BRUSSELS — Speaking about Cuba in Brussels is not merely about discussing the island nation, but about defining what kind of Europe we want to be, musician, philosopher, and activist Alfonso Gardi declared during the "Cuba Yes, Blockade No" symposium organized by The Left group in the European Parliament on October 1, 2026.

“I do not come to say that Cuba is perfect. No country is,” Gardi stated at the opening of his address. “I come to say something much simpler: that none of these discussions can legitimize a foreign power attempting to dictate a people's destiny through a policy of economic suffocation.”

The speaker recalled that in 2025, the United Nations General Assembly once again overwhelmingly voted against the U.S. embargo, while the European Union itself acknowledged the adverse humanitarian impact of these measures on the Cuban population in July 2026.

“Sovereignty cannot be a principle we only defend when it is convenient,” Gardi argued, drawing parallels to Palestinian and Western Saharawi self-determination. “International solidarity does not consist of thinking another people must resemble us... It consists precisely of recognizing that people's right to own their own history.”

Addressing European foreign policy, Gardi criticized the contradiction of the EU recognizing the blockade's humanitarian damage under the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement while European financial institutions continue to comply with extraterritorial U.S. sanctions.

“A Europe that considers itself sovereign cannot limit itself to proclaiming strategic autonomy while accepting that an external power determines how far our economic and political relations with a third country can go,” he emphasized.

Gardi highlighted Cuba's symbolic status in the 21st century as proof that small nations can reject global subordination, citing historical influences such as Ernesto "Che" Guevara and Fidel Castro while addressing Che's daughter, Aleida Guevara, who was present in the audience.

“One of the deepest lessons Cuba leaves us is that resisting does not merely mean enduring,” Gardi concluded. “Sometimes resisting means preserving the capacity to imagine another future.”