From the celebration of the independence of Mexico to the exaltation of the independence of Cuba. Andrés Manuel López Obrador has made the commemoration of the 211 years of the uprising of Miguel Hidalgo a plea in defense of Cuba. Accompanied by Miguel Díaz-Canel, special guest at the military parade this Thursday, the Mexican president has urged Washington to lift the economic blockade on the island and has praised "the fight for sovereignty" in Havana, something that in his Opinion goes beyond political positions on the Cuban revolution and its government. His counterpart thanked him for the solidarity shown - also through the sending of humanitarian aid - and has assured that he will not forget the support provided and the rejection of the embargo.
López Obrador has gone further than ever in his praise of the Cuban people and, above all, in his requests to the US Administration of Joe Biden.
The symbolism of the act, a tribute to the resistance values embodied by the priest Hidalgo, was in itself a propitious framework to reaffirm the ties between the two governments.
When he announced the participation of Díaz-Canel, who in July faced a social outbreak against the regime unprecedented in six decades of Castroism, he justified it by assuring that "Mexico has its doors open to all rulers."
Today the scope of the political content of the visit has become clear, which began days before the summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) that is held on Saturday in the capital.
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The Mexican president has appealed directly to Biden and his "political sensitivity" to interrupt the sanctions. “The Government that I represent respectfully calls on the Government of the United States to lift the blockade against Cuba, because no State has the right to subdue another people, another country. It is necessary to remember what George Washington said: nations should not take advantage of the misfortune of other peoples. To put it frankly, it is wrong for the United States Government to use the blockade to impede the well-being of the Cuban people so that they, forced by necessity, have to confront their own Government ”, he emphasized. López Obrador has sent greetings to former President Jimmy Carter and recalled the treaties on the Panama Canal that in 1977 gave the Central American country control of the strait.
"May President Biden, who has sufficient political sensitivity," he continued, "act with that greatness and put an end to this policy of grievances towards Cuba."
“In the search for reconciliation, the Cuban-American community must also help by putting aside private and partisan interests.
It is time for brotherhood and not for confrontation, "added the Mexican president, singing a cheer" for the independence of Mexico, Cuba, and all the peoples of the world. "
The Mexican armed forces participate in the military parade.Gladys Serrano
From the Zócalo of Mexico City, surrounded by military commanders, López Obrador has spun an authentic eulogy to Cuba.
"Miguel Díaz-Canel represents a people who have come out, like few others in the world, to defend their dignity and their right to live free and independent, without allowing any foreign power to interfere in their internal affairs," he maintained.
“I have already said it and I repeat: we may or may not agree with the Cuban Revolution and with its Government, but having resisted 62 years without submission is an indisputable historical feat.
I believe that this island should be considered as the new Numancia because of its example of resistance and I think that for that same reason it should be declared a world heritage site ”.
Regional protagonism
The Mexican president had already referred to the lifting of the economic blockade at the end of July during a meeting with the Celac foreign ministers, but he did so in a much more indirect way. Today he described the sanctions as a "perverse strategy", which, if it worked, "would become a pyrrhic and rogue triumph." "A stain that is not erased even with all the water in the oceans," he added. These considerations are part of an attempt to consolidate the diplomatic initiative in the region, trying to lead the baton in Latin America after a first part of the mandate focused on internal politics. Your Government already welcomes, under the auspices of Norway,The new negotiating table between Chavismo and the Venezuelan opposition and the pro tempore presidency of Celac represents a springboard to promote an alternative agenda to that advocated by the Organization of American States (OAS).
Díaz-Canel has reviewed the historical relations between the two countries, he recalled that Mexico was the only Latin American country that decades ago did not break ties "with revolutionary Cuba" after its expulsion from precisely that body. "Over the years, what history has inextricably linked has never been broken: our two countries have honored their sovereign policies regardless of proximity or distance between governments," he said, mentioning "a very Mexican principle: respect for another's right is peace ”. The Cuban president, who in July faced days of protests due to the growing tiredness of the population, has rejected what he considers an international "hate campaign", thanked López Obrador for solidarity and highlighted the importance of the invitation:"The decision to invite us has immeasurably greater value at a time when we suffer the onslaught of a multidimensional war such as a criminal blockade in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic."
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