It is a must to meet with Fidel Castro, the undefeated Commander of the Cuban Revolution, in our daily walk, in every moment of our lives. His legacy reaches us everywhere to the delight of this people who love his work and make it their own to resist, advance and win.
The legacy of Commander Fidel encompasses revolution, sovereignty, anti-imperialism, internationalism, solidarity, Cuba, the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa, the South, humanity, because that is Cuba as José Martí said: ¨Cuba is humanity¨.
Among these concepts, internationalism stands out, one of his great legacies, channeled in an exemplary way through the Cuban people and the foreign policy of the revolution, as a fundamental revolutionary practice to understand the Caribbean, Latin American and African political development of our recent times.
We start from the transcendence of the First and Second Havana Declarations, in 1960 and 1962, respectively, in which the first firm cry of rebellion against U.S. interventionism is given, claiming the right to full independence and the real exercise of national sovereignty. Within these historical definitions of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel put forward a forceful idea, which would mark the future of the region in many battlefields: against the accusation that Cuba wants to export its revolution, we respond:
Revolutions are not exported, they are made by the people. The idea that the Andes Mountains are called to be the Sierra Maestra of Latin America, was an element that inspired thousands of Latin Americans on the path of armed struggle to seek a transformation, the expansion of the idea of socialism and the anti-imperialist struggle.
The internationalist vocation of the Cuban Revolution promoted by Fidel also materialized in the support to the national liberation struggles in Africa, particularly those of Angola, Namibia, Zaire, Guinea, Cape Verde and Congo, through the presence, in different stages, of more than 300,000 combatants and 50,000 civilians between 1960 and 1990. Thousands gave their lives in this mission of solidarity.
At present, tens of thousands of Cubans are on social missions in Latin American, Caribbean and African countries. They are mainly doctors, literacy teachers, social workers and sports technicians. Their internationalist action is a convincing example of the humanist vocation inspired by Fidel, leaving unsubstantiated the historical criticisms of the Latin American oligarchies that have always pointed out the danger that Cuba supposedly represents for our peoples.
On November 25, 2016, the last of the greats of the 20th century and the first of the 21st century physically departed, but not his thought and legacy. Fidel occupies a unique place in the history of Latin America and the Caribbean. He was a creator of ideas of change and revolution, and of paths to put them into practice, even in the most adverse and complex contexts.
He was a builder at the service of the peoples, beyond the discursive, in concrete practice, a reference of authentic fraternal solidarity and internationalism that are so necessary today to overcome the civilizational crisis that could end with the end of our species. For this reason, Fidel’s thought, example and legacy are essential to wage the necessary battles in defense of humanity.
