Statement by Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel Bermúdez at the thirty first Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly
Statement by Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, President of the Republic of Cuba at the thirty first Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly in response to the Covid-19 pandemic

Redaccion Granmadecember 3, 2020 19:12:37
President of the Republic of Cuba












President of the Republic of Cuba Photo: MINREX
December 3, 2020.

Mr. Secretary General;

Mr. President;

Distinguished Heads of State and Government;

Heads of delegations;

I would like to thank the Republic of Azerbaijan, the current president of the Non-Aligned Movement, for the initiative to convene this Special Session of the General Assembly.

An articulated response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences, consistent with the protocols and good practices established by the World Health Organization, can only be promoted at the global scale by this body, which is the most universal and representative of the United Nations system.

It is a sad and undeniable fact that the pandemic has exacerbated the serious problems and colossal challenges that humanity had been already facing before the outbreak of this disease.

We are referring to the wars, including non-conventional wars; the use and threat of use of force and the implementation of unilateral coercive measures, but also about the absence or precarious situation of health services, education and social security under the blind rules of the market and the unequal exchange that has prevailed in the world.

The signs of what some experts have described as the worst economic recession since the Second World War have become dramatically visible today; and no one doubts that the brunt of the crisis will be borne by the countries of the South, which are already affected by the abuse of neoliberal policies that has amplified the ravages caused by poverty.

The foreign debt of developing countries, which has been paid several times before and ha grown bigger as a result of the pandemic, thus severing right off the aspirations of economic and social well-being, is unpayable and should be condoned.

Under the present circumstances, the establishment of a just, democratic and equitable international order is an imperative. It is a condition for the survival of the species in an ever more interconnected and paradoxically unequal world.

The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the human cost of that inequality and has revealed the urgent need to strengthen national health systems; promote universal and free access to basic medical services and guarantee an equitable distribution of vital resources.

The world watches in shock, for example, how the United States, responsible for 38 per cent of the global military budget, is unable to take responsibility for the more than 11 million infected persons and the more than 238 who have died from COVID-19 in that country.

When looking at the harsh situation caused by infections, new outbreaks and the collapse of health services in nations with an enviable prosperity, one question arises: Why is the enormous budget that is currently being dilapidated in the arms race not used instead to confront this and other much older pandemics, such as hunger and poverty?

Mr. President;

Since the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and in view of the possibility that it might become a pandemic, Cuba designed a National Program aimed at its prevention and control. Its implementation is supported by the strengths of our country’s health system –of proven quality standing and universal coverage- and scientific development.

Today, in a spirit of modesty, and also with wholesome pride, we can explain to the world how this was possible.

In Cuba, we have implemented a government management system based on science and innovation, which has furthered up interconnections among such areas as knowledge, production and social services.

This is an inclusive, participatory, systemic, cross-cutting and intersectoral system that crystallizes and achieves its best results in the robust protocols applied in coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and the responsible attitude adopted by our people.

In other words, what we do is to give practical expression to the way in which the social system operates in Cuba and is capable of solving or successfully tackle very complex problems, while human beings are the top priority of the government’s work.

The role of science and its articulation with government management has been crucial. The relevant achievements attained by the medical and pharmaceutical industry and biotechnology allow us to be in a better position to cope with the disease. Two Cuban candidate vaccines that are currently going through the clinical trial phase have been included among the 47 registered by the World Health Organization.

Faithful to our humanist vocation, 53 Cuban medical brigades have helped to cope with the disease in 39 countries and territories, which joined those that were already offering their services in 59 nations.

That has been possible even under the heavy burden of the criminal and unjust blockade imposed by the government of the United States –which has been tightened in an unprecedented way- and a cynical disparagement campaigned launched against our international medical cooperation.

Here we denounce that aggressive behavior against Cuba and other sovereign nations as well as the announced attempt to re-enact the Monroe Doctrine, which is a violation of International Law and the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace.

Our commitment to the purposes and principles of this Organization remains unaltered. We remain firmly and resolutely committed to continue working in favor of multilateralism, solidarity, human dignity and social justice.

This global emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic sounds like a new call to the world’s awareness. This time we should listen to it. Yes, we can. Cuba is an example of that.

Thank you, very much

(Cubaminrex)

Raúl welcomes Díaz-Canel home from New York
Shortly after noon on Sunday, the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba Central Committee, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, received the President of the Councils of State and Ministers, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, and the official delegation that accompanied him on his trip to New York, at Havana’s José Martí International Airport

Author: National news staff | | internet@granma.cu
october 1, 2018 10:10:35

Photo: Estudio Revolución
Shortly after noon this September 30, the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba Central Committee, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, received the President of the Councils of State and Ministers, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, and the official delegation that accompanied him on his trip to New York, at Havana’s José Martí International Airport.

Accompanied by José Ramón Machado Ventura, Second Secretary of the Central Committee, Raúl welcomed Díaz-Canel with a big hug. The Cuban President had a highly successful visit to the United States, which included his participation in the general debate of the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly, as well as several bilateral meetings with dignitaries and personalities from the business, agriculture and culture sectors.

TIMELINE OF AN INTENSE WEEK IN NEW YORK

Sunday, September 23: The Cuban President was accompanied by Army General Raúl Castro and the PCC Second Secretary, José Ramón Machado Ventura, to José Martí International Airport. He arrived in New York at noon.

Monday 24: Díaz-Canel participated in the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit. In the evening, he visited Google’s New York office and held several bilateral meetings with different personalities.

Tuesday 25: He met with his counterparts from several countries, including Bolivian President Evo Morales, and showed his support for the sister nation of Vietnam by signing the book of condolences following the death of President Tran Dai Quang.

Wednesday 26: The Cuban leader delivered two important speeches: one at the UN General Assembly High-level Plenary Meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons; and another in the general debate of this 73rd Session of the General Assembly. He held bilateral meetings with presidents and representatives of multilateral organizations, and in the evening he participated in a solidarity event in the Riverside Church.

Thursday 27: Díaz-Canel met with representatives of the U.S. agricultural sector, and the Chambers of Commerce. He was welcomed at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and held a meeting with leaders of the National Council of Churches of the United States.

Friday 28: The Cuban President spoke with U.S. travel industry executives. He was received at the Dakota apartment building by U.S. cultural personalities, and in the evening spoke to Cuban émigrés at Cuba’s Mission to the UN.

Almost at the end of his extensive work agenda, Díaz-Canel toured the beautiful city of New York. He paid tribute to the victims of 9/11 at the Ground Zero memorial; as well as to Cuban National Hero José Martí, at his statue in this city; and visited the Natural History Museum and Columbia University.

A patriotic, renovated El Cobre greets Díaz-Canel
The Cuban President appreciated the social transformations evident in the town and continued his tour of Santiago de Cuba with stops at sites of economic importance
Author: Eduardo Palomares Calderón | palomares@granma.cu
june 22, 2018 10:06:36

Photo: Estudio Revolución
SANTIAGO DE CUBA.–Residents enthusiastically welcomed the President yesterday, during his visit to the internationally known community of El Cobre, with more than 18,400 inhabitants, 22 kilometers from the provincial capital.
Díaz-Canel’s first stop – accompanied by members of the Central Committee Lázaro Expósito Canto and Beatriz ¬Johnson Urrutia, Party first secretary in the province and president of the Provincial Assembly of People’s Power, respectively – was the new hotel under construction here.
Tourism Ministry authorities and the construction company Emprestur, explained that the facility, to be completed next July, is projected as a four-star hotel, with 74 rooms.
The group, joined by Culture Minister Abel Prieto toured a new movie theater and internet navigation wifi site; heard about renovation efforts in the town from local authorities; and enjoyed brief performances by the professional and children’s steel bands at their recently established headquarters on the town’s central boulevard. At each site, the President inquired about the quality of work done.

Photo: Estudio Revolución
Under the noonday sun, crowds gathered on sidewalks to send greetings to Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, and express respect and affection for the new President. Upon his departure, Diaz-Canel stopped again at a park to talk with residents.
Later in the day, Díaz-Canel visited two soy oil processing facilities, inaugurated by Commandante en Jefe Fidel Castro, October 24, 2001, and now undergoing a 20 million pesos renovation, to increase capacity and improve quality.
To close the day, the President met with students at the University of Oriente and the provincial medical school, joined by Minister of Higher Education José Ramón Saborido Loidi. Some 20 students took the floor to share opinions on their academic programs, the university’s links with the population, and interaction with provincial authorities.
Díaz-Canel concluded noting, “This is a province of constant renewal. Here you always see new things, as Army General Raúl Castro saw. And what is most significant is the united participation of everyone in Santiago in these projects, of which you are so proud.”

Another April 19, another victory
The fact that today Cuba has a new President is not only the result of an electoral process. This was a transition from one historical generation to another, which was as natural as it was transcendental

Author: Lissy Rodríguez Guerrero | informacion@granma.cu
Author: Yudy Castro Morales | internet@granma.cu
april 20, 2018 09:04:03

Miguel Díaz Canel and Raúl Castro. Photo: Estudios Revolución Photo: Estudio Revolución
The fact that today Cuba has a new President is not only the result of an electoral process. There is a great deal of responsibility, and symbolism. in this transition from one historical generation to another which was not forged in the Sierra or on the plains in the hard-won victory, but one that has risen to the occasion to preserve the victory, without losing the way, to found, transform, triumph…

And there is also disinterest in this act of ceding, that does not imply quitting. There is much humility in those who leave to others the leadership of the great work of the Revolution to which they have given their all – to now accompany those bearing the responsibility, in Raúl’s case, as the highest authority in the political vanguard and from his seat as a deputy.

The events were as natural as they were transcendental.

On the first day of the Assembly’s constituent session, we saw Raúl take his seat in the first row, exercise his right to vote, ballot in hand, showing with his unassuming conduct that the time had arrived, the moment that always seemed so distant.

And when Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez was elected as President of Cuba, Raúl stepped up, without any unnecessary protocol or solemn posture, to receive him, embrace him, show his confidence in the man, the future.

Speaking of Díaz-Canel, Raúl emphasized that he is no rookie, noting his work as an engineer, an officer in the Revolutionary Armed Forces, a youth leader and later a professional Party cadre in Villa Clara and Holguín. He spoke of his performance as Minister of Higher Education, and for the last five years, as First Vice President of the Councils of State and Ministers.

The new President spoke of Raúl as a statesman, of his leadership in the development of national consensus on the updating process underway in the country, as well as his rich history as a participant in the Moncada assault, a Granma expeditionary, a guerilla, military commander, and political leader.

“I’m not here to promise anything,” Díaz-Canel said, “as the Revolution never did over all these years. I’m here to offer commitment,” to continue working and creating tirelessly, in step with the people.

In this endeavor, we are not alone, because “even our dead accompany us.”

It may not be easy to do all that needs to be done, but this April 19, there was no parting. The continuity has a face, faces.