"Study with passion and defend the concept that the economic and social crisis they attempt to impose on us through the intensification of the blockade never turns into a spiritual, educational, knowledge, or humanistic crisis," urged Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic, addressing university students today.

Following the celebration of the national ceremony marking the opening of the 2026–2027 higher education academic year, held at the University of Matanzas, the Cuban Head of State further called on future professionals to dedicate themselves to exploring the paths of knowledge, science, and innovation.

"Do not use any of the shortages we may face as a pretext to justify a lack of knowledge or poor academic results; be rebellious, champions of innovation, and non-conformist, but also join with responsibility in seeking the solutions required by the Cuban nation and demanded by Cuban society," he added in statements to the press.

In evaluating the importance of this academic term at the higher education level amid a challenging context, he noted that it reflects the spirit of a country that refuses to bow to the intensification of the economic, commercial, and financial blockade, compounded by the genocidal effects of the United States energy blockade against Cuba.

"I would say it is an act of educational resistance, scientific resistance, and cultural resistance, because in higher education we defend precisely that: educational formation, the defense of our pedagogy, our university pedagogical history, and science and innovation as core pillars to overcome adversity," highlighted the President.

"Here we defend the nation, socialism, the Revolution, and our values; it is our answer to the cultural-colonial domination they wish to impose on us, and therefore it is, above all, an act of ideological resistance," stated Díaz-Canel regarding the significance of the start of the academic cycle.

The President also emphasized the historical resonance of the term, as higher education dedicates this academic year to the centenary of Commander in Chief Fidel Castro (1926-2016) and the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Ministry of Higher Education: "Although in hindsight it may seem routine, precisely 50 years ago, when Fidel was 50 years old, he consolidated an idea that originated back in the Moncada attack: how the country could transform into one grand university."

This Thursday, with the University of Matanzas serving as the host venue, the national inauguration ceremony for the 2026-2027 higher education academic year reaffirmed a commitment to the legacy of the Commander in Chief and the conviction that the future of the Revolution is defined through the training of competent professionals imbued with a social and humanistic vocation.