On Thursday, September 16, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico urged US President Joe Biden to act to end Washington’s blockade and the policy of aggression against Cuba once and for all.
In a speech commemorating the 211th anniversary of Mexico’s independence, with which AMLO opened the traditional military parade honoring the entrance of the Trigarante (Three Guarantees) army to Mexico City in 1821, he reiterated his opinion that he had expressed in June at the Chapultepec Castle regarding the dignity of the Cuban people.
In the presence of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, a special guest, who shared the stage with him and delivered a speech, López Obrador noted that the Cuban people know how to be faithful to their historical continuity and assert their right to live freely, without interference from any foreign power, like few others in the world.
#InPictures | Cuba's President @DiazCanelB arrived in Mexico and was welcomed by Foreign Minister @m_ebrard to participate as a guest of honor in the civic-military parade on the occasion of the country's September 16 celebrations. pic.twitter.com/ttBeKpLkBX
— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) September 16, 2021
“I have said and I repeat that we can agree or disagree with the Cuban Revolution and its government, but to have resisted 62 years without subjugation is an indisputable historic feat,” asserted the president of Mexico.
“For its struggle in defense of sovereignty,” he continued, “the people of Cuba deserve the prize of dignity and the country should be recognized as the new Numantia for its example of resistance, and I think that for that reason it must be declared a Heritage of Humanity.”
“Now I only add that the government that I represent respectfully calls on the United States to lift the blockade against Cuba because no State has the right to subjugate another people, another country,” asserted AMLO.
It is necessary, he pointed out, to remember that Washington said that nations should not take advantage of the misfortune of other peoples. “In all frankness, it is wrong for the US government to use the blockade to hinder the welfare of the Cuban people so that they, forced by necessity, would confront their own government,” the Mexican president denounced.
“If that perverse strategy were to succeed,” AMLO added, “which does not seem likely, it would turn into a pyrrhic, vile and despicable victory [for Washington], one of those stains that cannot be removed even with all the water in the ocean. Understanding, mutual respect and freedom without conditions or arrogance are better.”
RELATED CONTENT: Goodbye OAS? CELAC Summit to Decide Fate of OAS
López Obrador mentioned as an example the position adopted by former US President Jimmy Carter, who knew how to reach an understanding with General Omar Torrijos to return Panama’s sovereignty over the Canal.
“Hopefully Biden, who possesses sufficient political sensitivity, will act with such greatness and end the policy of aggravating Cuba forever,” the Mexican president opined.
AMLO added that it is time for friendship and not confrontation, and that clashes can be avoided so that sovereignty and love can prevail, ending with “Viva”s for Mexico and Cuba.
For his part, the President of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, thanked López Obrador for the support and solidarity that Mexico has provided Cuba. “Allow me to say this, president,” expressed Díaz-Canel in his speech, “that our country will always remember your acts of support, your incessant demands for lifting the blockade and to convert the yearly vote at the United Nations into concrete facts.”
“We are profoundly grateful for the help that we received—the medical supplies and food to alleviate the combined effects of the economic aggression and the pandemic,” added the Cuban president.
Featured image: Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel at Mexico’s independence celebrations. Photo: Presidency of Mexico
(Telesur English) with Orinoco Tribune content