The Militant(logo) 
    Vol.61/No.1           January 6, 1997 
 
 
'We will struggle to make our revolution better'  
January 1, 1997 marks the 38th anniversary of the Cuban revolution. To commemorate that victory, we are reprinting excerpts from the Pathfinder book In Defense of Socialism which includes a speech given by Cuban president Fidel Castro on January 1, 1989 to a rally in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba's second largest city. It was held at the same spot where Castro spoke exactly thirty years earlier to a mass rally after Batista had fled Cuba and the Rebel Army had entered the city in 1959. The excerpts below are copyright 1989 by Pathfinder Press. Reprinted by permission.

I came here to share with you this glorious day and to recall with you that day thirty years ago where, from this very balcony, in this very square, we celebrated victory. [Applause] That ceremony was perhaps not as solemn, not as well-organized as this one - you understand how those days were - but it was truly moving and historic. I believe that many people remember it, and that in addition many have heard about it at times from their parents or teachers. That was a really historic day and I think it will also be an unforgettable day, not just for us - that goes without saying - but also for future generations.

January 1 marked not just the culmination of a long effort of struggle by our people over the course of many years, over nearly 100 years at that time. That day was not just the day of victory; it was also a day of great decisions, fundamental decisions, and a day of great definitions, great lessons, and great training. Because on January 1 victory was not only won, it also had to be defended....

What were we on that January 1, apart from the courage and valor of our people and combatants; apart from the desire for freedom and the will to build a new homeland?

How many engineers, draftsmen, agronomists, veterinarians, teachers, professors, doctors, specialists, officers, cadres, members of the Communist Party and the Union of Young Communists, how many trade unions and mass organizations did we have? We didn't have any of that when we were writing one of the most glorious pages in our history over these thirty years. These were years that started as a struggle against the privileged in our country, against the puppets, against the mercenary army, against landlords and exploiters of all kinds, and ended up being a struggle against aggression, threats, blockades, and the power of the strongest empire in the history of humanity.

We are here because we've known how to resist over these thirty years, something few perhaps believed could happen, something perhaps nobody could ever have imagined. Here we are after thirty years of difficult, courageous, and intelligent struggle by our people in the face of all threats and risks. That was our greatest accomplishment and we couldn't even dream of having what we have now: hundreds of thousands of teachers, professors, and technicians; tens of thousands of engineers, draftsmen, agronomists, specialists of all kinds; tens of thousands of doctors who now protect the health of our people, ten times more than the number we were left with when the revolution triumphed. We have a tremendous intellectual and technical force; a sound, vigorous, and magnificent youth responsible for the feats of this decade - youth who I am sure are better and more capable of firmness and heroism. [Applause]

With this and with the extraordinary experience accumulated by our people over these thirty years we can face the future, and if a lot has been done - errors and shortcomings notwithstanding - we can do even more in the future, because I'm sure that with what we have we can transform every year into two, three, and four years, and that's what we are now trying to do.

`Our people wanted a revolution'
That January 1 was a day of definitions, in which we said something that still had to be said. In view of the long record of deceit and corrupt politicians throughout the period of the pseudorepublic we had to say that this time we were serious, that a coup d'état could not be confused with a revolution. That was one of the big things our people learned on that January 1, when they confronted and defeated the maneuver. Because our people wanted change, our people wanted a revolution, and the changes had to be deep-going and fundamental, the exploiting society had to disappear. And we told the people that this time the revolution had triumphed, that the demands of the revolution would be fulfilled!

I will never forget that this was the essence of what we said on January 1, how in the wake of the attack on the Moncada garrison the basic objectives and principles of our revolution were proclaimed. That happened twice in Santiago de Cuba: in the hospital where we were tried for the events at the Moncada garrison, and here on January 1. Today with deep conviction I will state that our revolution, our genuine revolution, will continue to advance. And it is a genuine revolution because it is a socialist revolution and because it is a Marxist-Leninist revolution.... [Applause]

Today, thirty years after that January 1, 1959, we can safely say that our people will always remain loyal to the principles of socialism! [Applause] That our people will always remain loyal to the principles of Marxism-Leninism! [Applause] That our people will always remain loyal to the principles of internationalism! [Applause] And that staunchly loyal to these principles we will struggle and work to make our revolution better and better, and more and more efficient. [Applause]

In these times of confusion, our revolution - which so scares reactionaries everywhere and which so scares the empire - is like a beacon of light in the eyes of the world. At such a time and on this January 1, we can state that we're aware of the tremendous responsibility our revolutionary process has toward the peoples of the world, toward the workers of the world, and especially toward the peoples of the Third World. And we can state that we will always act in keeping with that responsibility. [Applause]

Today, therefore, with more vigor than ever, we say: Socialism or death! Marxism-Leninism or death! [Applause] That is what is now meant by what we've repeated so often over these years:

Patria o muerte!

Venceremos! [Ovation]  
 
 
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