“Solidarity with Cuba and all peoples in struggle. United we are stronger in the anti-imperialist struggle, together with social and popular movements, in the face of capitalism and its policies, the threat of fascism and war; in defence of peace, of the environment, workers' rights, solidarity and socialism”
October 27 to 29, 2022, Havana, Cuba
Comrades,
It is with great joy that we salute the Communist Party of Cuba, which is hosting the 22nd. International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties (IMCWP) in Havana.
On this occasion, we would like to convey fraternal greetings from Jerónimo de Sousa, General Secretary of the PCP, to Miguel Díaz-Canel, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPC and President of the Republic of Cuba, and through him to the communists and Cuban people.
The holding of the International Meeting in Havana has particular significance, not only because it takes place after a two-year interruption, in the context of the pandemic, thus constituting an important contribution by the Communist Party of Cuba to the resumption of the IMCWP process and to cooperation, reciprocal solidarity and unity in the action of the communist parties, as it represents a timely and relevant expression of solidarity by communists from around the world towards Cuba and its people who, subject to a criminal blockade and successive attacks by imperialism, resist, fight and make advances in the defence of its socialist Revolution.
Cuba represents a remarkable example of courage and determination of a people in struggle in defence of its political, economic, social and cultural conquests and achievements, of firm patriotic and internationalist conduct, of persistent action in favour of the values of freedom, democracy, of social progress, of peace and cooperation, of the cause of the emancipation of the peoples of the world.
The more than six decades of illegal blockade, acts of aggression, sabotage and terrorist destabilization, campaigns of lies and misinformation, promoted by the US against Cuba, do not only aim to affect the Cuban people – hindering their economic and social development and attacking their rights – but also all those around the world who persist in the struggle to defend the rights and sovereignty of peoples.
Valuing the heroic struggle of Cuba and its people, we want to reaffirm to you the solidarity of the Portuguese communists.
Comrades,
Since the holding of the 21st. IMCWP, in 2019, in Izmir, Turkey, and as a result of the increase in imperialism’s exploitative and aggressive offensive, the evolution of the international situation – which continues to be marked by great instability and uncertainty – has witnessed rapid developments and a very serious and dangerous worsening, a situation in which the workers and people face increased threats.
In the context of the deepening of capitalism’s structural crisis, big capital instrumentalised the pandemic situation to impose the worsening of exploitation and social retrogression, promote the concentration and centralisation of wealth, foment reactionary conceptions and anti-communism, attack freedoms and democracy, placing on workers and peoples the costs of a crisis that was announced, brutally aggravating the social and development inequalities between countries.
At the same time, and reaching a qualitatively new and even more serious threshold, North American imperialism dangerously increased its strategy of imposing world hegemonic domination, relying particularly on the alignment and subordination of NATO and the European Union, but also of Japan and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region – a reality that represents the most serious threat facing the peoples of the world and its promoters constitute the main enemy of the forces of social progress and peace.
Using powerful political, economic and military means, the US tries, together with the other major capitalist powers gathered in the G7, to respond to the serious crisis they are facing and to counteract their relative decline, seeking to contain and reverse the process of rearrangement of forces that takes place on the world stage and that objectively questions imperialism’s hegemonic rule.
From the Middle East to Latin America, from Africa to Europe and Asia, imperialism pursues its policy of interference and aggression against countries and peoples who, regardless of their economic and social choices, do not submit to its dictates. A policy that includes the escalation of confrontation and war against the Russian Federation – including the continued expansion of NATO and the inclusion of Ukraine in its warmongering strategy – and the intensification of confrontation against the People’s Republic of China – including the instrumentalization of Taiwan, the creation of AUKUS or the fostering of Quad.
Proclaiming a so-called “rule-based order” determined by itself – in open confrontation with the principles of international relations established with the Victory over Nazi-fascism in World War II and inscribed in the UN Charter –, imperialism redoubles the threats, blackmail, sanctions, seeking to prevent sovereign options for development and international relations, imposing the political and economic isolation of countries and peoples and control over their wealth.
Faced with the difficulties and contradictions with which capitalism is struggling, imperialism’s most reactionary and aggressive sectors are increasingly betting on fascism and war, which increases the risk of a major conflict, constituting an enormous threat to peace, which must not be underestimated.
It is in this context that we observe the worsening of the situation in Europe and the war in Ukraine. A war that has been going on since 2014 and which, in fact, is an expression of a US and NATO war against Russia, in the framework of the strategy of hegemonic dominance of US imperialism, in which Ukraine and the xenophobic and militarist power placed there are used as an instrument of this dangerous warmongering action.
The fact that Russia is a capitalist country, with the class options that result from it in defining its policy, does not limit the objectives of confrontation between the US and that country. The US seeks to condition development, politically dominate and impose control over Russia's vast natural resources and territory, as well as countering its role at the international level, including the development of diversified bilateral relations and the dynamization of spaces for cooperation and multilateral integration.
Aware of the serious dangers that the escalation of war by imperialism entails for the world, the PCP condemns the instigation of confrontation and war in Ukraine, fights for peace and defends a process of dialogue with a view to a political solution of the conflict, a response to the problems of collective security and disarmament in Europe, in compliance with the principles of the UN Charter and the Final Act of the Helsinki Conference.
The PCP also condemns the explicit engagement of the Portuguese Government in the escalation of confrontation, in a clear manifestation of submission to the interests of imperialism, and considers that Portugal must dissociate itself from the aggressive policy of the US, NATO and the EU, and contribute within the scope of its external relations for the peaceful resolution of international conflicts, the dissolution of political-military blocs and peace, in accordance with the principles set out in the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic.
The escalation of the war in Ukraine, instigated by the US, NATO and the EU, is being used to whitewash decisions and policies that imperialism has long adopted and pursues, such as increasing military spending, promoting the arms race , the increase in bellicose alliances and partnerships, the trivialisation of militarism in international relations, as well as to disguise the nature and warmongering path of NATO and its offensive character, again menacingly patent in the conclusions of its Summit of June 29 and 30 , in Madrid.
The war in Ukraine is also being used as a pretext to further attack freedoms and rights, for falsification, discrimination, manipulation and censorship of information in order to impose a single thought, to whitewash and vulgarize reactionary and fascist conceptions, paving the way to the extreme right, and promoting anti-communism, attacking democracy, repressing and criminalising processes of struggle and the forces that resist exploitation and oppression – a dangerous drift in which agencies and information centres linked to imperialism hold a role fundamental role.
At the same time, the instigation of confrontation and the spiral of sanctions carried out by the US, NATO and the EU are dragging the world towards an even more deteriorated economic and social situation and growing social and development inequalities between countries. As happened with the pandemic, the use of sanctions by big capital, which translates into a colossal increase in the profits of multinationals, becomes increasingly evident with the spiral of speculation, the increase in energy and food prices and other essential goods, the attack on living conditions and the increase of poverty and hunger worldwide.
The ongoing operation of placing the causes of the main scourges that affect Humanity only on the war in Ukraine aims to take away the responsibility from capitalism, deepen exploitation and speculation, provide cover for the continuation of the policy of confrontation and domination.
In this context and despite the growing number of contradictions, the alignment and subordination of the European Union to the strategy of hegemonic dominance of the US is clear, accepting the evident economic impacts that are felt in the countries of Europe, far greater than those in the US, and imposing sacrifices on workers and peoples who, under the brutal impact of rising prices of basic necessities, see their living conditions significantly deteriorate and their labour and social rights being attacked – a reality that reveals the role and responsibilities of social democracy, surrendered to neoliberalism and militarism, along with the right, in the advance of the most reactionary and warmongering conceptions and forces.
The worsening situation in Europe reaffirms that the effective response to the aspirations of workers and peoples involves a break with the neoliberal, federalist and militarist policies of the European Union, and the conquest in Europe of a path of cooperation between sovereign States with equal rights, of social progress and peace, of a Europe of workers and peoples.
Comrades
If the evolution of the international situation holds serious and dangerous developments in the face of imperialism's exploitative and aggressive onslaught, it also highlights that the resistance and struggle of the workers and peoples continues everywhere - in the most varied conditions, adopting various forms and pointing to diversified immediate aims -, proving the existence of potential for the development of the struggle for progressive and revolutionary transformations - resistance and struggle that are of great importance and that it is essential to value.
In the current international context, it is crucial to strengthen the anti-imperialist struggle and internationalist solidarity, above all with the peoples who resist imperialism’s violent action, as well as with the many and diverse struggles of workers and peoples that take place around the world, namely in Latin America and the Caribbean –as in Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela or Colombia and Brazil, but also in Palestine, Western Sahara, Syria, Yemen, among many other examples.
In view of the seriousness of the current moment at the international level and the serious dangers facing peoples, it is particularly important to develop the struggle for peace, against fascism and war, against the escalation of confrontation, aggression and interference by imperialism, against the enlargement of NATO and for its dissolution, against the militarisation of the EU, for agreements on the control, limitation and reduction of armaments, for the abolition of nuclear weapons, for the lifting of sanctions and blockades, for respect for the rights and sovereignty of peoples, for the principles of the United Nations Charter and the Final Act of the Helsinki Conference.
For the PCP, the struggle against the threat of fascism, against militarism and the aggressions of imperialism, in defence of peace and disarmament, are inseparable from the broader struggle against exploitation and oppression, for sovereignty and democracy, for social progress; are inseparable from the struggle of workers for their class interests and the struggle of the broad social front built with the mobilisation of the working class and other anti-monopoly classes and strata – a dynamic in which the struggle for concrete and immediate objectives is a basic and essential factor of resistance and advancement of social transformation, of the struggle for the strategic objective of the revolutionary overcoming of capitalism.
Aware of the dangers, but also of the potential that the international situation entails, the PCP remains committed to contributing to the strengthening of the international communist and revolutionary movement and to the deepening of its cooperation, reciprocal solidarity and unity in action, as well as the convergence of a broad anti-imperialist front, which stops the offensive of imperialism and paves the way for the construction of a new international order of peace, sovereignty and social progress.
In the PCP’s appreciation, the necessary path for the deepening of mutual knowledge and understanding, of the fraternal examination of natural differences of opinion, and even of divergences, of the approximation of political and ideological positions, of unity in the action of the international communist and revolutionary movement, involves valorising what unites us and observing the basic principles of relations between communist parties, such as independence, equality, mutual respect and non-interference in the internal affairs of other parties.
The PCP also considers that the diversity of situations, phases and stages of the revolutionary struggle in each country, in addition to not constituting an obstacle to the essential unity in action against the common enemy, is an enriching factor of the experience of each and every one of the revolutionary forces.
It is to this path of strengthening the international communist and revolutionary movement, of deepening its unity, cooperation and solidarity, that the PCP will remain committed.
Comrades,
Portugal is strongly affected by negative developments at the international level, the consequences of which are reflected in the life of the country.
Although important issues resulting from the defence, restoration and achievement of rights continue to be expressed in the Portuguese reality, gained through the struggle of the workers and the people and through the intervention of the PCP in the last 6 years, the situation is marked by the rapid degradation of the economic and social situation, namely with a serious worsening of living conditions, as a result of the policy of the current Government of the Socialist Party with an absolute majority, of commitment to the interests of big capital, of submission to the dictates of the European Union and of subservience to the strategy of confrontation by the US, EU and NATO, insisting on options that do not answer the problems of the workers and people, and that were already present in the State Budget presented in October 2021, which the PCP rejected.
In a complex and demanding context, the PCP is committed to organising and mobilising the Portuguese workers and people in the fight against the rising cost of living and the attacks that, under multiple pretexts, are being carried out against labour and social rights and democratic freedoms. Valuing the small and large struggles that are taking place in our country, such as the great demonstrations of the CGTP-IN, on October 15, and promoting its expansion and elevation to a higher level.
At the same time, the PCP is committed to the development of the struggle for peace, against war and sanctions, against submission to NATO and for its dissolution, for a policy of national independence, evident in the demonstrations for peace held on October 26 and 27.
The Portuguese Communist Party, a Party with more than 100 years of history, continues with determination the work of the Portuguese Communists in defence of the interests and aspirations of the working class and other anti-monopoly classes, defending and promoting the achievements, values and heritage of the April Revolution, one of the greatest historical achievements of our people, which will celebrate its fiftieth anniversary in 2024.
The PCP, which celebrated its centenary in 2021, confidently continues the fight to break with decades of right-wing policies, for a patriotic and left-wing alternative that paves the way for the implementation of our Programme of an advanced democracy, with the values of the April Revolution in the future of Portugal, for socialism.
A path that poses as a fundamental issue the organic strengthening of the PCP, the constant deepening of its roots in the working class, in the workers and in the people, of its connection to the Portuguese reality, articulating the struggle for immediate objectives with the struggle for its broader objectives , reaffirming its communist identity and its revolutionary project – which will be the motto of the National Conference that our Party will hold this coming November 12 and 13.
It is this path that the PCP will continue with unwavering determination, rooted on a firm commitment to the Portuguese workers and people, honouring its dimension and path as a patriotic and internationalist party.
Capitalism, the deepening of its structural crisis, its exploitative, oppressive, aggressive and predatory nature, its inability to respond to Humanity's problems and aspirations, the threats and dangers it entails, raise with redoubled topicality the need for anti-monopolist and anti-imperialist transformations, for the development of revolutionary processes that aim at socialism. Articulating the struggle for immediate objectives with the struggle for the strategic objective, regardless of the phases and stages and the forms that the processes come to assume, according to the concrete situation of each country, it is the substitution of capitalism by socialism that, in the 21st century, remains inscribed as the most solid perspective of evolution of Humanity.
Long live proletarian internationalism!
Long live internationalist solidarity!
