Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz, better known as Fidel Castro, Fidel, as we Cubans always call him, was born in Birán, Holguín province, on August 13, 1926 and died in Havana, Cuba, on November 25, 2016. Son of a landowner, lawyer, of high social class, he left his comfortable economic position and led the Cuban people's struggle for their true independence.
Follower of the ideas of the Cuban national hero José Martí, "He did not look on which side is better lived, but on which side is duty," he devoted his life to duty with the Cuban people, and led the revolution that triumphed in January 1959. Throughout the years of the Revolution, he promoted and directed the struggle of the Cuban people for the consolidation of the revolutionary process, its advance towards Socialism, the unity of the revolutionary forces and the entire people, the economic and social transformations the country, the development of education, health, sports, culture and science, as well as the confrontation of external aggressions and the conduct of an active foreign policy of principles.
Throughout his revolutionary life, the Cuban State Security services counted a total of 638 assassination attempts against him in different stages of development, until 2007, more than a hundred were executed, which were dismantled and counted on the means, opportunity and executors determined to this and that failed due to the action of the security services, the cowardice of the perpetrators, or the popular participation in their dismantling, which was very important, to which should be added, Fidel's intuition to discover the ambushes, which not infrequently freed him from the planned crime .. The methods planned to kill him were multiple, although all failed: from snipers, explosives placed in his shoes, poison injected into a cigar, a small explosive charge inside a baseball ball, explosive mollusks, fungus-infected wetsuit, pen-syringe, hired lovers, bacterial poison and explosives under the podium of events, among other variants.
They not only tried to assassinate him physically, but also morally and intellectually, affect his image and discredit his ideas: powders with drugs that affected his senses, media campaigns to denigrate his thinking and performance, films, documentaries, comics, lectures at Universities all over the world, radio and television campaigns, that is, all the creativity and technological and scientific power of the world's greatest superpower put at the disposal of this objective. But Fidel survived everything and continued with the Cuban people until the end of his life.
The closing session of the VII Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba held on April 19, 2016 had his presence, being received by delegates and guests amid numerous cheers and ovations. He shared with the delegates attending and gave a historical speech in which he revealed his special motivation for ideas and an essential summary of the life of combat and virtue, in one of these ideas he referred:
“I will soon have to turn 90, such an idea would never have occurred to me and it was never the result of an effort; It was a whim of chance. Soon I will be like everyone else. It will be our turn for all of us, but the ideas of the Cuban communists will remain as proof that, on this planet, if we work with fervor and dignity, the material and cultural goods that human beings need can be produced, and we must fight without truce to obtain them. We must convey to our brothers in Latin America and the world that the Cuban people will win."
And so it has been, the Cuban people have continued been an example of struggle and resistance against imperialism.
Fidel, the undisputed leader of the Revolution, was also a beacon in the fight against the strategies used by the United States against Cuba. Already from the fight in the mountains he said that when the revolution was won, the most arduous fight would begin against the appetite of the northern neighbor who wanted to keep Cuba under his rule. He declared repeatedly that the US economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba "is the fundamental obstacle to the economic development of the country." And added:
“For us the question of ending the blockade in exchange for political concessions is unacceptable, concessions that correspond to the sovereignty of our country. It is absolutely unacceptable, it is outrageous, it is irritating, and we really would rather perish than renounce our sovereignty. "
Fidel was the champion of the struggles for social justice, inspiring Cubans and all those peoples of the world who fight for their dignity, freedom and national sovereignty.
This man of universal stature, a guerrilla, an intellectual, a prestigious statesman, was concerned about the future of humanity and about peace. We always remember his historic speech at the UN when he said:
The noise of weapons, threatening language, and arrogance on the international scene must cease. Enough of the illusion that the world's problems can be solved with nuclear weapons. The bombs can kill the hungry, the sick, the ignorant, but they cannot kill hunger, disease, ignorance. They cannot kill the fair rebellion of the peoples and the rich will also die in the holocaust, who are the ones who have the most to lose in this world. Let's say farewell to arms and dedicate ourselves civilly to the most pressing problems of our Era. That is the most sacred responsibility and duty of all statesmen in the world. This is also the indispensable premise of human survival.
On this fourth anniversary of his departure, his thoughts are still valid. His words resonate strongly in this troubled world today.
Dr. Eusebio Leal, historian of Havana, said about Fidel that: “the leadership of that universal Cuban had been inspired by the ideas of José Martí. Fidel rejected all dogma, he continually reinterpreted reality and sincerely believed in the capabilities of man, in the redemptive vocation of every revolutionary. "
Fidel deeply admired Jose Marti, and considered him the intellectual author of the Cuban revolution, which flame that illuminated the fighting spirit of our people, and made the triumphant revolution of 1959, led by Fidel, the historical continuity of the independence struggle and the genuine expression of our true independence.
Marti said, “to honor is an honor”, and it is an immense honor to honor a historical figure like Fidel, who, as President Raul Castro said in his posthumous tribute, "devoted his entire life to solidarity and led a socialist Revolution" of the humble, by the humble and for the humble "which became a symbol of the anti-colonial, anti-apartheid and anti-imperialist struggle, for the emancipation and dignity of the peoples."
Fidel has not left, he is in the hearts of all those who admire him and follow his example.
As Marti said “Death is not true, when the work of Life has been well accomplished”. And Fidel knew how to fully accomplish the work of his life. Fidel is present, in his ideas, in his example, that he will live forever.
Fidel, continues to ride with us everywhere, in daily actions, in each work, in each achievement of the revolution, in each child who smiles, in each Cuban internationalist doctor who saves a life, in each friend from Cuba who remembers him.
Long live Fidel!
