[rad-green] ‘I am Fidel’ – the Cuban Response to US Hopes of Destabilising Cuba

https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2019/12/07/i-am-fidel-cuban-response-us-hopes-destabilising-cuba/
*Strategic Culture Foundation          December 7, 2019*

‘I am Fidel’ – the Cuban Response to US Hopes of Destabilising Cuba



*By Ramona Wadi*
[image: image.png]
*© Photo: Flickr / Marcelo Montecino Follow*

Three years since Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro died at age 90 of
natural causes, the Cuban Revolution has withstood ongoing destabilisation
efforts to turn the island once again into an imperialist playground.
Indeed, as Latin American countries grapple with the ramifications of
historical and current US intervention, Cuba has steadfastly held on to the
principles which Fidel imparted to the Cuban people throughout the
revolutionary process. The participatory aspect of memory in Cuba has been
sustained through Fidel’s emphasis on education as an integral component of
the revolution.

The US might have harboured the intention that Fidel’s departure would
facilitate the process for a counter-revolutionary period in Cuba and the
fall of the ideals that have transformed Cuban politics and society.
However, the Cuban Revolution was always bigger than Fidel. It encompassed
the link between leadership and the people, built upon the historical
foundations which Fidel himself articulated. Defining revolution, for
Fidel, was an endorsement and affirmation of Jose Martí as the
“intellectual author of the Cuban Revolution”. What Fidel achieved was a
continuation which now lies in the hands of generations of Cubans who are
well versed in the importance of unifying education with revolution.

This is why, despite the attempts to sabotage
<https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/04/usaid-latin-americans-cuba-rebellion-hiv-workshops>
the
Cuban Revolution, the US blockade on Cuba and its transgressions against
the island – a recent USAID conspiracy
<http://en.granma.cu/cuba/2019-08-29/the-us-government-allocates-millions-of-dollars-to-obstruct-cuban-medical-cooperation>
involved
the tarnishing of the Cuban medical contingents – have not succeeded in
changing the island’s course. Indeed, as Chile and Bolivia grapple with the
ramifications of neoliberalism and a military coup respectively, Cuba
remains a standing bastion in the region, just as much as it did when Fidel
was alive and deemed the main obstacle to US plans for the island.

The Cuban resolve to remain independent and free of colonialism
necessitated a radical change – namely prioritising education within the
construction of revolutionary goals. Even prior to the triumph of the
revolution, Fidel exhibited awareness of implementing the continuity. As
can be gleaned from the Manifesto of the Sierra Maestra (1957), as well as
the First and Second Declarations of Havana (1960, 1962), Fidel’s concept
of education is inclusive of Cuban independence from imperial motives in
Latin America. The Manifesto declared ‘an immediate initiation of an
intensive campaign against illiteracy, and civic education emphasising the
duties and rights of each citizen to his society and fatherland’.
Furthermore, in condemning ‘the exploitation of man by man and the
exploitation of underdeveloped countries by imperialistic finance capital,’
an awareness of rights in association with education was asserted – a
statement reminiscent of Fidel’s early memories concerning the link between
illiteracy and exploitation. Prior to its triumph, the revolution
considered education as the vehicle through which Cubans could fight for
economic, social and political rights. Therefore, education as a right and
duty affirmed the Cuban Revolution’s stand against imperial exploitation of
people and natural resources.

Revolutionary education contrasted with the colonial and military functions
of the Batista regime. Several speeches of Fidel attest to this fact. Using
a metaphor of armies during a 1961 address in Havana which recapitulated
the revolution’s achievements in education and a goal to eradicate
illiteracy in just one year, Fidel invoked the differences between Cuba’s
‘army of educators’ and the army of ‘exploiters’. Furthermore, Fidel
declared <http://lanic.utexas.edu/project/castro/db/1961/19610101.html>:
“The resentment of imperialism is so profound, its hatred of our revolution
so great, that the imperialists refuse to resign themselves.” Eradicating
illiteracy was perceived as a fundamental battle against imperial and
counter-revolutionary actions against Cuba, also allowing Cubans to become
active participants against imperial intervention. Throughout the
revolutionary phases, there is ample evidence that Cuba not only
consolidated its anti-imperialist values at a national level, but also,
through Fidel, managed to impart internationalism based upon education and
revolutionary consciousness.

Education, therefore, has contributed to the empowerment and organisation
of Cuban society. This dynamic has contributed to awareness, and
termination of, the relationship between subjugation and exploitation,
while striving to complete an evolution of humanity within the context of
socialist revolution.

The US, which only understands the language of coercion and intervention,
will not comprehend the insoluble bond not only between Fidel and the
people, but also between the people and the revolution. This unity has
enabled Cubans to stand principled in defence of the revolution, while also
providing an internationalist example for the rest of the world to emulate.

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