INDIA: Cuba's revolution popular in Mumbai

Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 11:00

Kathy Newnam, Mumbai

One of the most popular images at the January 16-21 World Social Forum was the face of Che Guevara. This not only reflected the radical mood of the WSF, but also the depth of solidarity with the Cuban Revolution. The delegation from Cuba included Jose Manuel Galego Montano, the Asia-Pacific representative of Cuba's international solidarity organisation.

Washington's "war on terror" is nothing but hypocrisy, Montano told Green Left Weekly. "The Cuban Revolution has suffered 45 years of terrorist attacks against it. The US invented terrorism against Cuba, including the hijacking of Cuban airplanes and ships. We are against terrorism."

"We are against war. War can't resolve the problems of poverty", Montano continued. "In Iraq, the occupation by the US cannot resolve the problems. Only Iraqi people can resolve Iraq's problems."

The anti-war sentiment that infused the WSF was directed not only against the war in Iraq, but also against the wars "in Afghanistan, in Palestine ... and [against] the policies of the US against the Cuban Revolution", Montano noted.

Montano explained how the Cuban delegation worked very hard to explain Cuba's situation to WSF participants, highlighting the impact of the 45-year US economic embargo on Cuba. The delegation also explained how five Cubans are imprisoned in the US on charges of espionage. The truth is that the five were gathering information on people plotting terrorist acts against Cuba because Washington refused to act.

Montano described how Latin America was experiencing an upsurge in anti-imperialist and class struggle. "The Venezuelan revolution is fighting to improve the situation. There are new [progressive] governments in Brazil and Bolivia. The left is making gains in Uruguay, El Salvador, Panama. It is a continent in movement. The people are seeking alternatives for a better life."

This is creating difficulties for the US government, which wants to maintain the conservative status quo in South America. "It is impossible for them to continue to control all the people, all the parties, all the ideas. They cannot control the people."

From Green Left Weekly, January 28, 2004.

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