In the context of escalating U.S blockade and ongoing economic challenges, the Cuban trade union movement call on workers across the country to mobilize for International Workers’ Day 2026.
The following statement outlines the political significance of May Day and emphasizes unity, resistance, and national defense:
In this context, the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba (CTC), its national unions, and the National Association of Innovators and Rationalizers (ANIR) call for the celebration of May 1st, International Workers’ Day, under a clear and mobilizing principle: The homeland must be defended.
To mark May Day is to reaffirm the unity and patriotism of the Cuban people. It is to once again “break the corojo,” as Antonio Maceo did at Baraguá when he rejected a peace without independence; to recall José Martí’s message in Los Pinos Nuevos, a historic call for unity across generations in the struggle for sovereignty; and, in the year marking the centenary of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, to uphold the vision he expressed on May 1, 2000.
We call on all to take part in marches and events—in every workplace, community, town, municipality, and province—while acting with the responsibility required by the material constraints imposed by the tightened blockade.
This is a call to defend the country from every front: from the fields and factories, classrooms and research centers, power plants and hospitals, as well as from the realms of culture and sport—from every space where the nation is built and protected.
We also invite friends of Cuba around the world to join us, as they do each year, in commemorating International Workers’ Day. We thank them in advance for their solidarity and for having the courage to stand with us at a time of real military threat—one that, far from intimidating us, only strengthens our resolve to repeat, with confidence in victory, the enduring line of our national anthem: To die for the homeland is to live.
“For Cuba, together we create” is the conviction that will guide us on this day. It reflects the priorities set by the Party: defending the Socialist Homeland; advancing the transformation of the energy matrix; contributing to food production; and confronting daily challenges with concrete solutions. It is also the conviction of doctors and teachers who continue, without hesitation, to defend life, and of all those who are part of the Revolution—not out of dogma or fanaticism, but out of conviction, ideas, and action.
Workers, Cuban people,
With the vibrant colors of our flag, with joy and patriotism, and inspired by the teachings of Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, and as we approach the final sessions of our 22nd Congress, the CTC, its national unions, and the ANIR call for a May Day that will resonate across the country—grounded in unity and in the shared commitment to contribute, to serve, and to defend the project that Martí envisioned, Fidel brought to life, and which, under the leadership of the Party headed by First Secretary Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, together with the workers, we will not allow to be taken from us.
Long live the Cuban Revolution!
Long live the Cuban Revolution!
Long live the Cuban Revolution!
See you on May 1st."
Dear Cuban workers,
In the face of growing threats from the U.S. government—reinforced by the executive order of January 29, which has added an energy siege to the already intensified economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed on our country for more than 65 years, simply because we chose to build a dignified, sovereign, and independent nation—there is nothing more urgent or decisive today than to act together and strengthen ourselves as a country.
In this context, the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba (CTC), its national unions, and the National Association of Innovators and Rationalizers (ANIR) call for the celebration of May 1st, International Workers’ Day, under a clear and mobilizing principle: The homeland must be defended.
To mark May Day is to reaffirm the unity and patriotism of the Cuban people. It is to once again “break the corojo,” as Antonio Maceo did at Baraguá when he rejected a peace without independence; to recall José Martí’s message in Los Pinos Nuevos, a historic call for unity across generations in the struggle for sovereignty; and, in the year marking the centenary of Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz, to uphold the vision he expressed on May 1, 2000.
We call on all to take part in marches and events—in every workplace, community, town, municipality, and province—while acting with the responsibility required by the material constraints imposed by the tightened blockade.
This is a call to defend the country from every front: from the fields and factories, classrooms and research centers, power plants and hospitals, as well as from the realms of culture and sport—from every space where the nation is built and protected.
We also invite friends of Cuba around the world to join us, as they do each year, in commemorating International Workers’ Day. We thank them in advance for their solidarity and for having the courage to stand with us at a time of real military threat—one that, far from intimidating us, only strengthens our resolve to repeat, with confidence in victory, the enduring line of our national anthem: To die for the homeland is to live.
“For Cuba, together we create” is the conviction that will guide us on this day. It reflects the priorities set by the Party: defending the Socialist Homeland; advancing the transformation of the energy matrix; contributing to food production; and confronting daily challenges with concrete solutions. It is also the conviction of doctors and teachers who continue, without hesitation, to defend life, and of all those who are part of the Revolution—not out of dogma or fanaticism, but out of conviction, ideas, and action.
Workers, Cuban people,
With the vibrant colors of our flag, with joy and patriotism, and inspired by the teachings of Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, and as we approach the final sessions of our 22nd Congress, the CTC, its national unions, and the ANIR call for a May Day that will resonate across the country—grounded in unity and in the shared commitment to contribute, to serve, and to defend the project that Martí envisioned, Fidel brought to life, and which, under the leadership of the Party headed by First Secretary Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, together with the workers, we will not allow to be taken from us.
Long live the Cuban Revolution!
Long live the Cuban Revolution!
Long live the Cuban Revolution!
See you on May 1st."
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