Miguel Díaz-Canel concluded the XXIV International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties held in Havana on Saturday with a call to the international communist movement: “I urge self-criticism. It is not enough to condemn the empire”, he said in front of more than one hundred delegates from 48 political organizations.
The event, known by its acronym #24EIPCO, took place from August 7 to 9 at the Havana Convention Palace and coincided with the commemorative events for the centenary of Fidel Castro, which falls on August 13.
The most notable phrase from the closing speech was directed not at the Cuban government but at the communist parties around the world, to whom Díaz-Canel urged to move from rhetoric to action: “We must build popular power at the grassroots, win the streets, the neighborhoods, the factories, the schools.”
The call for "self-criticism" was not directed at the Cuban government but at the international communist movement, which Díaz-Canel urged to move beyond statements and translate solidarity into "concrete actions" of mobilization in parliaments, unions, and social movements.
In the bulk of the speech, the ruler followed the regime's usual pattern. He blamed the United States government for the crisis facing Cuba and defended socialism as "the only realistic and humane solution against capitalist barbarism."
To illustrate what he described as the humanitarian impact of the embargo, Díaz-Canel provided figures from the energy sector and the health sector in Cuba. According to the leader, 98,500 patients are waiting on the surgical waiting list, including 12,000 children. There are 34,000 pregnant women who cannot receive sufficient prenatal ultrasounds.
Furthermore, it was stated that 67,000 infants under one year born in recent months lack an updated vaccination schedule and that 117,000 adults and 1,200 children with cancer are not receiving appropriate treatments.
In terms of infant mortality, Díaz-Canel acknowledged that the rate has doubled compared to historical levels of four or five per thousand live births, and currently places it at 9.8.
Regarding the energy crisis, he acknowledged that Cuba experiences blackouts lasting 20 hours or more each day. He attributed part of the problem to the fact that 1,400 MW of distributed generation remains halted due to a lack of fuel.
"If we had those 1,400 MW available every day, the blackouts would only last for 3 hours instead of 20 or more hours, as our people are suffering today," he said.
The ruler also defended the ongoing economic reforms and again dismissed any notions of a shift towards capitalism. "It is a process to invigorate the economy, not to establish capitalism. There will be no extreme privatization. The fundamental means of production will remain in the hands of the people," he stated.
In June, Díaz-Canel had acknowledged to regime officials that there are obstacles not stemming from the blockade, an admission that contrasts with the prevailing tone of Saturday's speech, where the embargo placed almost all responsibility for the country's situation.
Following the conclusion of the meeting, the Palacio de Convenciones will host the conference "Fidel: Legacy and Future," scheduled to run until August 13, the centenary of the late Cuban dictator's death.
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