Cuba’s Revolutionaries Will Never Let the Sword Fall
By Elio Delgado Legon
HAVANA TIMES – Referring to the Zanjón Pact of 1878, José Marti wrote that the Cuban revolutionaries swords weren’t ripped away from them, they simply dropped them. And he was right, because the lack of unity among the insurgents was the main cause of a large group of leaders signing a peace with the Spanish army that did not achieve independence or the abolition of slavery, the two main objectives of the war.
Generals Antonio Maceo, in the east of the country, with the Protest of Baraguá and Ramón Leocadio Bonachea in the center, with the Protest of Jarao, saved the honor of the Liberating Army by not signing any pact with the enemy, which allowed them to continue the war without violating any agreement.
And the fighting resumed in 1895, organized by Jose Marti. Within four years the independence seekers had almost won the war, when the intervention of the US military frustrated total independence as the country became a neo-colony of the United States and only reached true Independence on January 1, 1959, with the triumph of the last stage of the Revolution.
Since then, the successive governments of the United States of America have spared no effort to frustrate again what has cost the Cuban people 90 years of the struggle.
At present, efforts to get Cubans to drop the sword and lose what has cost so much, are directed towards the terrain of ideas, trying to convince some sectors of the population that it is advisable to return to capitalism, which would mean falling again into the category of neo-colony. And there are those who are convinced, as in the past there existed the annexationists who wanted the island to be annexed to the United States, today there are neo-annexationists, who prefer that our country fall back into the orbit of the powerful neighbor to the north.
It is true that the current economic situation is difficult and that the blockade, in effect for more than 55 years, does us an enormous damage and subjects the Cuban people to many shortages which would not exist if it were not maintained. However the situation is only temporary, caused by external factors, not a crisis, as many want to see, because the truth is that the country is advancing in all fields; Perhaps not as fast as we all would like, but it is moving forward.
The Cuban people have given many signs of their capacity to resist, in stages that were actually much more difficult than the current one, such as the so-called Special Period, when the country was almost completely paralyzed and no one considered abandoning the Revolution.
On the contrary, the people stood firm on the side of our leaders and it was always very clear where our difficulties were coming from and how they were to be solved, which was not just to give up, but to stand firmly, and only then did we get out of that situation.
It’s true that many did not endure and left the country in search of economic improvements. However the majority have had confidence that we will go forward, not be dropping the sword and surrendering to imperialism, but working together for the good of all.
You are just skimming the surface Dann. I did months of research within Cuba prior to writing my book. Have you read all the books written by Guevara?
That doesn’t change anything. If you replace “young people” with “youth”, you still get only one source: Carlyle MacDuff: http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=125031
You are obviously making up quotations as you go along.
I checked the membership of the Liberal Party of Canada, the Conservative Party and the NDP. When you add them all up, it comes to roughly 2% of the whole of the Canadian population.
You obviously didn’t read my comment about the difference -or if you did, didn’t absorb it.
The Mexicans whose labour and condiions of employment I negotiated would work in Canada for 4-5 months and then return home to Mexico. We never had a problem with a single one.
It was the US Government under George Bush Snr. that negotiated NAFTA with Carla Hills as their chief negotiator. The US laid down a pre-condition that mobility of employment would not be included. So,Mexicans working in the States had to enter illegally. Yes, it was Bill Clinton who signed NAFTA into law – but that was because he had just defeated Bush. Your current chosen President talks of the worst deal he has ever known, but fails to comprehend that it was a Republican Party negotiation. But why Oh why are socialists so willing to criticize the capitalist world when those they supposedly support seek those very conditions?
Not even close to the point
On the web! Try googling!
If you scroll up, you will see my words, “No doubt many Cubans would take the opportunity to move to Canada or the US,..”
And if you asked Honduran young people or Mexicans how many would take the opportunity to move to Canada, how many would accept?
Again I ask, how many billions is the US spending precisely to keep these young people out?
Carlyle says, “Keep on searching and you will find record of the quote I use of Dr.Guevara.”
If Carlyle is unable to find it, why would I able able to find it?
In any case, Carlyle is the one who is using the quote. The onus is on him to tell us where to find it.
Like dann I am unable to authenticate the Che quote. Perhaps someone else can.
I accept Carlyle MacDuff assertion that Cubans who leave Cuba still love their country. They are looking for a better life.
But how does that distinguish them from Mexicans and Central Americans who wish to move to the US?
Since most of Ernesto Che Guevara’s writings have been translated into English, I tried googling Carlyle MacDuff’s alleged Marx-inspired Che quotation: “(Young) people have to learn to think as a mass, to think as an individual is criminal.”
In this case he left out the word “young,” (that is the advantage to inventing quotations on your own!), but for some reason the quotation does not seem to exist at all – outside of havanatimes.org where it appears to be one of Carlyle MacDuff’s favorites.
However, the absurd quotation seems to belong in the category of “alternative facts” – a phenomenon recently popularized by Trump and his counselor Kellyanne Conway: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_facts
It is obvious that neither Michael Ritchie or yourself Raphael Stephen-Pons have ever lived in Cuba! If you really want to know how it operates, read: ‘Cuba Lifting the Veil’
I would add that since publication not a single person has been able to find an error in the book. Can you?
Just a note bjmack to point out to Americans in particular that the way to book a casa particular (B&B) in Cuba is through
http://www.cuba-particular.com.
Check it on the web!
It has functioned well for many years without charge to the customer who only pays the host and hostess directly following arrival.
Not where I live in Cuba!
Fidel Castro’s cortege accurately reflected his policies and achievements when the vehicle bearing his ashes broke down on the third day of the tour and had to be pushed by the MININT goons.
Why are only 6% of the Cuban population members of the PCC?
Why is the Propaganda Department of the PCC necessary? It has obviously succeeded in fooling you!
You completely miss the point Ken Hiebert. Cubans don’t in general wish to leave home, but the desire to live in a world of opportunity where initiative is rewarded not stifled leads them to seek foreign shores. I know of what I speak having known Cubans in Cuba who have literally risked all to find a new life and who now return to visit their families and friends. They are Cubans who love their country but who seek the opportunities of the free world rather than complying with the repressive regime of the Castro dictatorship. Don’t forget that the regime’s policy as based upon Marx and propounded by “Che” Guevara is: “People have to learn to think as a mass, to think as an individual is criminal.”
Get real Ken and address the reality rather than sinking into the morass of communist rhetoric. Don’t just dismiss what armstro wrote, but think about it and the implications!
Spoken like a true socialist. You probably only read those articles that agree with your worldview. Doing so helps to maintain your closed mind. I prefer to read everything. My reading choices, like democracy, involve a variety of opinions, including wackos like Elio.
I agree, hasta la victoria simepre
then don’t read them they are plenty of imperialists on this site
FIdel, querido amigo, la gente esta contigo
No doubt many Cubans would take the opportunity to move to Canada or the US, and some other countries as well. But they are not alone. Even citizens of capitalist countries such as Mexico are anxious to move. How many billions is the US spending to keep out Mexicans and others from Latin America? Even though the citizens of these countries are enjoying the benefits of “free enterprise.”
Don’t pay attention to the usual cacophonous cast of nay-sayers, Elio; they have nothing better to do than make negative posts to anyone who dares support the Revolution. Thanks for your historical sketch, more complete version of which i read years ago in the first volume of Fernando Portuondo’s “Historia de Cuba, I” Editora del Consejo Nacional de Univesidades, Habana, 1965, “Ano de la Agricultura”
Elio is blind to reality. The best that can be said is that Cuba has endured the failed communist dictatorship to live another day. The changes happening in Cuba are towards a none state sector. Belief in Elio’s fantasy generally falls into two groups, those who have moved on and those that pretend to still believe in the old order to get by.
The false narrative that Elio spins of pre 1959 Cuba vs the revolution is over. In 2017 Cuba, the discussion is the reality of last 60 years versus a brighter future by moving away from failed policies. Cuba as a sovereign state needs an economy that can feed, house and advance it’s people.
Sadly none, I was teaching a class in Camaguey, English, there were about 15 students. The ages ranged from about 18 to 25 years. I asked if I were to give anyone a plane ticket and visa to Canada who would leave. Every student said they would. The future of any country is determined (or should be) by the young, it should be built upon and adjusted for the needs of the upcoming generation, and every young person I know in Cuba would leave in a heartbeat. So what future does Cuba have when it’s young just want out?
The only positives coming out of Cuba today are the remittances, to the tune of billions, from US to Cuban relatives living on the island. Next, independent entrepreneurs, setting up restaurants and AirBnB venues along with cab drivers and assorted others who are not working on behalf of the government. Your writings, which are allowed to be shared by Havana Times, are as old as you are and quite frankly, your time is now limited and soon vanished from this world. You are not only sad but what you write, so called glory days of the revolution, while the majority of Cuban’s are barely existing, is despicable and in my view, sinful.
Elio is consistent in his blind and childish support of Castro dictatorship but this particular post is among his weakest efforts. Of particular note: Elio writes “…the truth is that the country is advancing in all fields”. Really, like housing and infrastructure? Maybe he’s talking about the battle against corruption? Possibly he is referring to street crime? In these three areas and many others, conditions have gotten worse, not better. Elio, whose posts are usually just silly has reached a new low in ridiculous.
Elio’s adherence to the principles of the Revolution are admirable.
It is supremely important that the nation of Cuba never surrender its sovereignty to anyone.
To surrender to the United States and the same capitalism which allowed Fulgencio Batista and the U.S. mafia to rape Cuba and her people would be a disaster.
Already cruise ships are dumping hoards of tourists onto Habana’s narrow streets. Affordable housing for the Cuban people is decreasing. And the worst is yet to come.
Cuba can maintain its sovereignty and integrity while still benefiting from trade with the U.S., providing that the Embargo is completely dropped. Also, as Raul Castro has strongly requested, the land at Guantanamo should be returned to its proper owners.
Thanks for your allegiance to Fidel and the Revolution, Elio.
Patria o Muerte.
If given a true opportunity to leave without being ostracized for abandoning ship, how many would stay on their own free will????