Cuba does not need affection because it has plenty of it, it needs more recognition for its merits. Photo: Prensa Latina

Havana, July 5 (RHC)-- Cuba does not need affection because it has more than enough; it needs greater recognition for its merits, said Alicia Rodriguez, member of the Juan Rius Rivera Puerto Rican solidarity brigade.

After 16 trips to the largest of the Antilles, Rodriguez considered that one of the most important actions developed is to teach about the reality of Cuba, so that Puerto Ricans, especially young people, are not mislead by what is reflected in the press.

In that sense, he highlights the presence of young people in the XXXI brigade convened by the Cuba Solidarity Committee of Puerto Rico, most of them members of a sound project dedicated to the so-called jíbara music.

“We come to Cuba in an act of solidarity with the revolutionary process, we want to come here freely, without the problems generated by the U.S. blockade, and exchange in everything that makes us brothers”, added the retired professor of the University of Puerto Rico.

These are two brother countries, with similar revolutionary histories;    Puerto Rico’s revolution was frustrated, but  Cuba’s revolution was achieved and we want that union to be maintained in these times.

Rodriguez signified the permanent solidarity of Cubans with the independence cause of his country, which is subject to a Commonwealth status with the United States, which limits its sovereignty.

I always think of José Martí, who spoke of the independence of Cuba and Puerto Rico, of Lola Rodríguez, who lived and died in Cuba and author of the poem with the famous verse that says that Cuba and Puerto Rico are the two wings of a bird.

She added that Fidel Castro in his speeches, even before the UN, always spoke of the willingness to fight for the independence of Puerto Rico, a position that is maintained with the current Cuban government.

For the economist, the liberation of Puerto Rico is of great importance for the Latin American continent, which is currently experiencing historic moments for the peoples of the region.

Who was for many years president of the Association of Puerto Rican Economists valued that the island nation is now going through an economic and social crisis that dates back to 2006, even before the devastating Hurricane Maria.

Puerto Rico is in a recession, which is already a depression, and projections are negative, there is a decrease in economic activity with a very negative impact on agriculture.

He explained that the government promotes a policy of giving incentives to foreign investment, especially to U.S. companies, but nowadays it has become another way to exercise corporate subsidy.

We are facing a massive emigration, mainly of productive, educated young people, who are leaving Puerto Rico because they cannot find 
professional fulfillment and cannot have a better quality of life in the face of the crisis and social unrest in the country.

Rodriguez, together with almost a hundred solidarity brigadistas, will visit historical sites in the east and center of the country, participate in the Caribbean Festival in Santiago de Cuba, and pay tribute in Cienfuegos for the 69th anniversary of the assaults on the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes barracks.

For more than three decades, the Juan Rius Rivera Brigade has promoted solidarity between the two islands, challenging the U.S. blockade, with local development projects and dialogues on the economic and social reality. (Source: Prensa Latina)