Cuban youth leader to tour

Cuban youth leader to tour

By Roberto Jorquera

Alejandro Herrera Agete from the Union of Young Communists (UJC) in Cuba will be in Sydney from May 23 to June 2. His visit, which will include a series of student and public meetings on the current situation facing the Cuban people, is part of a tour which will include New Zealand and the Philippines.

Herrera Agete is 27 years old. Formerly a computer engineer at a steelworks, he is currently a member of the Havana province bureau of the UJC. He is also a former member of the national swimming team.

Marnie Kennedy from the Cuban Youth Tour Committee told Green Left Weekly, "Alejandro is keen to give an insider's account of life in Cuba — the effect of the current economic crisis and the determination of ordinary Cubans to find solutions and defend their independence and the gains they have achieved. He will be inviting people who want to find out more to attend an international festival on the theme 'Cuba Lives' to be held in Cuba this August."

Kennedy said that "This is the first time a Cuban youth leader has visited Australia. Being able to hear the views of a member of the younger generation in Cuba will provide an insight into why so many have chosen to continue with the revolution and what have been the impacts of the US economic embargo and the collapse of the Soviet Union."

Public meetings have been organised at all of Sydney's universities. For further information or to arrange a meeting or interview, contact Marnie Kennedy on 281 3297, Rosemarie Slip on 850 7629 or Roberto Jorquera on 690 1977.

From GLW issue 187