Chants of “Cuba si! Yankee no!” and “Unblock Cuba!” rang out across Sydney Town Hall Square on March 21 as solidarity activists gathered to demand Australia pressure the US to end its blockade of Cuba.
The rally was part of an international day of action to oppose the US threat and was co-sponsored by the Australia-Cuba Friendship Society (ACFS), the Communist Party of Australia (CPA), Red Spark, Socialist Alliance (SA), Solidarity and Spirit of Eureka.
NSW Greens MP Abigail Boyd said Cuba remains a beacon of hope for millions of people across the globe.
“Cuba remains one of the most enduring symbols of the possibility of an alternative to US-dominated capitalism. To stand with Cuba today is to stand on the right side of history alongside movements for sovereignty, dignity, and social justice across the global south.
“The ongoing US blockade, now in its seventh decade, is not just an economic policy. It is an act of sustained aggression against the self-determination of a people,” Boyd said.
The US embargo is the longest-running economic blockade in modern history, devastating Cuba’s economy over 66 years.
“It is not targeted at a government. It is targeted at a people, restricting access to medicine, food, fuel and technology,” Boyd said, adding that the United Nations General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly to condemn the blockade year after year for more than three decades.
“Cuba’s socialist achievements are worth defending. Their health care system is internationally recognized. Literacy and life expectancy trumps most nations.”
She said Cuba’s struggle is “inseparable from the broader project of international socialism — the idea that people, not capital, should determine the conditions of their lives”.
Paul Keating, Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) Sydney branch secretary, said the US blockade of Cuba “shows the brutality of the system of Western imperialism, headed by the United States”.
He said the MUA proudly stands with Cuba and “our union policy is to fight for socialism internationally”. He called on all unions and the Australian Council of Trade Unions to take a strong stand in support of Cuba.
Larissa Payne, from Progressive International (PI), outlined how Trump had tightened the US blockade against Cuba. “The UN states that Cuba is owed an estimated US$130 billion in damages for the ongoing effects of the blockade.”
She said the blockade’s purpose is to “create desperation” among Cubans and “provoke the overthrow of the Cuban government”. She said PI has organised the Nuestra America convoy to Cuba, including people from around 17 countries, to transport vital medical and food supplies. “In defending Cuba, we are defending humanity!” she concluded.
Bob Treasure, ACFS president, said the “criminal gang currently occupying the US government” is not just threatening Cuba, but the whole world. He moved a resolution calling for the “immediate end to the blockade of Cuba” and “regime change in Washington”, which was supported unanimously.
ACFS chairperson Chela Weitzel urged people to join the upcoming ACFS Southern Cross Solidarity Brigade to Cuba in January 2027. “The situation in Cuba today is dire. Now is the time to go to Cuba and support the courageous people of that country.”
[Contact Sydney ACFS on www.sydney-acfs.github.io for more information on the brigade. For information on the Progressive International-sponsored convoy to Cuba check www.progressive.international or nuestraamericaconvoy.org].
