Dr. Leandro Bertoldi, a graduate of the Latin American School of Medicine in Havana, and members of this Committee learned about local initiatives related to free public transportation, agroecology, public health, and popular literacy, considered benchmarks for social inclusion in Brazil.

The delegation toured the COOPERAR cooperative, which houses a seed bank of native varieties and an agroecological garden that distributes food free of charge to the community.

There, Jose Rosa, head of conservation, explained aspects related to cultivation, composting, and the medicinal properties of plants.

The visitors also toured Dr. Ernesto Che Guevara Municipal Hospital, where an expansion of a hemodialysis unit is underway to prevent patients from having to travel to the neighboring city of Niteroi.

The delegation also met with the municipal secretary of Culture and Utopias, Sady Bianchin, to coordinate activities commemorating the centennial of the birth of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro (1926-2016), which is being held in this Rio de Janeiro municipality. The agenda also included a visit to the “Yo Si Puedo” (Yes, I Can) literacy program, a Cuban method implemented in Marica by brigades from the Landless Rural Workers Movement.

jdt/rc/mar