Havana, Cuba.- Cubans commemorate the legacy of Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez after his passing seven years ago.

The Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) and the Venezuelan embassy in Cuba are organizing an event this Thursday to pay tribute, whom the leader of the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro described as ‘Cuba’s best friend.’

The continental projection of Chavez, who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, and promoted a series of economic, political and social transformations in favor of the most disadvantaged classes, will be honored as well.

From 1999 to 2010 poverty levels in the Venezuela were reduced more than 20 percent, and on October 28th, 2005, UNESCO declared Venezuela a Free of Illiteracy thanks to the ‘Mission Robinson’, one of the social programs implemented with support from the Cuban government.

Commander Chavez’s influence went beyond the borders of his country by bringing together, along with Fidel Castro, other progressive rulers in the region opposed to neo-liberalism and interference by the United States.

Seven years after his death, his personality still transcends as one of the promoters of Latin American integration.

The creation of regional organizations such as the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-Peoples’ Trade Agreement (ALBA-TCP), the UNASUR and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), and several others, was possible largely owing to him.