Díaz-Canel: Heroes are all those who do not believe in defeat 

“It would be a dream to come to this National Assembly of People's Power saying that we defeated the blockade and got off the spurious list of countries sponsoring terrorism, but that has no expiration date,” said Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic during the closing of the Fourth Ordinary Period of Sessions of the 10th Legislature of the National Assembly of People's Power.

He added that Cuba is the country with more years under the criminal blockade of the United States. However, it is not the only one.

 “Therefore, in response to the political, economic and global imbalances, we have proposed to join forces to overcome the current circumstances,” he said.

The Cuban people will not tire of fighting against fascist and capitalist tendencies, and will continue to bet on a Marxist model, he added.

Likewise, he pointed out that the order for which the largest of the Antilles must bet on must be fair, end aggression, usurpation and threat.

“It is unavoidable to act in that sense, and it is ratified that there will be no lack of strength to act”, he pointed out.

Regarding the recovery from natural disasters, the President emphasized that during this year, provinces and municipalities have been visited, in which an intangible and enormous value is perceived.

There have been 130 visits to provinces, including 19 to municipalities that have been affected by natural events, of which the aftermath can still be perceived.

He pointed out that, in the exchanges with the people, the importance of stimulating, systematizing and seeking work solutions so that everything good becomes a reference, “lessons we learned from Fidel, of always seeking solutions for the people”.

In these visits, he added, the country's efforts are multiplied and it is confirmed that there are ways out, therefore it is an example of creative resistance.

On the international context, he referred to the worrying situation we have gone through this year “with the expansionist ambition of imperialism and genocide”.

Israel's genocide, the ambition to design an expansionist map, the aggression against Lebanon, ethnic supremacy and contempt for races, are slanders to humanity, he pointed out.

With respect to the new U.S. government, he stressed that Cuba must remain on alert, but without fear, because the acts of the criminal essence of capitalism will continue.

“We are willing to dialogue with the U.S. on an equal footing,” he said.

It ends a difficult year, in which the last months have been particularly complex with the occurrence of hurricanes, two intense earthquakes and an energy emergency with all its consequences and damage to the infrastructure of the system of essential services for the people, Diaz-Canel recalled.

As a result of these phenomena, more than 150,000 homes were affected, as well as the dramatic loss of property and family possessions.

However, said the President, 20% of the affected houses have been recovered, while the damage to the electrical infrastructure was recovered in less than a month in the affected territories.

Work has also been done in the recovery of the affected irrigation machines, plantations and agricultural infrastructure.

The Head of State highlighted how in the midst of this adverse scenario, the Cuban people once again demonstrated their resilience. “This is not the first time that the heroism of the Cuban people has been demonstrated in all its value”.

He also said that the economic problems have been constantly addressed through the implementation of the strategy to eradicate distortions and revive the economy, in order to change the existing situation in the shortest possible time.

We are practically living day by day another , admitted Díaz-Canel, and reiterated that there are many complaints from the people about the delay and fragmentation of the standard family basket, the distribution of milk, bread, gas and medicines, among other basic and essential products for daily life.

“We live with a lot of tension in the management of each one of them and it is good to explain this so that it is understood that this does not happen because we are standing idly by,” he said.

 In this respect, he pointed out that it is necessary to identify the increased costs as a consequence of the blockade, and then there are the high daily exercises to decide where to put the very limited foreign currency we have. We are talking about a direct effect on the people as a result of a measure taken by the U.S. government, he added.

On the other hand, he informed that the Government's projections for the re-boosting of the economy are beginning to show positive signs, although still with a limited impact.

In this sense, he mentioned three prioritized programs:

The first one is food production, especially those of the agricultural program, which even though it does not reach the desired levels managed this year 2024 to increase the levels of sowing in relation to preceding campaigns.

For this, he said, fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation machines and fuel were available, together with the commitment of the farmers and the collectives that applied agroecological techniques and did not allow themselves to give up in the face of difficulties.

By 2025, the municipal balances of food production will be taken into account in the plan and foreign currency allocation schemes will be implemented to stimulate and make sustainable the production of grains, reducing the importation of products that we can produce in the country, while national strategies for rice production are already being developed through entrepreneurship with the participation of different countries and with the Popular Rice program.

On the other hand, the strategy to strengthen the national energy system, which includes a large investment to promote renewable energies, is possibly the most important and transcendent thing we are carrying out, said Díaz Canel.

This will help to create not only generation capacities, but also a more optimal use of fuels that today are used to generate electricity, which can be used directly in the economy for production.

It is an investment that covers the whole country, therefore we must all feel responsible and promote the responsibility of this issue we are dealing with and protect the resources that are being invested there, he stressed.

Likewise, it is estimated to close the year with a 46% reduction of the fiscal deficit approved in the law.

This allows us to work in 2025 with a deficit of 88 billion pesos, which I am sure we can reduce, said the President.

He also pointed out that the exchange rate in the market has stabilized, the inflation rate has decreased and tax evasion has been reduced.

 To this end, action has been taken to address the high levels of tax evasion and other issues that have a negative impact on the country's economic dynamics. However, there is still much work to be done.

“It will always be time to rectify”, assured the Head of State. From Fidel and Raúl we learned the importance of rectifying any mistake that may threaten the socialist future of the Homeland. In this sense, the country makes daily efforts so that all Cubans can fully develop in the Revolution.

Referring to the composition of the Parliament, the President acknowledged that “there is no assembly in the world where the people look more like the people they represent.

Therefore, in today's Cuba it is not necessary to walk very far to find the heroines and heroes of the people. He assured that they are in any corner and do not think about medals, but about moving the country forward.

“Heroes are all, absolutely all those who do not believe in defeat. They are invincible heroes,” said Díaz-Canel.

As if the war waged by the empire were not enough, he recalled that nature has added to the challenges, but in the face of all the phenomena, we have only seen the dedication of the people to rise up.

Who can dare to tell those brave people who spent weeks in the recovery that the Revolution is over, he questioned.

Cuba is made up of many and small homelands, and there, where it is becoming more difficult, the heroic fiber of the people is present.

With that same attitude, he called to march today to demand the end of the blockade and to celebrate, free and sovereign, the 66th anniversary of the triumph of the Cuban Revolution,

 “If we have withstood so many shots, it is because we are still strong. With the history that precedes us and the people we have, the only alternative is to fight until victory, always!