Havana, July 16 (RHC)-- Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva sent a message to participants in the 24th Meeting of the Sao Paulo Forum, a space for political agreements of the Left in Latin America and the Caribbean that Lula helped to found together with Fidel Castro in 1990.

Lula affirms in his message that he will not be silenced, and thanks the Havana forum for the support and solidarity shown to him and his Workers' Party, subjected to persecution in Brazil by a right that, he said, does not know how to live in democracy.

Lula recalled that he and Fidel were clear about the importance of that first forum in 1990 in the city of Sao Paulo, convened so that the Left in Latin American and Caribbean could evaluate the impact on the region and the world of the rise of neo-liberal free-market economics.

In his letter to the Havana forum, the former Brazilian president condemns the U.S. blockade against Cuba and the manner in which Washington treats Puerto Rico and other islands in the Caribbean.  He also repudiates the sanctions applied against Venezuela and the threats of armed intervention made by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Lula da Silva voices his wishes for a good meeting in Havana and regrets that his “absurd and Kafkaesque” imprisonment prevents him from personally delivering his message to the gathering.