We have to reach out to the greatest number of people with the truth and the need for independence. Independence is not simply a nice ideal. It is a necessity.

We have to reach the new generations, so they will continue the struggle until the time comes when different forces in the world come together and strengthen our struggle. We are part of the world, and what happens all over the world affects our country.

The United States uses our young people as cannon fodder in their wars. In the Vietnam War, Puerto Rico had a disproportionately high number of casualties relative to its population compared to the United States. The same thing happened in the Korean War. So young people are affected by this colonial reality.

We have to show workers why independence is in their interests as workers: so they can be the owners of their country and their factories, so they can be the owners of what they produce. So that everything doesn't end up in the coffers of Wall Street. So that it stays here for their development. We have to explain what annexation would mean. If Puerto Rico were to be made a state, they would treat us exactly like they treat our communities in New York, Connecticut, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

The only defeat is when you give up, or when you believe they're so invulnerable that you can't even look at them, because you think you're going to die from just looking at them. They drum this into your head just like they did to the Indians.  
 
Reality shatters their myths
They fill us with myths. How do we shatter these myths? Reality often takes care of that. There's the myth that you can't do anything. But in Cuba today you see those signs that say, real big, "Sí se puede!" [Yes, we can do it!] We can stand up to imperialism. In Cuba they've done it.

So far, Cuba is the only country that U.S. financial and military interests don't control.

Cuba is also a psychological weapon for our peoples, because they instill these complexes to make us think that without the Yankees we just can't survive. The sun would stop shining. The moon would fall.

For me, Cuba goes much beyond a question of economic survival. It gives you a sense of the dignity of life.

Under the system that exists in Cuba, your worth is determined by what you are. And when I talk about the system in Cuba, I'm talking about the socialist system. Your worth is measured by how you share with others. Under this system your worth is measured by what you own, and they keep us at war with each other.  
 
 
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