More than 500,000 residents of Havana gathered this May 1 at the José Martí Anti-Imperialist Tribune to celebrate International Workers’ Day, in an event led by Army General Raúl Castro Ruz and President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, First Secretary of the Communist Party’s Central Committee. The gathering took place within the framework of the centennial of the birth of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz.

During the ceremony, Yolaidis Hernández Valdés, a specialist from the Business Group of the Chemical Industry, spoke on behalf of workers in the sector to denounce the “tightened economic, commercial, financial, and energy blockade” imposed by the United States government, further aggravated by an executive order issued in January 2026. “We will not stop. We have the responsibility to reinvent ourselves in order to grow,” she stated.

The event was attended by Commander of the Rebel Army José Ramón Machado Ventura, along with Political Bureau members Roberto Morales Ojeda, Organization Secretary of the Central Committee; Division General José Amado Ricardo Guerra, Secretary of the Council of Ministers; and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla. Leaders of mass organizations, the Young Communist League, the Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution, the Revolutionary Armed Forces, and the Ministry of the Interior were also present.

Hernández Valdés emphasized that despite daily shortages caused by the blockade, Cuban industry continues advancing through innovative projects, financial self-management, and import substitution. “When we turn complexities into opportunities, we build الوطن, we build revolution,” she said.

She also paid tribute to Fidel Castro’s legacy on the centennial of his birth: “Fidel continues to call on us to resist and to overcome. In the most difficult circumstances, there has never been nor will there ever be an impossible task.”

She rejected any characterization of Cuba as a threat, stating: “Is Cuba an unusual and extraordinary threat to anyone? No, and a thousand times no. This is a people that is supportive, internationalist, anti-imperialist, and peaceful.”

The event also brought together more than 827 friends of Cuba from 38 countries and 152 trade union and solidarity organizations worldwide, along with national labor heroes, founders of the Central Workers’ Union of Cuba, and members of the diplomatic corps accredited on the island.

More Than Six Million Cubans Signed Against the Blockade and War

A total of 6,230,973 Cubans over the age of 16 supported the “My Signature for the Homeland” initiative, promoted by civil society to affirm the country’s opposition to the blockade, the energy siege, and war, while reinforcing the defense of national sovereignty as both a right and a duty.

The signature campaign began on April 19, 2026, coinciding with the 65th anniversary of Cuba’s victory at Playa Girón, and continued until just hours before the International Workers’ Day event.

During the gathering at the Anti-Imperialist Tribune, two books containing the signatures of the Cuban people, along with an artwork reflecting the total number of participants, were symbolically presented to Army General Raúl Castro Ruz and President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez.

“Every Passing Day Is a Victory for Cuba, a Victory for Peace”

Osnay Miguel Colina Rodríguez, president of the Organizing Committee for the 22nd Congress of the Central Workers’ Union of Cuba, addressed the crowd to highlight the resilience of the Cuban people in the face of external pressures.

“Our enemies have tried everything. They expected to see us distressed and defeated, yet here we stand committed and firm, ready to continue the պայքարը,” he said.

He described the massive turnout of more than half a million people as “Fidel’s May Day in the year of his centennial.”

The strong response from workers across the country, who filled streets and squares, demonstrated “that socialist and anti-imperialist Cuba is here to stay, without surrender and without forgetting history, without betraying the glory that has been lived.”

Rejecting the global context, he declared: “In the 21st century, as the far right and neo-fascism attempt to dominate without resistance, we reaffirm our rebellious and mambí heritage and will continue defending our essence and principles.”

“In the midst of this storm, Cuba, an unyielding island, continues to rise as a moral beacon, without armies to invade, without digital algorithms to deceive. This country has sent doctors where others send bombs, has offered literacy where others impose functional illiteracy, and has shared what little it has while others hoard wealth. Our greatest weapon is not a missile, but the certainty that a better world is possible,” Colina Rodríguez expressed.

He also denounced that the U.S. blockade “has reached unprecedented levels in recent years” and described it as “a ruthless collective punishment.”

Despite these challenges, he concluded: “Against all forecasts and amid countless limitations meant to suffocate and defeat us, this May Day confirms that we are here—that we not only resist, but also create, grow, and overcome adversity. Every passing day is a victory for Cuba, a victory for peace.”

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz / CubaSí Translation Staff