Participating in the call for May Day is, as the slogan for this day says, to defend the Homeland. This statement takes on a particularly profound dimension for Cubans today, in the midst of very complex economic and social circumstances.

Cuba does not renounce the celebration of International Workers' Day because workers have been, since the revolutionary triumph, the backbone of the Revolution. Historically, the effort to sustain the country, even in the most difficult scenarios, has rested in their hands. This conviction was always present in the thoughts of Commander in Chief Fidel Castro, whose centenary of birth is observed this year.

The United States government continues to apply measures aimed at pressuring and suffocating the Cuban economy and, by extension, the social fabric of the entire nation. This is not a conventional war, although threats and tensions never entirely disappear; it is the prolongation of decades of siege against a social project that decided to build its path in a sovereign manner.

The U.S. blockade is not an empty slogan nor a propaganda fallacy: it exists, it has concrete consequences, and it constitutes the primary cause of many of the acute problems currently facing the Cuban people.

The intention of successive U.S. administrations has been to surrender a country through hunger and desperation—a country whose "crime" has been to defend an independent model just ninety miles from the greatest imperial power in history.

In this context, the fact that millions of Cubans go out to march this May Day constitutes an expression of support for a national project that bets on sovereignty and social justice. This is not merely a symbolic or ritual mobilization.

Every worker who marches, every student, every retiree, and every family participating in the acts is also expressing the will to resist and move forward despite external pressures. It is a collective declaration that Cuba is not willing to renounce its right to exist and to decide its own destiny.

The Cuban Revolution has never been a threat to the American people, nor to their society, nor to their political system. It has never sought to conquer territories or impose its model by force. However, the United States does continue to be a threat to the stability, independence, and sovereignty of Cuba through policies of economic coercion and isolation.

This historical contradiction has marked the relations between both countries for more than six decades and explains much of the tensions that still persist.

That is why the May Day parade possesses a political and moral dimension inseparable from its labor and popular meaning. Cuban workers do not only celebrate their rights and achievements; they also defend an idea of a country built from collective sacrifice.

In various cities across Cuba, hundreds of thousands of people return to occupy plazas and avenues to demonstrate that, despite the difficulties, the will to preserve national sovereignty and the confidence in the ability to move forward through work and unity has not been broken.

This does not mean ignoring internal problems or renouncing the debate on the challenges of contemporary Cuban society. Quite the contrary. Defending the homeland also involves recognizing errors, engaging in dialogue, reflecting, and seeking solutions to the economic, productive, and social difficulties that affect the daily life of the population.

Cuba needs to continue transforming itself, perfecting its institutions, and building consensus through the participation of its citizens. But those discussions must take place without foreign pressure, without threats, and without policies intended to cause the collapse of the country.

Defending the Homeland is defending the nation, the culture, and the achievements of a revolutionary process that gave the Cuban people sovereignty and dignity. It is also affirming that the will exists to continue building a better future by Cubans and for Cubans. Cuba has the right to exist, the right to develop, and the right to validate the social project that the majority of its people have chosen.

That is, in essence, one of the deepest meanings of May Day in the nation.

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz / CubaSí Translation Staff