Fifth Anniversary of the Death of Fidel Castro
The Life and Work of Fidel Will Always Be a Shining Example of Humanity
“In the heart of Cuba, in the work of the Revolution, in the successes of the Revolution, live and will live our heroes for eternity.”
This November 25 marks five years since the death of Fidel Castro, legendary leader of the Cuban people and their historic revolution. Fidel’s courage, resolve and profound humanitarianism inspires humankind to face the challenges of our times with courage, conviction and profound empathy for all our fellow human beings who have been and continue to be on the receiving end of the man-eating imperialist system of oppression, plunder and war. On this occasion, the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) joins the Communist Party of Cuba and its leadership, the Cuban people at home and the majority of those living abroad, friends of Cuba and fellow fighters the world over to commemorate Fidel’s legacy of profound contributions to humanity.
Fidel’s revolutionary commitment to the affirmation of the rights and well-being of the Cuban people and the oppressed peoples of the world gave him great foresight, which enabled him to direct Cuba’s nation-building project in an all-sided manner. This has prepared and mobilized the Cuban people and their leadership to build the modern institutions they require and bring into being the next generation of leadership which upholds the Revolution as the guarantee of sovereignty and well-being.
In 2021, under the leadership of the Communist Party, President Miguel Díaz-Canel, leaders at every level and the Cuban people are standing as one in defence of the Revolution, heroically confronting great difficulties — not just those caused by the pandemic but primarily those imposed by the brutal more than 60-year-old U.S. blockade. They are resolutely resisting the stepped-up criminal measures carried out by the U.S. imperialists, who dare to declare they are in defence of democracy. Never can the doctrine of “might makes right” be confused with freedom or democracy. The U.S. imperialists foment intrigues and then make spurious accusations that Cuba does not uphold human rights. In fact, the blockade which is aimed at depriving the people of the necessities of life, has exposed the U.S. imperialists and those who appease them as the arch violators of the Cuban people’s human rights.
Despite all the accusations hurled at him by the imperialists of being a brutal dictator, it is Fidel who stands out as the greatest defender of human rights, both at home and abroad. At this time, when Cuba’s health care system and its biotech sector, established under Fidel’s leadership, have brought the COVID-19 pandemic under control and lent a hand to so many in the oppressed countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean, and even in Europe, the U.S. is once again using its agents in Cuba to blame the hardships caused by the blockade on the Cuban government to attempt to instigate counterrevolution. It will not pass!
We stand as one with the Cuban people who continue to march forward on the revolutionary path they have set for themselves and continue to declare Yo Soy Fidel! I am Fidel! No matter the infamies of the imperialists, Cuba stands at the ready, always providing the dignified response required by the situation, to uphold the international rule of law and the best interests of humanity. It is these principled stands and steadfastness that express Fidel’s legacy and show the path forward for humankind.
Let everyone honour the memory of Fidel Castro in practical ways, by standing in solidarity with the Cuban Revolution through the activities of the Cuba friendship and solidarity movement, by strengthening the anti-war movement, upholding the friendly relations between Cuba and Canada, and opposing all foreign interference in Cuba’s internal affairs.
Cuban youth commemorate Fidel, November 28, 2016.
Fidel’s tomb in Santa Ifigenía Cemetery in Santiago de Cuba, where he takes his place among Cuba’s pantheon of heroes.
Literacy workers and Fidel Castro celebrate the victory of Cuba’s literacy campaign in 1961.
Cuba hosts the First Tricontinental Conference in January 1966 in Havana, a historic converging point for the oppressed peoples of the world to unite in struggle for national liberation and to oppose colonialism, neo-colonialism and imperialist coups d’état and wars.
The Latin American School of Medicine is inaugurated, November 15, 1999.
Examples of Cuba’s medical internationalism: a field hospital in El Salvador; after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti; in Africa during the 2013-2016 Ebola epidemic; in Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Photos: Granma, R. Massola, A. Paredes, fidelcastro.ru, J.M. Kirk)
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