{"id":946,"date":"2016-10-27T00:45:41","date_gmt":"2016-10-27T00:45:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cuba-venezuela.org\/?p=946"},"modified":"2016-10-28T23:48:46","modified_gmt":"2016-10-28T23:48:46","slug":"historic-vote-at-u-n-against-u-s-blockade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.cuba-venezuela.org\/index.php\/2016\/10\/27\/historic-vote-at-u-n-against-u-s-blockade\/","title":{"rendered":"Historic vote at U.N. against U.S. blockade"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"unvote2016\"<\/a>October 26, 2016<\/p>\n

Twenty-four times before the United Nations General Assembly has voted to condemn the U.S. blockade of Cuba. In a historic vote today, the UNGA did so again for the 25th time, but for the very first time there were no “No” votes at all, as the U.S. and its loyal ally Israel were finally forced by the weight of world opinion to abstain on the vote. The final vote was 191-0-2. The U.S. government frequently uses the phrase “world opinion” on one subject or another when they really mean the opinion of the U.S. and its imperialist allies. This U.N. vote was a demonstration of real<\/em> world opinion. The blockade is still very much in effect, but nevertheless this vote was a historic victory for the Cuban people and its 57-year resistance against the attempt by the U.S. to undermine and overthrow the Cuban Revolution.<\/p>\n

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodr\u00edguez Parrilla delivered a powerful, impassioned, and important speech in support of the resolution. While acknowledging and praising the improvements that have occurred in the last two years in U.S.-Cuba relations, he made clear that the blockade was still very much in effect, and still has severe effects on the Cuban people. He called it “unjust, immoral, inhuman, and illegal.” He also denounced continuing U.S. efforts at subverting the Cuban Revolution, all while it pretends to “respect Cuban sovereignty.”<\/p>\n

That lack of respect was very much in evidence during the speech which preceded Rodr\u00edguez’ \u2014 that of U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power. After announcing the U.S. intention to cast its historic abstention, Power devoted much of her speech to scurrilous attacks on alleged human rights violations in Cuba, and spurious claims such as her claim that the blockade is legal, and her assertion that U.S. policy had been designed to “isolate Cuba”. The real intention of U.S. policy was spelled out in a 1960 State Department memo \u2014 “to bring about hunger, desperation, and overthrow of government.” The Obama administration has brought a “kinder, gentler” face to that policy, but the aim of overturning the Cuban Revolution remains the ultimate goal.<\/p>\n

Bruno Rodr\u00edguez spoke for the entire Cuban people in what was effectively an answer to Powers in his closing words: “We have and we will defend our own values and symbols which we’ll continue to enrich. But they’ll always be Cuban. We will never change them for others that are strange to us. We will struggle to build a sovereign, independent, socialist, democratic, prosperous, and sustainable nation. We will never go back to capitalism. As was stated by the leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, on April 19 last, we will perfect whatever needs to be perfected, with utmost loyalty, and united force, as was done by Mart\u00ed, Maceo, and G\u00f3mez, in an unstoppable march.”<\/p>\n

Listen to Cuban Foreign Minister Rodr\u00edguez’ speech (click here<\/a> for a Spanish-language transcript):<\/em><\/p>\n