Photo: Digital Proposal
By: Pedro Martínez Pírez.
At midnight on Friday 29th, the 30th anniversary that Fidel Castro received in Láncara, a municipality in the Galician province of Lugo, the cottage where his father was born, now turned into a museum I got a call from a lovely Dominican friend, happy to have been received by the President of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel.
It was then that I saw the end of the volleyball match between the Czech Republic and Cuba teams, which was won by supporters of the famous Caribbean mulatto women.
The call was made by Martha Pérez, a valuable assistant to Miguel Mejía, Secretary General of the United Left, the man who invited me to the Dominican Republic in 1999 to interview President Leonel Fernández who died on the IX. Ibero should attend -American Summit in La Havana and will pay an official visit to Cuba.
Tireless in solidarity with Cuba, Miguel Radio Habana Cuba wanted to give his assessment of this meeting at the Palace of the Revolution, which was also attended by Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez and Ángel Arzuaga Reyes, Deputy Head of the International Relations Department of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party.
Mejía recalled that Leonel Fernández was the Dominican President who had the merit and courage to restore relations with Cuba after 29 years of diplomatic distance.
The interview I did with Ferández at the National Palace in Santo Domingo was also broadcast on Cuban television, allowing many people to meet the President of Quisquey, who would be visiting Cuba for the first time and at the same time helping to promote the holding of the Ninth Iberoamerican Summit in Havana.
Miguel Mejía stressed that he has known Díaz-Canel for a long time and they met once in Managua, Nicaragua. Also to Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez for his roles as Minister of Integration in the Dominican government.
We have formed a bond that transcends the institutional framework because affection, identity and empathy have been developed through the work dynamic.
“I felt like family at this meeting, which I did not expect, because my visit to Cuba on this occasion is aimed at restoring my health, for which I also thanked President Díaz Canel and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodríguez, who showed me solidarity and support so that I attended CIREN, the International Center for Neurological Reconstruction”.
I reminded Mejía that Professor Juan Bosch’s Cuban wife, Doña Carmen Quidiello, who recently died in Santo Domingo at the age of 105, was also treated at CIREN, where I visited her on her recent trip to Cuba.
In this interview, Miguel Mejía wanted to state, for the knowledge of the peoples of Cuba, the Dominican Republic and all friends and relatives in the world, “I feel very healthy because all the assessments that have been made have been positive”.
Throughout the interview, Mejía reiterated his gratitude to the Cuban authorities. And he said that the supportive and family atmosphere during the meeting with Díaz-Canel, Bruno Rodríguez and Arzuaga made it possible to analyze what was happening in Cuba, the Dominican Republic, the Caribbean and Central America.
“We had many coincidences in the approach and above all the emphasis on how to keep the flame of solidarity with Cuba, a country that has been a great reference for humanity and that has already suffered for more than sixty years from a criminal blockade and economic terrorism “, underlined the chairman of the MIU.
Mejía added that despite all the economic difficulties Cuba is facing, its friends around the world recognize that the main cause of the inadequacies is simply the blockade of the United States and its allies.
At another point in the dialogue, Miguel Mejia commented: “No one can imagine how Cuba, which is not a perfect society, has managed to survive in the face of economic terrorism that its people have suffered, and that is part of the admiration and respect that humanity feels for Cuba”.
The MIU leader highlighted the Cuban battle in international forums, the solidarity campaign taking place around the world, as well as the solidarity position represented by the friendly governments of Venezuela, Russia, China, Korea, Vietnam and Nicaragua, among others. Other.
Mejía pointed out that Cuba keeps its morale high and defends its right to survive. The only crime Cuba had committed, he stressed, was making sovereign decisions in favor of the people. That is why I believe that the flame of solidarity with Cuba will be kept alive in the world.
He ended the interview by recalling the Dominican Máximo Gómez, his enormous contribution to the struggle for Cuban independence and his close friendship with José Martí.
“You see, the Secretary General of MIU stressed, I have always said that there is no country in the world that has as many common and historical roots as the Dominican Republic and Cuba. For this reason, in addition to the differences due to the political and ideological systems and in homage to this historical legacy, the unity, rapprochement and good relations between our two countries must be maintained above all. It is about achieving unity in diversity.”
Havana, July 30, 2022.