Por: Yaima Puig Meneses, René Tamayo
“The G77+China and the Brics have the opportunity to generate a historic transformation. For the good of future generations, let's do it," with that urgent and challenging sentence, concluded the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and president of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, his intervention during the session of this Thursday, the last one, of the XV Brics Summit.
As a “high honor and a privilege” the head of State considered the participation of Cuba, as pro tempore president of the Group of 77+China, in this BRICS summit, an integration mechanism that, due to its novelty and diversity, “ “It opens expectations and hopes on the path to strengthening multilateralism, which today is as urgent as it is essential for the very destiny of humanity.”
The president also spoke about the value of the fact that “this event takes place in African lands, the cradle of part of our ancestors, which fundamentally nourishes the very essence of Cuban identity,” because, as a very known on this continent, “the footprints of those who walked together can never be erased.”
Cuba does not forget, nor does Africa, the shared solidarity and sacrifice of so many in these lands. In the case of Cuba and South Africa, as President Díaz-Canel recalled, the traces of friendship “are as solid and indelible as the memory of the historical leaders of our nations. We can never forget the embrace of Nelson Mandela and Fidel Castro when they met here and mutually demanded a reunion, as only happens between very dear brothers.”
The Cuban president praised the participation in this BRICS summit, of the Group of 77+China, the largest and most diverse group of developing nations. “We are 134 countries, two thirds of the members of the United Nations Organization, where almost 80% of the planet's population lives, facing the colossal challenges of an increasingly unequal world, in which exclusion has multiplied. and poverty after two years of pandemic, followed by dramatic conflicts.”
After referring to multiple challenges that the nations of the South have faced in the last 10 years and the consequences that they have meant for their people, the head of state insisted that “if we do not act immediately, we will bequeath our children and grandchildren a planet not only unrecognizable to those of us who come from the previous century, but sadly condemned to become uninhabitable.”
Ante el desalentador panorama que se avizora asociado al cumplimiento de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible de la Agenda 2030, el presidente cubano catalogó de ineficaz el orden internacional diseñado por los países desarrollados de Occidente y las grandes transnacionales, pues no toma para nada en cuenta el progreso de las naciones del Sur.
“El G77 y los Brics tenemos la responsabilidad y la posibilidad de actuar por un cambio de ese injusto orden mundial. No es una opción; es la única alternativa”, enfatizó.
Ha sido un reclamo histórico del G77, como lo es también de los Brics –recordó– emprender una “transformación real de la arquitectura financiera internacional, profundamente injusta, anacrónica y disfuncional”.
En sus palabras, el mandatario dio la bienvenida, además, a la eventual ampliación de los Brics, lo cual contribuiría a reforzar su relevancia y representatividad, al tiempo que saludó “de manera especial la designación de la querida Dilma Rousseff al frente” del Nuevo Banco de Desarrollo creado por el grupo.
“Seguramente la extensión de ese mecanismo a otros países, contribuiría a paliar los desequilibrios del sistema monetario actual”, dijo Díaz-Canel, quien consideró que varias de las iniciativas que en ese sentido se han planteado, si se aplican en las relaciones con otros países en desarrollo, podrían reducir “el abusivo monopolio de la moneda estadounidense, que refuerza y garantiza una hegemonía dañina para el resto del mundo”.
De las múltiples acciones comunes que pueden llevar adelante los Brics y el G77+China comentó también el dignatario, entre las cuales resaltó el valor estratégico que tiene la coordinación efectiva entre ambas organizaciones en materia de cambio climático. “En la COP28, que tendrá lugar este año en Dubái, por vez primera se celebrará una Cumbre de Líderes del G77, convocada por Cuba para reforzar la coordinación estratégica”, aseveró.
Invitó a los presentes a participar en la próxima Cumbre de Jefes de Estado y de Gobierno del Grupo de los 77 y China sobre ciencia, tecnología e innovación como premisa para el desarrollo, que tendrá lugar el 15 y 16 de septiembre próximo, en La Habana.
“Para avanzar hacia un futuro más justo y sostenible, el momento de la acción colectiva no es mañana. Es ahora”, afirmó Díaz-Canel y reiteró su convencimiento “en el poder de la unidad en la diversidad”.
Es la hora –dijo– de actuar unidos “en defensa de históricos reclamos que, por no ser atendidos a tiempo, han multiplicado los problemas que enfrentan nuestras naciones hoy”.
Asumamos, insistió a los presentes, todos los “preceptos de la sabia filosofía humanista africana del Ubuntu, la ética del cuidado del otro que, frente al egoísmo y el individualismo, promueve una vida solidaria, fraternal y respetuosa, en la que nadie quede atrás”.
Faced with the discouraging outlook associated with the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda, the Cuban president classified the international order designed by the developed countries of the West and large transnational corporations as ineffective, since it does not take into account the progress of the nations of the South.
“The G77 and the Brics have the responsibility and the possibility of acting for a change in this unjust world order. It is not an option; It is the only alternative,” he emphasized.
It has been a historic demand of the G77, as it is also of the Brics – he recalled – to undertake a “real transformation of the international financial architecture, deeply unjust, anachronistic and dysfunctional.”
In his words, the president also welcomed the eventual expansion of the Brics, which would contribute to reinforcing its relevance and representativeness, while also greeting “in a special way the appointment of the beloved Dilma Rousseff as head” of the New Development Bank created by the group.
“Surely the extension of this mechanism to other countries would contribute to alleviating the imbalances of the current monetary system,” said Díaz-Canel, who considered that several of the initiatives that have been proposed in this regard, if applied in relations with other developing countries, could reduce “the abusive monopoly of the US currency, which reinforces and guarantees a harmful hegemony for the rest of the world.”
The dignitary also commented on the multiple common actions that the Brics and the G77+China can carry out, among which he highlighted the strategic value of effective coordination between both organizations on climate change. “At COP28, which will take place this year in Dubai, for the first time a G77 Leaders' Summit will be held, convened by Cuba to reinforce strategic coordination,” he stated.
He invited those present to participate in the next Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Group of 77 and China on science, technology and innovation as a premise for development, which will take place on September 15 and 16, in La Havana.
“To move towards a more just and sustainable future, the time for collective action is not tomorrow. It is now,” said Díaz-Canel and reiterated his conviction “in the power of unity in diversity.”
It is time – he said – to act together “in defense of historic claims that, because they were not attended to in time, have multiplied the problems that our nations face today.”
Let us assume, he insisted to those present, all the “precepts of the wise African humanist philosophy of Ubuntu, the ethics of caring for the other that, in the face of selfishness and individualism, promotes a life of solidarity, brotherhood and respect, in which no one is left behind.”