To all Cuban press workers and particularly to the young people who are making their debut in the profession:
As we celebrate this March 14, Cuban Press Day, we are motivated, first of all, by the duty and emotion of commemorating the birth of the newspaper Patria, founded by José Martí on this day in 1892, “to gather and to love, and to live in the passion of truth”.
I do not believe that more beautiful and accurate words have been said, before or since, to describe the mission of journalism needed by the Revolution in its tireless search for a more just and solidary society. Or as Martí invoked it: “With all and for the good of all”.
That is why we feel the constant need to return to the reasons of our Homeland, every time a day of celebration summons us to the essential reflection on the role of the press in our society.
Because, although it is a day of just tribute to those who, with their dedication and commitment, assume the daily challenge of recording what we are and what we do, in the midst of the fiercest imperial siege, it is also our duty to point out and, if possible, rectify everything that hinders and weakens the communication between the people and those who today assume the responsibility of representing them from the most dissimilar tasks in the Party, the Government, the National Assembly and the political and mass organizations.
Although we are a small archipelago navigating in a world mostly characterized by the use and abuse of information as a weapon of power controlled by a few media conglomerates, which are part of or associated with national and global oligarchies, we are a society free from the subjugation imposed by modern merchants on the exercise of journalism.
But, the Cuban press, with all that has advanced and grown in recent years, continues to suffer the burden of obsolete practices in language, forms and times, as a logical consequence of years of exercise in the trenches.
And because the hour of danger has not passed, these burdens still weigh heavily. But for that same reason, today our press is aggressively challenged by technology and the wonderful originality of our people, to transform itself, creatively, viralizing the “passion for truth” against the obscene invasion of lies and manipulations that assault audiences from digital networks driven by hate.
We have recently called for a new “Vindication of Cuba”, like that exemplary fight by José Martí, from an American newspaper, against those who tried to denigrate our people. It is not about returning hatred to hatred, as the Apostle did not do in his time. It is about opposing the truth of a nation engaged in the search for solutions to imperial harassment, with exemplary dignity that includes the essential self-criticism.
This does not deny, nor can it deny, the irrefutable fact that the Cuban press, the authentic Cuban press, has been and continues to be a bastion of resistance. And that Cuban journalism, over and above nonconformities and demands, has known how to act with the ethics and passion of genuine revolutionaries, deeply committed to the people from which it was born, to the Revolution that formed it and to the values that define us as a nation.
We are all aware of how much the so-called social networks and new technologies have transformed the media landscape, by dint of disinformation, false news and manipulation of public opinion. In this context, Cuban journalism has the responsibility to surpass itself, as a beacon of truthfulness and ethics. We must use digital tools not to follow trends, but to educate, to form conscience and to defend the truth.
In Cuba, the revolutionary press is truly independent, because it is not at the service of capital or foreign interests. It is at the service of the people and that service must be assumed as an obligation to reflect more and better, more integrally, the concerns, achievements and challenges of our society.
At the same time, our press has the freedom that in other places is punished or marginalized, to give voice to the solidarity with the peoples fighting for their liberation, such as the Palestinian people, victims of a war of persecution and extermination and of a media war that seeks to justify the unjustifiable. From Cuba, we will continue to denounce these injustices and amplify the voices of those who fight for peace and the dignity of all peoples, and we count on the Cuban press to be at the forefront.
Today, the Cuban press is in young hands. It is up to you to carry forward the legacy of Martí, of Fidel, of so many journalists who did their work and gave their lives for the Revolution. That legacy is fundamental in the formation of the new generations, not only in the techniques of journalism, but also in the values of ethics, honesty and social commitment, as protagonists of an innovative, critical and revolutionary press.
We believe with Fidel, that "without a revolutionary press, there is no Revolution possible" and that the press must be a bulwark in the defense of truth and justice, and an instrument for the mobilization and awareness of our people. Raúl also reminded us that the press should be a space for debate and reflection, at the service of the people.
In defense of these ideas, we have stressed the need to modernize and transform our political, public and press communication system, urging them to be innovative and to make the most of new technologies. The Social Communication Law, which went into effect in October 2024, is a vital component in the political, economic, social and cultural advancement of our nation.
We are convinced that political and digital communication can and must be an accelerating tool for the construction of a more just and united world. We pledge to continue working together, to strengthen our networks and to carry forward the principles and values we have shared.
Comrades,
On this Press Day, we reaffirm our commitment to truth, justice and the Revolution. The Cuban press is not a business; it is a service. It is not an instrument of domination; it is a tool for liberation.
Let us remain faithful to the legacy of Martí, who said: "The press is not kindly approval or insulting anger; it is proposition, study, examination and advice".
May our press continue to be a light full of truth in the darkness of ideas of the times the world is living in. May it continue to be, as it has always been, an instrument at the service of the homeland, of the people, of Humanity.
Long live the Cuban press!
Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez
First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba
President of the Republic of Cuba
