Members of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) today condemned the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States government on the island during the national ceremony held in Pinar del Río for the 66th anniversary of that organization, founded by Fidel Castro and Vilma Espín.

In every home, community, and workplace, the impact of a genocidal policy is felt, especially by women on a daily basis, as in the case of Yuniesky Camallea García, mother of a child with a medical condition requiring specialized treatment with a drug that is not produced in the country and must be imported.

"That is when the policy becomes a human pain," she asserted during the ceremony presided over by Teresa Amarelle Boué, member of the Communist Party Central Committee Political Bureau and FMC secretary general; Marydé Fernández López, Central Committee member and head of its office for attention to the Young Communist Union and mass organizations; and the highest authorities of Pinar del Río.

"They don't have to tell me what the blockade is; I live it in my own son's skin. It is not an abstract concept; it has the cruel face of a pharmaceutical company that refuses to sell a medicine for fear of Washington's fines; it has the coldness of a bank that freezes transactions with which Cuba tries to purchase medical supplies," she stated.

As Amarelle Boué assured, this genocidal policy continues to hinder the country's development and the daily lives of Cuban families.

Prolonged power outages affect the organization of family, community, and work life. "It is often women who must figure out how to prepare and preserve food, and respond to the multiple needs that arise when basic services are affected," she noted during the celebration held in the Hermanos Cruz popular council of the Vueltabajo city.

She also highlighted the role of the FMC, "born from the demand of our mothers and grandmothers and which Fidel and Vilma founded, conscious that without the participation of women, there would be no possible Revolution," the secretary general said.

She emphasized that, amid such an adverse context, the women of the generation of the Commander in Chief's centennial are capable of finding paths and keeping hope alive.

As she does every day, María Elena Cabrera, a Pinar del Río tobacco farmer who preserves one of the traditions of the province that is the island's largest leaf producer, stated: "When fuel is lacking for tractors or irrigation, and spare parts are a luxury that the blockade denies us, we are there looking for solutions to reinvent ourselves every day."

During the national ceremony, recognition was given to the provinces that stood out in the emulation for the Federation's 66th anniversary, and to Pinar del Río as National Vanguard.