Sao Paulo, November 23 (RHC)-- Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was awarded the 'Carlos Manuel de Céspedes' Order on Frinday.

The distinction is granted by the President of the Republic of Cuba.

The Chargé d'Affaires of the Cuban Embassy in Brasilia, Rolando Gómez, delivered the Order to Lula on the opening day of the 7th Congress of the Workers' Party (PT) underway in Sao Paulo.

The Order, signed by the president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, is conferred to Cuban and foreign citizens who stand out in the struggle for national liberation.   It is also awarded for the friendship shown towards the Cuban Revolution or for the international prestige achieved in the political, social or economic struggles in favor of the peoples or for valuable contributions to the consolidation of peace and peaceful coexistence.

Recently, the founder of the PT described as shameful the vote of the government of Jair Bolsonaro in the United Nations in favor of the blockade that the United States has imposed on Cuba for almost six decades.