Fidel Castro Writes Maduro after Electoral Defeat
HAVANA TIMES — After several months of silence, Fidel Castro published today on the front pages of the Cuban newspapers his open letter to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, in the wake of the resounding electoral defeat of his United Socialist Party in legislative elections last Sunday.
The following is the complete text (official translation) of Castro’s letter to Maduro.
Fidel’s Message to President Nicolás Maduro
Dear Nicolás:
I share the unanimous opinion of those who have congratulated you for your brilliant, valiant speech on the night of December 6, as soon as the election’s outcome was announced
In world history, the highest level of political glory which a revolutionary can reach, is that of the illustrious Venezuelan combatant, Liberator of America, Simón Bolívar, whose name now belongs not only to this sister country, but to all peoples of Latin America.
Another Venezuelan official of honorable legacy, Hugo Chávez, understood and admired him and struggled for his ideas until the last moment of his life. As a boy, attending elementary school in the country where the poor children of Bolívar were obliged to work to help support their families, he developed the spirit in which the Liberator of America was forged.
The millions of children and youth who today attend the largest and most modern system of public schools in the world are Venezuelan. More can be said about the country’s network of medical care centers and the attention paid to the health of its people, brave but poor as a result of centuries of plunder by Spanish colonialism, and later by huge transnationals, which for more than 100 years extracted from its entrails the best of the immense oil reserves nature bestowed on this country.
History also bears witness that workers exist, and make possible the enjoyment of nutritious food, medicine, education, security, housing and the world’s solidarity. You could ask the oligarchy, if you like: Do you know all of this?
Cuban revolutionaries – just a few miles from the United States, which always dreamed of taking possession of Cuba to make it a hybrid casino-brothel, as a way of life for the children of José Martí – will never renounce their full independence or respect for their dignity.
I am sure that human life on Earth can only be preserved with peace among all peoples of the Earth, and acknowledgement of the right to make the planet’s natural resources common property, as well as the sciences and technologies created by human beings to benefit all of its inhabitants. If humanity continues along the path of exploitation and the plunder of its resources by transnationals and imperialist banks, the representatives of states meeting in Paris, will draw the relevant conclusions.
Security does not exist today for anyone. There are nine states which possess nuclear weapons. One of them, the United States, dropped two bombs which killed hundreds of thousands of people in just three days, and caused physical and psychological harm to millions of defenseless people.
The People’s Republic of China and Russia know the world’s problems much better than the United States, because they were obliged to endure the terrible wars imposed on them by fascism’s blind egoism. I do not doubt that, given their historical traditions and their own revolutionary experience, they will make the greatest effort to avoid a war and contribute to the peaceful development of Venezuela, Latin America, Asia and Africa.
Fraternally,
Fidel Castro Ruz
Ben, seriously, a tourist watching CNN in a resort hotel room in Varadero is not the same thing as Cubans being able to watch CNN in their homes.
Satellite dishes are illegal in Cuba. Which is why some Cubans who have managed to obtain one hide the dish inside empty water barrels or other forms of camouflage.
Cuban newspapers report on life in the USA in a very selective & highly critical tone. No doubt it’s one you would find agreeable. But independent journalists are routinely harassed and arrested.
There are parts of Havana you would be advised not to wander around late at night. But for the most part, the Cuban people know not to mess with a tourist. The regime protects their meal-ticket.
You see very few ambulances racing around in Havana because there are very few ambulances. A recent article here at HT commented on the serious shortage in ambulances. And just because you don’t see uniformed police in marked cars does not mean there are no police about. Havana has a high percentage of uniformed police, plus a large number of plain clothed officers and agents of the Ministry of the Interior.
If you think Cuba is a socialist paradise, don’t tell me about living in a fantasy world.
Your experience on vacation in Varadero is VASTLY different than what Cubans who live there experience. Did you notice all the bars on windows? Did you go to grocery stores or the shopping malls and have your bags checked upon leaving? Did you get stopped on the street and asked to show your ID? There are quite a few rough patches in the paradise you have attempted to portray. Besides, you can take the worst from anyplace to try to make Cuba look good.
Fidel Castro remains the single most influential public figure in Cuba, in or out of government is debatable. Followed closely by Gente D’zona. No US President should debate a despot like Fidel Castro. Why give a tyrant like that the credibility of sharing a platform with the most powerful man in the world. You understand the word “doddling”? Then my point was made.
Capitalism is an economic system. Religion is well, religion. Oligarchy is a structural description and Dads are childrens ATM machines. How can you manage to conflate these very different players into one bad thing is what makes you special, John.
Mr Haney, by still fighting the battles of the past you can only lose the future.
Viva Fidel Castro and gracias Fidel .
it’s good to know that this old lion still have what it takes to lash out , any shortcomings in any of the socialist experiments in South America and the world have nothing to do with lack of effort or will , it had to do with external powers , fundamental powers the kind of power that claims to be on the side off Jesus in one hand ,on the another hand expect a dying individual to earn a living and work until his last breath , somehow the charity found it in the Bible and all the charity that Jesus talks about is something that they don’t recognize , the fight over here is over socialism not Fidel Castro Medora Chevys or Yasser Arafat .
these forces that call themselves capitalists will stop at nothing to fill there pockets with somebody else’s money , they’re willing to use any kind of despicable means they can get their hands on from genocide homicide murder economic depressions pumping up society with narcotics ,
I fully believe if Jesus is to come back today he will be crucified second time .
these capitalist we’re willing to poison thousands of human being like you and I with contaminated blood in the name of profits and capitalism , how many of them you see in prison? none , if you and I stick up a bank then we will spend the rest of our life in prison , these bastards stick up whole country with no fear of punishment ,that’s what happens when an individual become a sociopathic capitalists with no conscious .
I come across an article about the collapse of the socialist system in the Soviet Union , it talks about the way they do it , by implanting under qualified individuals at key positions causing the system to fold in on itself .
if you look at United States right now you will see a collapsing infrastructure , there is talk about privatizing everything from roads highways byways bridges to the air we breathe , I think that the US is being shut down the same way the Soviet Union was shut down , for the simple purpose off capitalism finding way to plunder , after all what will they do with all the trillions of dollars that is sitting and going nowhere collecting dust .
as they say the chickens are coming home to roost , it seems that the next stage is the collapse of the US dollar , rotten capitalist well get their way the same way they’re getting their way in Europe , free enterprise and business was one of the main reasons for the American Civil War after all the capitalist considered a human beings to be property and at the same time there went the church and praise the name of Jesus
I agree, Cubans know exactly what’s going on “up North”. So isn’t it interesting that despite your glib remarks Cubans continue to flee Cuba, risking their very lives to do so.
I might be wrong on several points, but not the main ones. I’m sure you get my main point. The people don’t carry guns. What do they use, knives? I watched CNN in my room at the resort in Veradero. You don’t believe the Cuban newspapers report on what’s going on up north. I could and did wander around downtown Havana at night without fear. Not a lot of ambulances and police racing around. But you can continue to live in your fantasy world.
Ben, you are factually wrong on several points:
1. CNN broadcast is blocked in Cuba
2. All newspapers are controlled by the Cuban government.
3. Foreign newspapers are banned.
4. The homicide rate in Cuba is 4.2 per 100,000, higher than that of the US at 3.8 per 100,000
Well then, WHAT kind of dictator would you prefer ?
As one who has an all-totalitarian belief set ( capitalism, religion, oligarchy, the TRADITIONAL male-dominated nuclear family structure) , you know you would not be happy with changes in any of those four systems you espouse to democratic systems .
You know you want the same totalitarian forms you follow to be in effect for everyone on the planet but you’re not quite stupid enough to think you can openly say so.
“Doddling” ? Try to find that word in a dictionary
It’s not too late for you to get a rebate from the school at which you learned that word and invest it in an ESL course or a Spellcheck function . .
BTW,
Fidel is no longer part of the Cuban government .
Like Jimmy Carter, he is free to comment on current events .
His words may or may not affect Cuban or Venezuelan policies.
No U.S. president has ever had the cojones or the brains to debate Fidel face-to-face although you seem to think that you, in your “doddling” way could do so successfully.
I’m not sure I understand what you mean by freedom. You mean the freedom to be slaughtered by some maniac in a crowded theater. The freedom to be able to send your children to a kindergarten where there can be mowed down by some other freedom loving gun enthusiast. The freedom to not have affordable health care. The freedom to live in a country where the middle class is now a minority The freedom to live on the street and in cars.The freedom to be shot by police because you have black skin. The freedom to openly practice racism, bigotry and ignorance. The 33,000 people slaughtered by gun violence each year who also once enjoyed freedom The Drug Cartels who enjoy the freedom to sell every narcotic known to man And the millions who enjoy the freedom to consume these products.
The Cuban people can read newspapers and listen to CNN. I’m sure they know all there is to know about the “American Dream” and the so called freedoms that go with it. No drug cartels and people carrying guns in Cuba, Thank-you Very Much.
But better than that, the Cuban Government knows very well who they’re dealing with up north. Sure, I know, lets let the Cuban people enjoy some of these freedoms.
Absolutely correct
IC, I for one can’t fathom how Castro with a straight face, preach how great Maduro runs Venezuela! Maduro is a classic example of how not to run a country. No embargo, so no excuses, the most oil rich country in the world and the economy, due to the insane socialistic policies put in place years ago, on the verge of collapse. We all know the Batista story and yes, there needed to be change but what has happened since is questionable at best and in need of a total overhaul. Elections with a choice! Well at least Fidel’s son, Tony, has benefited royally. Maybe he can throw a few peso’s to the doctors in Cuba who need to take second jobs to make life semi-bearable for their families.
BREAKING NEWS FLASH:
Fulgencio Batista is dead. No really, he’s dead!
Nobody cares about Meyer Lansky’s hotel, and anyway, many countries have laws allowing the police to seize properties used in the commission of felonies.
On the other hand, the pension fund of the independent Cuban union of hotel workers should be allowed to regain ownership of the Havana Libre hotel (nee Habana Hilton). They built it with their pension fund only to have it stolen from them by Fidel & his gangsters.
Rich, you repeatedly employ a couple of very weak rhetorical tricks to push your argument. First, you bring up totally irrelevant, outdated cases: Batista & Lansky, who are long, long dead. Nobody endorses them. Nobody. Secondly, you attempt to tie these comic book villains to whatever players exist today: guilt by association. Except that there is no association.
Perhaps you manage to distract yourself from the 56 years of the Castro’s dictatorship and criminal gangsterism, but nobody else is fooled. Why don’t you focus on the ongoing criminal activities of that gangster family which continues to run all of Cuba, not just a few sleezy hotels?
Batista and his gangster cronies controlled a small slice for less than 8 years. The Castros have controlled ALL of Cuba for 56 years. Which number is bigger: 8 or 56?
I would ask Rich and his socialist friends what they rhought of the statement but they would probably agree with Castro
Why is it always a zero sum game with you? Batista is long dead. Soon the Castros will join him. What type of Cuba can we expect? That is the question you should be asking. Start talking about the future because the only thing you ever do is talk about the past!
You are quite wrong. The most virulent anti-CASTRO Cubans you could ever meet still want to see Cuba survive intact. Most want to see Cuba prosper. The issue here that you fail to understand is that Cubans deserve to be be free. That includes free of the Castro dictatorship.
You continue to present a false dichotomy of either the stinkin’ Castros or the filthy Bastistianos. I don’t support either choice. Rather, Cuba deserves a fresh start free of both left-wing and right-wing dictators.
Sure, Moses. I think you mean that Cuba will be “better off” when the Batistianos can flock back to the island. That would mean, for sure, that Meyer Lansky’s splendid Riviera Hotel would, for example, be returned to the Lansky heirs. Meyer Lansky’s grandson in Tampa, Gary Rapoport, made headlines this week by demanding that the newly renovated Riviera Hotel BE RETURNED TO THE LANSKY FAMILY. Meyer Lansky, the Mafia kingpin second only to his buddy Lucky Luciano, built the Riviera, complete with air conditioning and other luxuries, in 1957 and opened it in 1958 unmindful that some rebels in the Sierra Maestra were already drawing up plans to capture Santa Clara and then Havana. As the victorious rebels left Santa Clara at the end of December, 1958, Batista’s getaway airplane was about to land in Trujillo’s Dominican Republic and most of the other Mafiosi bee-lined for South Florida. Note: I think Cuba will keep the Riviera Hotel at least as long as the U. S. keeps Guantanamo Bay, which you laughingly say was obtained via a “legal” treaty. I assume your choir believes you.
The Fidel note to Maduro, of course, infuriates the lucrative Castro Industry in the U. S. For sure, it is assumed that oil-rich but cash-poor and crime-infested Venezuela is Cuba’s lifeline and the demise of Maduro means Cuba will collapse in, oh…a day or two. It Is reminiscent of 1991 when the Soviet Union had its demise, costing Cuba about $6 billion a year. Vice President Richard Nixon in April of 1959 famously told Fidel Castro face-to-face that the Cuban exiles, with U. S. help, would recapture Cuba within three months. After the Helms-Burton Act, Jesse Helms predicted Cuba would collapse “within days.” After the Torricelli Bill, Robert Torricelli loudly predicted Cuba would “fall within three weeks.” I believe…uh…such right-wing prognostications have been proven wrong. So, expect Cuba…like it or not…to survive Maduro’s troubles in Venezuela, Dilma Rousseff’s troubles in Brazil, Cristina Kirchner’s troubles in Argentina, etc., etc. In fact, this week Moody’s upgraded Cuba’s economic rating, citing the advancement the island has made so that it is not so dependent on Venezuela. A major article this week that proponents of the Castro Industry in the U. S. should read was on CNN Money. It was written by Ramphis Castro who is anti-Castro and unrelated to Cuba’s Castros. You can dial up the article using this title: “CNN–Cuba Ripe for Investment.” Ramphis Castro wrote: “Over the next decade, U. S. venture capitalists will likely fund hundreds of projects in Cuba.” He equated Cuba with Vietnam, pointing out that, yes, the U. S. lost the bloody 5-year Vietnam War in 1975 and then didn’t have relations with Communist Vietnam until 1996. After that, “American companies have poured $11 billion into 700 Vietnam projects.” We all remember when President George W. Bush went to Hanoi, put on silk pajamas, and banged a big, round gong to celebrate Vietnam’s prosperity. According to Moody’s upgrade, Cuba is following Vietnam’s economic path and Vietnam, Mexico, etc., have invested in Cuba’s Mariel Port Economic Zone that received a billion-dollar upgrade thanks to Dilma Rousseff’s Brazil. Summary: Cuba might even survive for another three weeks or so despite last Sunday’s National Assembly elections in Venezuela.
He needs to get out. The misery in Venezuela and Cuba can not be known to the person that wrote this letter.
“We didn’t win a revolution just so we could lose an election” – Fidel Castro’s explanation as to why he cancelled the free elections he promised.
A stilted view of world history taking everything out of context. Indeed one wonders if his missive had anythng to do with Venezuela. By the way Fidel, don’t you are call your crazy memo you sent Khrushchev begging them to please start WWIII? It’s a matter of the historical record and not to be disputed
Why does this doddling and decrepit old tyrant believe that the Cuban people need a history lesson from him? He wrote nothing about Venezuela’s 180% inflation, the world’s highest. He did not choose to mention Venezuela’s gripping shortages of milk, bread, diapers and other staples. Instead he dared to revisit the subject of nuclear weapons? Does this failed revolutionary think the world forgives let alone forgets the letter he wrote to Soviet leader Khrushchev pleading that the Soviets bomb the US and start World War III. He should have counseled the Venezuelan bus driver turned president as to how to address the problem of having one of the highest murder rates and lowest debt rating. Instead, he rambles on about China and the environment. Didn’t the folks who change his adult diapers for him and read the news to him tell that Beijing is suffering from the worst air pollution crisis ever to take place? The Castros are a large part of the problem in Venezuela. The sooner these guys disappear, the better of both Cuba and Venezuela will be.