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Black Lives Matter, the political-social movement that claims to fight against “systemic racism” in the United States and defines itself as an anti-capitalist organization, came out in defense of the Castro regime after the Cuban people massively took to the streets demanding the end of the communist dictatorship.
The organization, founded in 2013, is not only a simple supposedly anti-racist movement, but also a Marxist initiative that has gained fame and presence globally. Black Lives Matter has, after all, ties to the Sao Paulo Forum and its founders are openly communist.
The latest proof that Black Lives Matter supports Marxist ideas and their representatives in the world is its communiqué in support of the Cuban dictatorship, led for years by the Castro brothers, and today presided over by Miguel Díaz-Canel.
The BLM communiqué, full of falsehoods and disinformation spread by the regime for years, is an apological defense of Castroism and a request for the Biden administration to reverse the sanctions against the regime.
Black Lives Matter’s statement: a full-throated defense of Castroism
“Black Lives Matter condemns the U.S. federal government’s inhumane treatment of Cubans, and urges it to immediately lift the economic embargo,” so begins the Marxist organization’s communiqué. “This cruel and inhumane policy, instituted with the explicit intention of destabilizing the country and undermining Cubans’ right to choose their own government, is at the heart of Cuba’s current crisis. Since 1962, the United States has forced pain and suffering on the people of Cuba by cutting off food, medicine and supplies, costing the tiny island nation an estimated $130 billion.”
This first paragraph already contains several erroneous facts. First, Black Lives Matter accuses the United States of “undermining Cubans’ right to choose their own government” through the economic embargo. This is false. Cuba is a one-party dictatorship where opposition parties are banned and dissent is systematically persecuted by regime forces.
Second, BLM says that the embargo prevents the entry of food, medicine and supplies to the island. That is also false. The U.S. economic embargo against Cuba only applies to U.S. companies; Cuba has the right to trade with 85% of the free world and, in fact, does so without major inconvenience. In addition, the embargo has a number of exceptions, because if an American company obtains a license to import to the island it could take products such as food, software and medicines, among other things.
In fact, the United States exports about $277 million worth of goods to Cuba each year and about $180 million of Cuba’s imports from the United States are foodstuffs.
The narrative that the U.S. economic blockade of Cuba is the main cause of the island’s financial problems is a lie spread by Castroism. That fallacy, at the end of the day, serves as an excuse to cover up government mismanagement and the failure of the communist economic model.
If Cuba cannot import enough food, basic supplies and medicines for its population, it is because of a fiscal deficit, lack of added value and, in short, an impoverished country due to the economic failure generated by the dictatorship.
Despite the fact that Black Lives Matter’s arguments are weak, the anti-racist group continued to disseminate information apologetic to the regime: “Without that money (the $130 billion that the U.S. supposedly made the island lose), it is harder for Cuba to acquire medical equipment needed to develop its own COVID-19 vaccines and equipment for food production. This comes in spite of the country’s strong medical care and history of lending doctors and nurses to disasters around the world.”
The success of Cuban medicine is a myth spread for years by officialdom. Moreover, if today Cuba does not have medical supplies or vaccines for COVID-19, it is because the regime did not want to register in the COVAX mechanism, supposedly to manufacture its own vaccines, and because they have preferred to import weapons from Canada instead of basic necessities.
In fact, the Castro regime itself blocks and limits imports of food and medicine to the island. This July 14, as a result of the massive protests, the regime had to remove tariffs and import limits.
What Black Lives Matter states in the communiqué is far from reality. However, despite the fact that Cubans are in the streets fighting against a tyrannical one-party system, the organization called on the Biden administration to lift sanctions and the embargo.
“Now, we look to President Biden to end the embargo, something Barack Obama called for in 2016. This embargo is a blatant human rights violation and it must come to an end.”
Black Lives Matter, which claims to fight police brutality in the U.S., came out to defend a regime that is sustained by the brutality of its repressive state-controlled forces.
Emmanuel Alejandro Rondón is a journalist at El American specializing in the areas of American politics and media analysis // Emmanuel Alejandro Rondón es periodista de El American especializado en las áreas de política americana y análisis de medios de comunicación.
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