By Gustavo A. Maranges
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel warmly welcomed Arce by saying: “it is been a long time since we do not receive brothers here in the Palace of the Revolution.” It is the first visit of a President to Cuba since the island re-opened its borders, and set the course to the normalization of life in the country after overcoming the worse stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the talks with Diaz-Canel, Arce spoke on behalf of his people and offered his shoulders to keep helping Cuba amid the economic sanctions and the destabilizations plans from the United States.
Both leaders agreed on fostering economic exchanges and strengthening bilateral cooperation to benefit not only Cuba and Bolivia but the entire region, especially those with fewer possibilities, regardless of their political orientation. These statements show the spirit of the new Latin American integration scheme reinvigorated at the Summit , which is already miles ahead of the inhuman neoliberal paradigm, which filters countries and people by their economic capacity and political orientation.
President Diaz-Canel also showed his admiration and respect for Bolivians, who stood firm and together to revert the coup democratically. It is remarkable coming from the President of a country that has resisted for over 60 years the aggression from the same forces that overthrew popular Evo Moralez in 2019.
Arce came to Cuba with a heart full of love since the island was one of the most supportive countries for Evo after the coup. He also arrived in Havana with a second donation of 15 tons of food and 5 tons of medicines. This gesture proves his strong commitment to assisting the Cuban people, the same way that Cuba did to Bolivia without expecting anything back, and with the only intention of saving lives and teaching people.
The bilateral cooperation grew year after year during Evo’s administration, but during and after the 2019 coup, Cuban doctors were mistreated and expelled from the country, and diplomatic ties were abruptly ended. Arce on his official visit epitomized the humble nature that characterizes the Andean nation and he offered a public apology to the Cuban people for the way the doctors, teachers and sports trainers were treated after giving so much. Later on, he announced the re-establishment of the cooperation agreements in the health, education, and sports sectors with the reinforcement of the ongoing projects, and the beginning of some others.
In this framework, two major joint ventures will be established to satisfy the two most urgent needs in the ongoing regional context; food and medicine. The announcement came after Arce’s visit to the Center of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB), where Cuban scientists produced the anti-COVID-19 vaccine Abdala together along with another 80 biotechnological products. Cuba has long-standing expertise in the biotechnological industry, and Bolivia is in a position now to profit from it and expand its benefits to the region. “Nobody wants to become a millionaire here,” said Arce, stressing that any bilateral project will only have in mind the well being of people.
This is a very important visit for both countries and an important building block for regional unity. On one side, Cuba needs to strengthen economic ties with its regional partners to circumvent US sanctions, which have pummeled the island during the pandemic years. Bolivia is a good alternative. The South American country still has a resilient economy that could help Cuba get through this difficult period. It was also an important market for Cuban medical services exports, which had a core role in the social policies of Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) governments. Amid the COVID-19, Cuba is a reliable partner to get enough vaccines, mainly pediatric and booster doses, since Bolivia has already bought the necessary vaccines to inoculate its entire population with a two-shot vaccination scheme.
This kind of exchange proves that, despite its limitations, South-South cooperation can be mutually beneficial. Cuba and Bolivia resumed bilateral relations in October because real friends last forever. Since then, both countries have engaged in every international and bilateral forum to fight for third-world countries’ right to develop in peace.
With all this in mind, it is clear that the only possible way for Latin America to develop goes through its union and backing of each other.
Source: Resumen Latinoamericano – English
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