Developments in Latin America and
the Caribbean
November 15, a Day of Celebration in Cuba
In Cuba, November 15 was the day of celebration
it was meant to be. First and foremost, it was a
celebration of what was accomplished through the
herculean effort of its scientists, medical
personnel, government and people as together they
wrestled to the ground a months-long merciless
third wave of COVID-19.
The tone had been set two days before with a
48-hour sit-in at Havana's Central Park organized
mainly by young people who call themselves the Red
Bandana collective. They describe themselves as
social media activists, involved in community
projects and civil society organizations, who have
come together to demonstrate their support for the
emancipatory Revolution, and to oppose the
unconventional warfare methods being used against
Cuba and any attempt to re-colonize the island.
Celebrations on November 15 began in the morning
with the completion of the phased return to
in-person classes for Cuba's elementary and
secondary students. On the same day, Cuba's
borders reopened to international tourism, along
with other sectors of its productive economy, and
social and cultural spaces, after months of being
shut down as part of the national effort to bring
the pandemic under control.
On November 14,
President Miguel Díaz-Canel joined the Red
Bandanas sit-in during a closing concert and
sing-along.
Cuba Vive! Cuba Lives!
In August, new cases of COVID-19 reached well
over 9,000 a day for a time in Cuba at the peak of
the third wave, driven by the Delta variant. Some
four months later, on December 10, active cases
numbered 441. Cuba's success in dramatically
reducing the number of new cases and deaths due to
the pandemic has occurred simultaneously with a
massive vaccination campaign that enjoys broad
public support. Everyone from the age of two years
and up has access to Cuba's own Abdala, Soberana
02 and Soberana Plus vaccines.
As of December 7, more than 82 per cent of the
population were reported to be fully vaccinated
and over 90 per cent had received at least one
dose. In addition, those working in all aspects of
the tourism industry who deal directly with
international visitors, whether in airports, as
part of the transportation network, or at hotels
and resorts, have begun receiving booster shots.
Schools Reopened for In-Person Classes
School
reopening ceremony in Havana attended by
President Miguel Díaz-Canel.
Celebrations and happy reunions of students with
their teachers and classmates were the highlight
of the return to in-person learning at elementary
and secondary schools across the country. All
classes had been delivered via television since
January. The main ceremony launching the the
school year for primary school students was held
at Pedro Domingo Murillo elementary school in
Ciudad Escolar Libertad in Havana with President
Miguel Díaz-Canel, Education Minister Ena Elsa
Velázquez and other dignitaries in attendance.
On November 15, the last group of the country's
1,700,000 students returned to in-person classes
-- some 700,000 pupils from preschool to Grade 5
-- along with some students in higher grades in
certain provinces where the start date had been
delayed. The staggered return to school was linked
to the vaccination schedules for children of
different ages. The vast majority of students,
teachers and education workers are now fully
vaccinated. Other public health measures being
followed in schools include masking, maintaining
physical distancing, frequent hand washing and
sanitizing and daily screening for symptoms. If
necessary, the daily timetable will be adjusted to
provide for two separate sessions in order to
avoid crowded classrooms.
President
Miguel Díaz-Canel greets returning students.
International Tourism Returns
Cuba also reopened its borders to international
flights on November 15, with planeloads of
tourists heading for destinations in selected
areas. Twenty international flights were scheduled
to arrive that day at Havana's José Martí
International Airport with 60 more arrivals at
airports around the island. By the end of December
as the reopening of the tourism sector gradually
progresses and expands, Cuba expects to receive
more than 400 international flights a week.
One of the first groups to arrive on November 15
was a 75-member delegation of the 31st U.S.-Cuba
Friendshipment Caravan, a project of the New York
City-based Interreligious Foundation for Community
Organization (IFCO)/Pastors for Peace.
Participants brought with them over two tons of
medical aid collected from communities around the
United States.
"We firmly believe that it is essential to lift
up the tremendous progress that Cuba has been able
to achieve despite the blockade and the pandemic,"
said IFCO Executive Director Gail Walker. "We
applaud Cuba's ability to open schools and
borders. We marvel at Cuba's fight against COVID
with more than 70 per cent of its population fully
vaccinated and 95 per cent of young people from
age two to 18 having received one vaccine shot,
despite the U.S. government blocking Cuba's
ability to purchase the raw materials necessary to
create the vaccine and preventing international
shipments of syringes to the island."
On November 20, the 27th Che Guevara Volunteer
Work Brigade, a project of the Canadian Network on
Cuba arrived for a two-week stay in Havana and
Varadero. Plans are also in place for the 28th
Brigade to visit Cuba April 27-May 10, 2022.
Anyone interested in joining the 28th brigade is
invited to register. Information and the
registration form can be found here.
"Marches for Change" Fail to Take Place
The much ballyhooed N15 "civic marches for
change" that were supposed to take place all over
the island on November 15 as a sequel to the
violent disturbances of July 11 never
materialized. The likes of U.S. Secretary of State
Antony Blinken publicly egged on the Cuban people
and prodded U.S. allies to support the protests
despite Cuban authorities making clear that
another round of street actions led by the same
U.S.- funded "dissidents" responsible for the
violence and vandalism on July 11 would not be
permitted.
In a television interview, Foreign Minister Bruno
Rodríguez commented on the tranquility and
celebratory mood that prevailed in Havana and
other parts of the country on November 15. He said
that in spite of attempts by toxic platforms --
based mainly in Southern Florida -- to create an
artificial image, alien to what was actually
happening in Cuba's streets, they did not succeed.
Regarding his U.S. counterpart Blinken, Rodríguez
obviously included him among those who on November
15 found themselves all dressed up with no place
to go, as he put it.
And what of Yunior García Aguilera, leader of the
Archipiélago Platform, outed agent of the
U.S.-regime change apparatus and putative leader
of the civil society "freedom" movement in Cuba?
November 15 found him lamenting on social media
that he and others of his ilk had been deprived of
their rights, "blocked" inside their homes by
fellow citizens who had gathered outside their
doors to accuse them of working for the enemy of
the Cuban people and its very real, very deadly
blockade. Even though it may be but a small
victory in the 62-year dirty war the U.S. has
waged against their country, it gave Cubans
another reason to celebrate on November 15.
By the next day Yunior was photographed walking
through Havana's international airport on his way
to board a flight to Spain, where he remains.
There he has been giving press conferences and
posing for photos with Leopoldo López, mentor of
the U.S. puppet Juan Guaidó and reported
mastermind of their multiple failed attempts to
violently overthrow the Venezuelan government, and
talking about the need for coup plotters like
themselves and those in Nicaragua, to coordinate
their efforts.
 
New York City,
November 15, 2021
This article was published in
Volume 51 Number 12 - December 12, 2021
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2021/Articles/M5101213.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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