Translated "Avante!" article by Luís Carapinha, Member of the International Department
New Year’s Day is also the Cuban Revolution triumph celebration. Upon 56 years of this historical date, during which, the Cuban revolutionary forces entered Havana and Fidel de Castro proclaimed the new power exercise, from Santiago de Cuba. It was the fulfilment of a trajectory of many courage and heroism proofs, which begun with the Moncada assault, the Grandma expedition unto Sierra Maestra.
Along the following years and decades, upon the January 1st 1959 victory, many were the provoking and challenges faced by the young revolution which, after the Playa Girón and the mercenary invasion, orchestrated by the USA imperialism, proclaimed its guide-lines and socialist nature. The longest blockade in economic history, undergone by the USA against Cuba, is currently effective. But Cuba, during the hardest and decisive moments counted with the USSR, communists and the peoples in struggle throughout the world, solidarity and support. And Freedom Island, the Cuban revolutionaries achievement, who took in their hands the building a new Homeland and society, which soon became the example and light of solidarity and altruism with peoples’ struggle, against old and new forms of colonialism, exploitation and oppression. Within Latin America and the Caribbean, in Africa and throughout the whole world!
Without the Cuban’s dignity and resistance example, support and solidarity, the democratic, progressive and revolutionary headways would not have been possible during more than a decade, within Latin America – and the consequent change in the force correlation, which carries on challenging the USA’s hegemony. Four years before winning the Venezuela elections in 1998, Hugo Chávez was personally received by Fidel at his arrival at Havana’s airport. In his statements during his first visit to Cuba, the young officer, who had just been released from prison after the military coup in 1992, described the essential lines of the liberating movement on Venezuela’s independence and sovereignty liberation, pointing out the outbreak of the Bolivarian revolution, as it were to happen a few years later. Cuba and Venezuela, in 2004, became the ALBA’s founder core, and in the following year the ALCA project, promoted by Bush, is defeated at the Mar de la Plata summit, in Argentina.
The constitution of new Latin-American spaces processes are advancing hastily. Cuba, has currently diplomatic relations with all the independent states in the sub-continent, holds a wide prestige and new mechanisms which the sovereignty emancipation, cooperation and integration processes promote. A proof is the victory which represents the final liberation of the five Cuban patriots.
Within Africa, and in special at a time of renewed barbaric and exploitation, one ought to remind the outstanding Cuba’s internationalism example. As Nelson Mandela underlined, during his trip to Cuba, a few months after his 27 years imprisonment release, the South-African defeat in the Cuito- Cuanavale battle, was a turn over in the apartheid continent liberation. The people of Angola freedom, Namibia’s independence and the liberation movement of the African peoples in general, owe a lot to Cuba’s solidarity.
Important pages of our history, which memory will carry on through times. Amid very different historical circumstances, Cuba faces not less colossal challenges in the struggle towards updating and strengthening the revolution. With exceptional indexes regarding human qualifications, objectives in economic efficiency and productive capacity, represent a central standard in the current building of Cuban socialism. Paths to build a new society are non- linear. With determination, confidence and the decisive participation of masses, Cuba will overcome!
