors, and we are struggling to assure complete, effective equality of opportunity to sectors historically marginalized and to dysfunctional families. Not yet overcome are certain racial prejudices and stereotypes surviving from slavery during our colonial past and a neocolonial regime which institutionalized racism and racial segregation.

Complementary to government efforts and full protection under the law, a decision was made to assign a Council of State Vice President the task of following up on and supervising the struggle against racism and racial discrimination.

We are proud of our African heritage. We share, in a disinterested fashion, the fate of our African brothers and sisters in their battle against colonialism and apartheid.

Another area in which sustained progress is being made is the struggle against discrimination based on sexual orientation. The National Sexual Education Program has incorporated an ongoing educational strategy promoting respect for all sexual orientations and gender identities, establishing multiple opportunities for exchange based on the principles of equality and non-discrimination.

In relation to the promotion and protection of the rights of disabled persons, we have assured that the majority are able to access education and join the workforce. Support is offered in diverse arenas of social activity.

Mr. President:

Cuba’s penitentiary system is based on the principle of human betterment. Cuba fulfils all precepts of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and prioritizes a preventative focus through a number of social programs, among them those directed toward converting prisons into educational centers.

All inmates are guaranteed medical and dental attention free of charge, under the same conditions as the rest of Cuba’s population. They receive a wage commensurate with the work they perform.

In Cuba, 27,000,095 inmates, approximately half of the total, are studying at different levels in every penal institution in the country. Many of them are additionally learning a trade. This educational system has supported inmates’ reintegration into society and the workforce.

Mr. President:

Despite shortages and difficulties, in a disinterested fashion, our people have shared and share what we have with other nations, offering solidarity to contribute to the realization of human rights of other peoples around the world.

Since 2004, tens of thousands of citizens have regained their sight through Operation Miracle and 2.4 million ophthalmologic surgeries have been performed in 34 Latin American, Caribbean and African countries.

Since 2005, the (Henry Reeve) International Contingent of Doctors Specializing in Disaster and Serious Epidemic Situations has offered medical assistance to more than three million affected persons.

Cooperation with Haiti, a sister Caribbean country in need of resources for reconstruction and development, has been maintained. More than 12,000 Cuban collaborators have worked there.

Beginning in 2004, cooperation has expanded in literacy learning and development through the Cuban programs Yes, I can (UNESCO King Sejong Prize), I can read and write now and Yes, I can do more. As of November, 2012, 6.9 million people had completed the basic Yes I can literacy program and 976,000 had completed Yes, I can do more.

Mr. President:

Cuba maintains a high level of cooperation and interaction within procedures and structures established by the United Nations in terms of human rights, which are universally applicable, on a non-discriminatory basis.

We have always demonstrated out unequivocal openness to dialogue on all issues, with all states, on the basis of mutual respect, sovereign equality and recognition of the right to self-determination.

Cuba has established a positive dialogue with bodies created in accordance with international treaties in the area of human rights.

Since 2009, five National Reports have been prepared; three of which have been presented before the respective committees. Currently in the final stages of revision are Cuba’s Initial Report in accordance with the Optional Protocol of the Convention on the Rights of Children in relation to the sale of children, child prostitution and the use of children in pornography; as well as our Initial Report in compliance with the Convention on the Rights of Disabled Persons.

Cuba is a signatory to 42 international human rights treaties and has complied with all of their stipulations. Other human rights instruments, including two Pacts, are being studied by relevant authorities.

Our country maintains cooperative relations with diverse humanitarian and human rights organizations throughout the world, both within our own territory and in the development of collaborative missions internationally.

Mr. President:

We are open to constructive, respectful dialogue which adheres to the facts. We will provide necessary information and clarifications.

Thank you very much.

Mariela Castro: Socialism & LGBT Rights

Cuban Revolution Combats Homophobia, Sexism, Racism

LeiLani Dowell

An inspiring and electrifying meeting was held at the Solidarity Center in New York City on April 25 featuring Mariela Castro Espín, the director of the Cuban National Center for Sex Education (CENESEX) in Havana, Cuba, and a deputy of the Cuban parliament, the National Assembly of People’s Power. The meeting was sponsored by the International Action Center. Due to security concerns and limited seating, it was an invitations-only meeting.

The multinational, multigenerational crowd — which included members of the LGBTQ+, Latin American, and African-American communities — was moved to tears by the momentous gains in Cuba, described by Castro Espín, in combatting homophobia, transphobia and sexism, as well as racism. Castro Espín stressed that these issues are, above all, class issues, and that her country continues to fight for equality on all levels. She also praised the efforts of the U.S. activists in the crowd, saying she felt very much at home with those at the meeting.  Pro-Cuban revolutionary posters and banners encircled the office.

Comments from the floor showed the depth of respect, love and solidarity for Castro Espín and the Cuban revolution. Lucy Pagoada of Honduras USA Resistencia described how the Cuban revolution served to inspire the resistance in Honduras and throughout Latin America to continue, and the exciting integration and unity of those struggles.

Nieves Ayress from La Peña del Bronx, who survived torture under the fascistic Pinochet regime in Chile during the early 1970s and Marina Diaz, a Guatemalan activist from the May 1 Coalition also paid tribute to Castro and the Cuban revolution.

Black activist, Brenda Stokely, a leader of the Million Worker March Movement, publicly thanked Cuba for providing political asylum to Assata Shakur.

A member of TransJustice, a program of the Audre Lorde Project that fights for the rights of transgender and gender-non-conforming people of color in the U.S., said that CENESEX seemed like a “paradise” for their constituents. Among many projects undertaken in support of the transgender community in Cuba, Castro Espín and CENESEX pushed for legislation allowing transgender people in Cuba to receive hormones and gender reassignment surgeries free of charge. The law was passed in June of 2008.

Solidarity messages were also delivered from Leslie Feinberg, a member of Workers World Party and a world-renowned author and activist for LGBTQ+ rights, and IAC founder and former U.S. attorney general, Ramsey Clark.

Teresa Gutierrez, IAC co-director, urged everyone to “get on the bus” for a June 1st protest in Washington, D.C., in support of the Cuban Five, five Cuban heroes unjustly imprisoned in U.S. federal prisons for attempting to protect their country from terrorist attacks. See thecuban5.org for more information and call 347-201-3728 for $5 round-trip bus tickets from New York to Washington, D.C.

Gutierrez went on to say, “The LGBTQ community here has made great strides and has even won the right of same-sex marriage in some states in the U.S. But what socialist Cuba has done for LGBTQ people has gone much further and is much deeper thanks to the building of socialism there.”

Castro Espín is also a member of the Direct Action Group for Preventing, Confronting, and Combatting AIDS, and director of the journal, Sexología y Sociedad.  She was denied the right to travel to Philadelphia by the U.S. State Department to attend the Equality Forum 2013 Summit, a May 2-5 global LGBTQ+ conference, where she was scheduled to receive an award.

Cuban diplomats are denied the right to travel beyond a 25-mile radius from within New York without permission from the U.S. government, another example of more than 50 years of U.S. government hostility exhibited against the sovereignty of the Cuban Revolution.

The writer, a LGBTQ+ activist, gave a welcoming to Castro Espín at the meeting.

Fidel Castro: Avoid New Korean War

Fidel Castro Ruz

A few days ago I mentioned the great challenges humanity is currently facing. Intelligent life emerged on our planet approximately 200,000 years ago, although new discoveries demonstrate something else.

This is not to confuse intelligent life with the existence of life which, from its elemental forms in our solar system, emerged millions of years ago.

A virtually infinite number of life forms exist. In the sophisticated work of the world’s most eminent scientists the idea has already been conceived of reproducing the sounds which followed the Big Bang, the great explosion which took place more than 13.7 billion years ago.

This introduction would be too extensive if it was not to explain the gravity of an event as unbelievable and absurd as the situation created in the Korean Peninsula, within a geographic area containing close to five billion of the seven billion persons currently inhabiting the planet.

This is about one of the most serious dangers of nuclear war since the October Crisis around Cuba in 1962, 50 years ago.

In 1950, a war was unleashed there [the Korean Peninsula] which cost millions of lives. It came barely five years after two atomic bombs were exploded over the defenseless cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki which, in a matter of seconds, killed and irradiated hundreds of thousands of people.

General Douglas MacArthur wanted to utilize atomic weapons against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Not even Harry Truman allowed that.

It has been affirmed that the People’s Republic of China lost one million valiant soldiers in order to prevent the installation of an enemy army on that country’s border with its homeland. For its part, the Soviet army provided weapons, air support, technological and economic aid.

I had the honor of meeting Kim Il Sung, a historic figure, notably courageous and revolutionary.

If war breaks out there, the peoples of both parts of the Peninsula will be terribly sacrificed, without benefit to all or either of them. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was always friendly with Cuba, as Cuba has always been and will continue to be with her.

Now that the country has demonstrated its technical and scientific achievements, we remind her of her duties to the countries which have been her great friends, and it would be unjust to forget that such a war would particularly affect more than 70% of the population of the planet.

If a conflict of that nature should break out there, the government of Barack Obama in his second mandate would be buried in a deluge of images which would present him as the most sinister character in the history of the United States. The duty of avoiding war is also his and that of the people of the United States.

Fidel Castro Casts Ballot in Cuban Election

“Elections here are not like those in the United States, where only a minority votes. We can never allow that to happen, because here the people lead.”

Amaury E. Del Valle

SHORTLY before 5:00pm on February 3, the applause and cheering of people gathered at Electoral College No. 1, Area 13, Constituency 13 in Plaza de la Revolución, announced the arrival of the leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro, the Comandante en Jefe, walking slowly and carefully but with his characteristic smile and good humor, ascended the access ramp to the voting area, his two ballots in hand, and exercised his right to vote in Cuba’s general elections.

Registered as No. 28 in the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution No.1, Fidel joked affectionately with members of the electoral board about the time of his arrival, noting that when he was reminded of the elections, he asked to attend in person to vote.

“This has changed a bit since I was last here,” he recalled, his memory as acute as ever, upon asking permission to deposit his two ballots: one for delegates to the Provincial Assembly of People’s Power and the other for deputies to the National Assembly.

As always, he captivated the children guarding the ballot boxes, asking their ages, where they went to school, and where they lived. Then, seeing the television cameras, press photographers and journalists, the conversational and media conscious Fidel was reborn, having first asked the permission of electoral personnel to speak with them.

Despite the lateness of what was a chilly day, Fidel spoke with the press and the hundreds of neighbors who arrived, having heard the rumor of his presence, for more than 90 minutes.

With his prodigious memory, he recalled anecdotes, information and even historic dates; at times the interviewer and, at others, the interviewee. He spoke about the Cuban and global economy, national and international politics, the past and recent history of Latin America, and the challenges of contemporary Cuba. He also referred to the role of the press; the need to avert wars; even agriculture and how to achieve better results in this sector.

Fidel who, as he has stated on many occasions, has survived many assassination attempts, when asked about the elections, joked that he could not reveal who he voted for so as not to violate the law.

“I will just tell you, that I voted for the women and, of course, for one man on the slate, so that the men wouldn’t be offended,” he said mischievously.

“Women are taking more and more of a leadership role in Cuba and in the world,” he reflected more seriously, seeing a number of women journalists there. “And that’s the way it should be,” he emphasized.

Returning to the subject of the elections, the leader of the Revolution quickly changed roles and asked about the number of people who had voted at the precinct, how many still had to do so, how many nationwide and how many precincts and, noting the time, acknowledged the high degree of participation.

“Elections here are not like those in the United States, where only a minority votes. We can never allow that to happen, because here the people lead,” he stressed.

In response to a question on the current changes taking place in Cuba, he emphasized, “The greatest change of all has been the Revolution itself. But, of course, nothing is perfect, many things that we know today, we didn’t know then, and we need to work on continuing to improve the country. It is our duty to update the Cuban socialist model, modernize it, but without committing errors.”

Looking to the future, Fidel went on to talk about the current world situation, the crisis in Europe and the United States, high unemployment rates and wars, one of the problems to which he acknowledged dedicating much study and reflection.

“Now that I have a little more time to read, watch television, to reflect, I am using it to study, to think about these problems, because people, with their many daily concerns, sometimes don’t think about them.”

“I am more and more convinced that, as history demonstrates, wars are almost inevitable, due to egotism, ambitions, this natural and savage instinct within human beings,” he observed.

“We were at the point of being involved in a world conflagration on many occasions, as happened with the Crisis of October, or having nuclear weapons used against us, as was the case when we were fighting in Africa. But wars are very different when they are fought for a just cause, for freedom or in solidarity, and we were prepared to run those risks.”

Following this same line of thought, Fidel, who loves to return to history for its lessons, noted how many great historical figures became famous as a result of the wars of conquest they led, such as Alexander the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte.

“Only one man in history became famous for undertaking great military campaigns, but to liberate peoples. That man was [Simón] Bolívar,” he affirmed. He then emphasized, “Bolívar, but Martí and Chávez have also been very important for Latin America.”

Asked about his close friend Hugo Chávez , who is recovering from surgery in Cuba, he acknowledged that he is informed of the Venezuelan President’s condition every day.

“He’s much better, recuperating. It has been a difficult battle, but he has been improving. We have to cure him, Chávez is very important to his country and to Latin America.”

In response to questions from other journalists, the issue prompted the leader of the Cuban Revolution to discuss the recent Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, “a very important step in the context of unity, of which Hugo Chávez has been one of the major architects.”

Many issues were covered in the close to 90-minute conversation, during which he asked how long the tape recorder batteries lasted and noted the use of cell phones for recording his words. He commented that he frequently used one, “with a bit of help because sometimes the key letters are very small.”

This curiosity about everything around him led Fidel to the subject of new technologies, the recent discovery of the human species being far older than thought, exploratory voyages to Mars, attempts to colonize this planet. “These are issues to which I devote a lot of time, because I believe the most important thing at the moment for anyone is to be well informed.”

“That is why the role you are playing is so important,” he stated to journalists present. “It’s about constant study in order to better inform, and I am not saying this as a criticism, because I have much respect for the work of the press, but because I am convinced that journalists are a strength for the country and for the Revolution.”

Two sentences swept away any doubt that, as Raúl said, Fidel is still Fidel.

The first was in response to being asked if he could give any message to the Cuban people. He looked directly at the journalist, and after barely a second’s thought, affirmed, “…This is a valiant people. We do not have to prove that. Fifty years of blockade and they have been unable to defeat us… Just say, that the people are everything, without the people, we are nothing, without the people there would be no Revolution.”

The other, upon insistently asking him to say something directed at young people, he looked at me mischievously, as if he knew that some historic phrase was expected of him, and said, “Just tell them that I am very envious of them.”

Literacy: A Human Right

Nuria Barbosa León

THE Cuban literacy program Yo sí Puedo, (Yes, I can) has, in just over a decade, helped some 6.5 individuals learn to read and write and is currently being used in 30 countries, with the participation of more than 100 million people in all aspects of its implementation.

The program’s roots date back to 1961, when Cuba became a territory free of illiteracy. Some 269,723 teachers and instructors taught 60% of the population, 707,212 people, to read in just one year.

The literacy campaign in Cuba allowed both teachers and students to develop their potential, doing something extraordinary, and the effort became a social event of great importance in the country’s revolutionary history.

The Yo sí Puedo program was conceived to support literacy instruction for all regardless of disability, race, national origin, language, religion or political affiliation.

The pedagogical approach is based on a short term process, involving the association of letters with numbers, and requires limited human and material resources for its implementation, making it appropriate for remote areas, with local volunteers trained as ‘facilitators’ leading classes.

Dr. Zoila Benítez de Mendoza, a literacy instructor in the 1961 campaign, went on to become a teacher and served as an advisor to government efforts in 2000, in Michoacán, México, where 3,184 residents were taught to read and write, reducing illiteracy to 3.8%, from an initial level of 17%.

She reports that high school and university students were mobilized as instructors and that, during the teaching/learning process, an important cultural exchange between different ethnicities, population sectors and communities took place.

Dr. José Ricardo del Real, head of the Adult Education department of the Latin American and Caribbean Pedagogical Institute in Havana, commented that Cuba’s literacy instruction approach is based on an educational process meant to change lives, both for students, but also for facilitators who become educational advocates in their communities.

He adds that the Yo sí puedo seguir program, designed as a follow-up to initial instruction, is being implemented in Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Colombia, thus assuring the advancement of students to higher levels of education, while providing more practice to consolidate literacy skills. “Today more than a million people, who were illiterate just a few years ago, have reached the sixth grade level,” Del Real reported.

Cuba’s solidarity and collaboration in promoting literacy, to broaden participation in society, has represented a revolutionary step forward for many peoples, banishing ignorance and sensitizing both those who teach and those who learn.

Raúl Castro On Hurricane Devastation

Raúl verifies progress of recovery in Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo

Jorge Martín Blandino

“It has been a really heavy blow; it was a powerful hurricane which developed rapidly. The reality exceeds everything that press and television photos can show. Santiago is a moving sight, it looks like a bombed city. But we are going to get over this. You are a valiant people. We have known that for more than half a century.”

These are the words of President Raúl Castro Ruz, who also announced that he will not leave Santiago until the city has electricity.

Raúl tours Santiago and Guantánamo 

PRESIDENT Raúl Castro Ruz arrived in Santiago de Cuba at midday October 28 and went immediately to the Provincial Defense Council command post for disaster situations. There, Reinaldo García Zapata, its president, gave him an up-to-date report on the current situation in the province and the response to consequences of Hurricane Sandy.

Also present were First Vice President José Ramón Machado Ventura; Adel Yzquierdo Rodríguez, Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Economy and Planning; and Army Corps Generals Ramón Espinosa Martín and Joaquín Quintas Solá, both deputy ministers of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR).

Hurricane Sandy caused the most damage in the municipalities of Santiago de Cuba, Songo La Maya, Palma Soriano and San Luis, with houses, economic activities, basic public services and educational, health and cultural institutions badly affected.

Lázaro Expósito, first secretary of the Communist Party in Santiago de Cuba, noted the solidarity received from other Cuban provinces and which is beginning to arrive from Venezuela, as well as the constant presence of the National Defense Council and different central state administration bodies in ongoing efforts to restore the damage.

The Cuban President reflected on the most difficult challenge: the 130,000-plus homes affected, in particular the 15,392 totally demolished and 36,544 partially demolished ones, data still to be confirmed. He stated the need to work urgently on temporary solutions, with rigorous damage control and at the same time to continue studies on how to address this problem in the longer term, as the definitive solution will require years of work. He commented that the community of petrocasas (houses constructed from oil derivatives such as PVC) in the city of Santiago de Cuba were left virtually intact, confirming their solidity.

He supported the correct decision to give maximum priority to restoring basic services as quickly as possible, especially electricity and water, while emphasizing the importance of informing, orientating and maintaining constant contact with the population.

Intensive work is underway to clear the province of considerable volumes of rubble and uprooted trees which, in addition to the negative psychological effect on people, are obstructing the road network and thus recovery efforts. Participation by FAR troops, engineering and transport vehicles has been decisive in this effort.

VISIT TO CIEGO DE AVILA

Prior to traveling to Santiago de Cuba, Raúl met with Félix Duarte Ortega and Noemí Iglesias Falcón, president and vice president of the Ciego de Avila Provincial Defense Council, who informed him that the heavy rains associated with Sandy were of benefit to the province, as damage is moderate and reservoirs have accumulated 96% of their total capacity.

“This readiness of the people of Ciego de Avila and all Cubans to help their compatriots in the east of the country with the human and material resources needed is impressive,” Raúl commented, and asked about the dispatch of agricultural produce and pre-prepared foods.

Fidel Castro In Good Health

Fidel Castro Ruz

A message to the first graduating class from the Victoria de Girón Medical Sciences Institute was enough to prompt imperialist propaganda to go into overdrive and news agencies to voraciously launch themselves after the lie. Not only that but, in their cables, they attributed the most unheard of nonsense to the patient.

The ABC newspaper in Spain reported that a Venezuelan doctor from an unknown location revealed that Castro had suffered a massive embolism in the right cerebral artery; “I can state that we are not going to see him again in public.” The alleged doctor who, if he is, would first abandon his own compatriots, described Castro’s health as “very close to a neural-vegetative state.”

While many persons in the world are deceived by information agencies which publish this nonsense – almost all in the hands of the privileged and rich – people believe less and less in them. Nobody likes to be deceived; even the most incorrigible liar expects to be told the truth. In April of 1961, everyone believed the information published in the news agencies that the mercenary invaders of Girón or Bay of Pigs, whatever one wants to call it, were approaching Havana, when in fact some of them were fruitlessly trying by boat to reach the yanki warships escorting them.

The peoples are learning and resistance is growing, faced with the crisis of capitalism which is recurring with greater frequency; no lies, repression or new weapons will be able to prevent the collapse of a production system which is increasingly unequal and unjust.

A few days ago, very close to the 50th anniversary of the October Crisis, news agencies pointed to three guilty parties: Kennedy, having recently become the leader of the empire, Khrushchev and Castro. Cuba did not have anything to do with nuclear weapons, nor with the unnecessary slaughter of Hiroshima and Nagasaki perpetrated by the president of the United States, Harry S. Truman, thus establishing the tyranny of nuclear weapons. Cuba was defending its right to independence and social justice.

When we accepted Soviet aid in weapons, oil, foodstuffs and other resources, it was to defend ourselves from yanki plans to invade our homeland, subjected to a dirty and bloody war which that capitalist country imposed on us from the very first months, which left thousands of Cubans dead and maimed.

When Khrushchev proposed the installation here of medium range missiles similar to those the United States had in Turkey – far closer to the USSR than Cuba to the United States – as a solidarity necessity, Cuba did not hesitate to agree to such a risk. Our conduct was ethically irreproachable. We will never apologize to anyone for what we did. The fact is that half a century has gone by, and here we still are with our heads held high.

I like to write and I am writing; I like to study and I am studying. There are many tasks in the area of knowledge. For example, never before have the sciences advanced at such an astounding speed.

I stopped publishing “Reflections” because it is definitely not my role to take up pages in our press, dedicated to other tasks which the country requires.

Birds of ill omen! I don’t even remember what a headache is. As evidence of what liars they are, I present them with the photos which accompany this article.

USA Lacks Moral Authority to Judge Syria, Cuba

Statement by Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba, during the general debate of the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly. New York, October 1, 2012

Granma Internacional

Mr. President:

Never before had Latin America and the Caribbean expressed themselves with such strength and unity as they did at the so-called Summit of the Americas, which took place last April in Cartagena de Indias, and which once again excluded Cuba as a result of a U.S. imposition.

Argentine sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands, which our country fervently supports, and the lifting of the blockade of Cuba, were the focus of a declaration that showed that the American homeland envisaged by Bolivar – Our America, as envisaged by Martí- had entered a new epoch, the century of its final independence.

A few months previously, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) had been founded, precisely in Caracas. “No other institutional event in our hemisphere in the course of the last century has been as transcendental,” wrote the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz.

We know that CELAC is still to express itself in facts, so that our peoples can “march in close ranks, like silver in the roots of the Andes.” But Latin America and the Caribbean have definitely changed, and they are bent on making a greater contribution to the “equilibrium of the world.”

However, the threats, dangers and obstacles should not be underestimated.

The United States policy toward our region, whether under Democrat or Republican governments, is essentially the same. The promises made by the current President back in 2009 were not fulfilled. The voracity for our wealth; the imposition of models, cultures, ideas and interference in our internal affairs have never ceased.

Even though there is talk of “smart power,” and new and fabulous technologies are being used, a focus on security and military deployment prevail, rather than democratic and mutually beneficial relations among equal and sovereign states.

In the circumstances of a global economic crisis, the depletion of resources and a new distribution of the world, NATO continues to perceive our region as a Euro-Atlantic periphery, in which it is possible to intervene to secure interests, even if they are illegitimate.

The imminent elections in the sister nation of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela will be decisive for the common destiny of our region. We would like to express to the Venezuelan people and its leader, President Chavez, our full solidarity in the face of destabilizing attempts looming on the horizon.

The governing powers in the United States would be committing a very serious error of unpredictable consequences if they should attempt to reverse by force the social achievements attained by our peoples.

In a discreet and modest way, Cuba has always contributed to the achievement of peace in Colombia; it gave its total support to the confidential exploratory talks that were held during the year in Havana, and it will continue to do so as a guarantor and venue of the upcoming process of dialogue between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

“Our America” will remain mutilated as long as Puerto Rico, a Latin American and Caribbean nation, is not independent, a cause that we fully support.

Mr. President:

Today’s world is in no way similar to the one envisaged by those who drafted the United Nations Charter, over the ashes left by the Second World War, when they determined to save our generations from the scourge of war, protect the fundamental rights of human beings and equality among all nations, large and small; and to promote justice, dignity and social progress.

Right now, the overthrow of governments through the use of force and violence is being blatantly encouraged; “regime change” is being imposed from Washington and other NATO member countries’ capitals, and wars of conquest are being waged for the control of natural resources and strategically important areas.

The United States and certain European governments have decided to overthrow the Syrian government, for which they have armed, financed and trained opposition groups. They have even resorted to the use of mercenaries.

Due mainly to firm opposition on the part of Russia and China, it has been impossible to manipulate the Security Council in order to impose the interventionist formula applied in recent warmongering adventures.

Cuba reaffirms the right of the Syrian people to the full exercise of their self-determination and sovereignty without any interference or foreign intervention of any kind. For that, violence, massacres and the acts of terrorism which have taken a high toll in innocent lives must cease. The trafficking of arms and money to help the insurgent groups as well as the shameful manipulation of reality by the media must also come to an end.

It is the duty of the General Assembly to make use of its faculties to promote a peaceful solution to the current situation which is tearing apart that Arab country and prevent a foreign military aggression which will have serious consequences for the entire Middle East region.

The General Assembly should act with resolve and recognize the State of Palestine as a full member of the United Nations Organization, with the boundaries established prior to 1967 and with East Jerusalem as its capital; and it should do so now, with or without the consent of the Security Council; with or without the United States veto; with or without new peace negotiations.

Mr. President:

The global economic crisis, currently reflected with particular harshness in Europe, reflects the inability of governments and institutions to solve a problem which calls for a reconsideration of the basics of the current international economic relations system, which is only useful for plundering underdeveloped countries.

The severe consequences of the crisis in the developed world and the failed policies adopted so far in the attempt to stop it continue to be borne by workers, increasing numbers of the unemployed, immigrants and the poor, whose protest movements are being brutally repressed.

Predictions of a new spiral in the price of foodstuffs as a result of the drought affecting much of Northern America, threaten to make the situation of global food insecurity even more critical.

Environmental destruction has also increased; loss of biodiversity and the natural balance of ecosystems is accelerating, while the intensification of irrational production and consumer patterns, the marginalization of more than a half of the world’s population and the absence of global measures to halt the advance of climate change presuppose an ever-growing risk to the physical integrity of entire nations, particularly the small island states.

In the face of these colossal challenges, we could ask ourselves if anything could ever justify the fact that, 20 years after the end of the so-called Cold War, the military budget has almost doubled to reach the astronomical figure of 1.74 trillion dollars. President Raúl Castro Ruz posed the following questions: “Against which enemies will these weapons be used? Will they be used to eliminate the masses of poor people who can no longer cope with their poverty, or to halt the unstoppable migration of survivors?

Under these circumstances, it is urgent to save the United Nations Organization while subjecting it to profound reforms in order to place it at the service of all equally sovereign states, and remove it from the arbitrariness and double standards of a handful of industrialized and powerful countries.

International law and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter should be resolutely enforced; the key role of the General Assembly should be restored and a democratic, transparent and truly representative Security Council should be re-launched.

The Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement was successfully held in Tehran and reaffirmed the Movement’s positions in defense of peace, independence and sovereign equality of states; justice; the right to development; sovereignty over natural resources; general and complete disarmament, particularly nuclear disarmament; and the right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy was reaffirmed. We have committed our full support to the presidency of the Movement.

Mr. President:

On July 31 last, the U.S. Department of State once again included Cuba on a unilateral and arbitrary list of states sponsoring international terrorism.

The real purpose pursued by including Cuba on that spurious list is to fabricate pretexts to increase the persecution of Cuba’s financial transactions and justify the policy of blockade, which has caused invaluable human and economic damages to the value of one trillion dollars, estimated according to the current value of gold.

The United States does not have the slightest moral or political authority to judge Cuba.

It is known that, as a weapon in its anti-Cuba policy, the U.S. government has resorted to state terrorism, which has caused the death of 3, 478 persons and maimed 2,099 of our compatriots. At the same time it is harboring dozens of terrorists, some of whom are living in freedom in that country, while maintaining the long-lasting and inhumane incarceration and cruel and arbitrary retention of five Cuban anti-terrorists in its territory.

Cuba strongly rejects the use of such a sensitive issue as terrorism to pursue political goals and calls upon the United States to cease its lies and end this shameful exercise, which is an outrage against the Cuban people and the international community and discredits the cause of the battle against terrorism.

We reiterate to the United States, approaching its presidential elections, our irrevocable vocation for peace and our interest in moving toward the normalization of relations through dialogue, on an equal footing and with absolute respect for our independence.

With absolute certainty, our people, come what may, “with all and for the well-being of all”, will continue advancing down the path they have already chosen until we “conquer all justice.”

Thank you very much.

In Cuba, The People Really Decide!

Democracy In Action As Candidate Nomination Process Begins

Susanna Lee

Cuba’s National Electoral Commission (CEN) has announced that more than 50,900 meetings to nominate candidates for the Municipal Assemblies of People’s Power will take place across the country September 3-29. Neighborhood gatherings will take place in the more than 14,500 precincts, into which the country has been divided for the coming elections. Some 8.5 million Cubans are eligible to participate.

Every one of these citizens, 16 years of age or older, can nominate a candidate from among his or her neighbors, or even someone in another area within the same precinct, if previously consulted.

This practice of nominating one’s neighbors, however, has not become widely adopted, despite the 14 elections for municipal delegates which have taken place in the country since 1976. (Matanzas has had more, since the People’s Power system was piloted there, beginning in 1974. Many other precincts have had additional special elections to fill vacancies.)

Electoral legislation and regulatory norms establish that at least two candidates, but no more than eight, may be nominated per precinct, to ensure options for voters, even when a single assembly is held. The reality is that in most cases two or three are nominated and very rarely seven or eight.

On this occasion, as before, many are hoping a greater number of meritorious and capable individuals will be nominated to represent the neighborhood in the highest body of municipal government, so that the option of evaluating the attitudes and aptitudes of various candidates facilitates the selection of the person best fit for the job. The more candidates nominated, the more options available, the better.

With this in mind, precinct commissions responsible for the organization of the October 21 vote carefully considered the locations proposed as sites for nominations meetings. Municipal electoral commissions must approve these.

To date, the number of precinct commissions proposing three to six nomination sites has increased, while fewer are proposing a single location.

These choices are based on CEN regulations indicating that one nominations meeting should be held in areas with up to 199 residents, with progressively greater expectations based on the number of residents, reaching a maximum of eight meetings to be held in locales with populations over 2,800. Nevertheless, in localities with special characteristics, meetings can be authorized to facilitate the participation of smaller voting populations. There are 20 precincts in the country with fewer than 100 residents and some 300 with less than 200.

The right, and responsibility, Cuban citizens have to nominate candidates for municipal assemblies is basic to Cuba’s democratic system, which more than 35 years ago became one in which there is no nomination by political parties.

In Cuba, from San Antonio to Maisí, even in the most remote areas, any Cuban can nominate and be nominated, elect and be elected, without any consideration beyond meeting legal requirements.

In other words, he or she does not need the support of any party. Citizens have the right to nominate, and will exercise their right to elect a delegate from among those they have nominated this coming October 21.