Communist Party of Cuba 

Havana 

8th Congress of CPC

Dear comrades, 

On behalf of the Communist Party of Ireland I wish to offer warmest greetings to the delegates attending this, your 8th Congress, and to all Cuban communists and to the steadfast revolutionary people of Cuba. 

This is a historic moment in the life of the Communist Party of Cuba and the Cuban Revolution as the banner of socialism, the banner of revolutionary anti-imperialism, passes to a new generation, a generation born in the period of socialist construction. 

The route take by Cuban revolutionaries in 1959 was not an easy one, but they did not surrender or buckle under the barbaric blockade, assassinations, and terrorists attacks. The successes of the Cuban Revolution—in health, education, culture, in equality between women and men, and in the building of a multi-racial society—are shining examples to all. 

In the eyes of tens of millions of oppressed peoples around the world Cuba shines out as a country that dared to stand up against imperialism, that did not bend the knee to blackmail or economic blockade but instead put its limited resources—medical, economic, educational, and military—at the service of humanity, whether in Latin America, Africa, or Asia. 

The Communist Party of Cuba did not choose an easy path but instead stood up for its principles; it mobilised its people to defend the sovereignty and independence of their homeland. The CPC and the Cuban people have travelled a difficult journey, which has required huge sacrifices on more than one occassion. 

The obstacles and challenges, both those thrown up by the struggle to build a new society and those imposed by the forces of imperialism, have been many. This generation stand in the great historical tradition of José Martí and Fidel Castro, not only two giants of Cuban revolutionary history and struggle but who are honoured the world over. 

It is these characteristics that have won Cuba, and Cuban communists, so many friends around the world. We are confident that this changing of the generational guard will see a continuation of the great tradition of resistance to imperialism, that they will remain steadfast in solidarity with the oppressed around the world, a continuation and a creative application of the revolutionary ideology of Marxism-Leninism. We are confident that they will guard the sovereignty and independence of Cuba and defend and build the Cuban Revolution, to build socialism. 

Once again we pledge our solidarity and support for the Communist Party of Cuba and for the people of Cuba.

Anti-imperialist solidarity.

Communist Party of Ireland.

Dublin

April 2021