The presentation of the book “Love is the Law: The Queer Rights Revolution in Cuba,” published in the United States by Struggle-La Lucha, the publishing house of the Struggle for Socialism Party, took place on Tuesday at the Casa de la Amistad in an event that became an expression of solidarity with Cuba, just causes around the world, and the LGBTQ+ community.
Among those in attendance were Fernando González Llort, president of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP); Mariela Castro Espín, director of the National Center for Sex Education (CENESEX); Cheryl LaBash, co-Chair of the National Network on Cuba (NNOC) in the US; and Gregory Williams and Onyinye Alheri, members of the Struggle-La Lucha delegation.
The U.S. “Venceremos” brigade, in its 53rd edition made up of members of the LGBTQ+ community, accompanied the presentation of the book that brings together materials (in English) from various authors on the approval and explanation of the Family Code in Cuba, highlighting that this legal system expands the rights of women, children, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, the elderly, and all Cubans.
This was stated by the book’s editor, Gregory Williams, who described the presence of “Venceremos” as an achievement “considering the intensification of Washington’s blockade of Cuba and the growing repression against queer (those who reject the male-female binary system) and trans people in the United States.”
The true face of U.S. imperialism is revealed
Gregory Williams
In his speech, Williams reflected that “at this moment, the true face of U.S. imperialism is being revealed more clearly to the world, through the genocide in Gaza, and the vulgarity and cruelty of the Trump regime… the brutality of imperialism is being exposed.”
“And they seek to destroy Cuba and its socialist system that made the Family Code possible. They want to impose a government that will allow Wall Street to plunder the island as it did in the 1950s,” he added, asserting that “this decline of the imperialist system is fueling the resurgence of fascism.”
He denounced that within its own borders, the U.S. government furiously attacks workers and oppressed people, including the trans community and immigrants.
The struggle for the rights of queer and trans people is part of a broader struggle against capitalism; we have the same enemy, he stressed.
Williams called for continued pressure to end the blockade and remove Cuba from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, exclaiming,
The U.S. government is committing genocide in Palestine and has the audacity to accuse Cuba of terrorism!
Justice for All
Francisco Rodríguez Cruz
“Love is the Law…” brings together testimonies from the delegation of American Friends Against Homophobia and Transphobia that visited the Caribbean nation in 2023 to learn about the Family Code approved in 2022 by popular referendum.
In the dialogue prompted by the presentation of the book, Mariela Castro Espín spoke of the educational work, persuasion, and awareness-raising, as well as the advances in the rights of the LGBTQ+ population in Cuba as part of the social justice inherent in the Revolution.
Referring to the defense of the rights of the LGBTQ+ population, she emphasized that “solidarity among us unites us in the struggle for equality among people, for freedom, and against all forms of injustice,” and told attendees that “in your struggle for LGBTQ+ rights, you are also fighting against the blockade of Cuba and for justice for all.”
A book against the blockade of knowledge
On behalf of CENESEX, journalist Francisco Rodríguez Cruz, an activist for the rights of LGBTQ+ populations, considered that “Love is the law…” is a book against the blockade of knowledge, an act of resistance and a beacon of truth and solidarity in a world where misinformation about Cuba is systematic and where advances in LGBTIQ+ rights on the island are ignored or distorted.
Casa de la Amistad
The work not only documents the legal content of the Family Code, but also contextualizes its emergence from a Marxist, anti-colonial, and deeply humanist perspective, emphasizing that “it is a rich reflection on how Cuban socialism has created conditions for the sustained expansion of rights, in contrast to the regressive offensive taking place in the United States.”
Rodríguez Cruz described as brutal the conditions are resulting from the economic, political, informational, and cultural blockade against Cuba by the United States that has gone on for more than six decades, “a blockade that not only suffocates the country economically, but also imposes an informational siege.”
At a time when the international fascist movement—led by figures like Donald Trump—is attacking LGBTIQ+ rights and public services, the book counters that dangerous view and underscores the importance of learning from Cuba, Rodríguez Cruz concluded.
Also participating in the meeting were representatives of IFCO-Pastors for Peace, including executive director Claudia de la Cruz, Gail Walker, and Samira Audrey; representatives of various LGBTIQ+ groups; and Graciela Ramírez, coordinator of the International Committee for Peace, Justice, and Dignity.
Source: Siempre con Cuba, translation Resumen Latinoamericano—English