CubaPLUS Magazine

Various voices on the island and the world today evoke the political, moral and human stature of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, on occasion of the 98th anniversary of his birth.

His legacy of sovereignty and emancipation has been highlighted since previous days, in public squares, work groups, educational institutions or solidarity groups within or outside the Caribbean country.

Fidel Castro became a living legend since his triumphant arrival in Havana on January 8, 1959, at the head of the guerrillas who defeated the regime of Fulgencio Batista (1952-1958). With his thoughts and work, this revolutionary process transcended the borders of the Cuban nation.

This was helped by the genius and political acumen of the leader, who was the backbone of the unity of the people in the face of the permanent hostility of successive administrations of the United States, which, in retaliation, applied a strict blockade on the island ever since. The world recognizes the Cuban military strategist against the bandits in the Escambray mountains (center), the mercenary aggressors at Playa Girón (Bay of Pigs, 1961), and during the October  or Missile Crisis, in 1962.

Despite the policy of economic asphyxiation, political pressures, as well as numerous assassination attempts, the leader of the Cuban Revolution preserved national sovereignty and independence, and instituted social benefits that are today unattainable for many nations in the world.

The island's dignitary promoted the revolutionary process and charted the course towards Socialism, strengthening economic progress, social justice, the development of education, health, sports, culture and science, among other areas.

Thus, Fidel Castro's revolutionary Cuba became a paradigm for Latin American revolutionaries and progressive movements in various parts of the planet, which relied on his solidarity, Latin American and Third World vocation to achieve independence in their countries. The contributions of the Cuban statesman to the strengthening of leftist forces in Latin America and the rest of the world are widely documented, and the Cuban contribution -with Fidel Castro at the helm- to the anti-colonialist struggles in Africa, to the defeat of Apartheid in South Africa, and to the unity of poor nations is epic.

The commander-in-chief, described by his brother and comrade-in-arms, Army General Raúl Castro, as "the most illustrious son of Cuba in the 20th century," stands out for his ability to turn setbacks into victory, the firmness of his ideals and the certainty in the triumph of just causes.

The physical existence of Fidel Castro (Birán, Holguín, August 13, 1926 - Havana, Cuba, November 25, 2016), was marked by transcendental events for the island; among them, the preparation and consummation of the attacks  on the Moncada barracks in Santiago de Cuba and the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes barracks in Bayamo. Also from this context, his historic self-defense before the court that judged him, and where he delivered the speech known as ¨History will absolve me¨, which outlined the program of the future Revolution in Cuba. Also, the sentence to 15 years in prison, his subsequent amnesty, in 1955; The exile in Mexico and the arrival with his brothers in the struggle to the eastern coast of the island on December 2, 1956, stand out as unavoidable episodes in the life and actions of Fidel Castro, who is unavoidable for Cuba and the world. (Taken from Prensa Latina)