I was in attendance on December 7, 1989, when Castro delivered one of his most noteworthy speeches. It was part of a ceremony in Havana in honor of Cuban soldiers who died fighting for Angola’s independence. I was on assignment for Time magazine. Fidel had a clear sense of what Cuba would face. Here is an excerpt from my book:
Fidel stood on stage and began his address by recounting
the long and bloody struggle in Angola and elsewhere in
Africa. He spoke with a mixture of solemnity and good cheer.
Then, he grew thoroughly somber as he turned to the demise
of the socialist world. Of this major political shift, Castro
said, “. . . we can only expect negative economic consequences
for our country.”
The consequences would include an end to substantial Soviet aid and in two years leave Cuba near economic collapse.
I was intensely focused on Fidel. He had with his tenor and words
created a heavily dramatic atmosphere. His imposing physical stature and expressive gestures that day made him a captivating speaker. Of course, Castro was among the most charismatic leaders in modern history. Seeing him in action, however, gave me a concrete sense of how he was able to reshape a nation.
Castro, further lamenting communism’s fall, said, “Imperialism and the capitalist superpowers cannot hide their euphoria over these events. They are persuaded, not without reason, that the socialist camp is virtually nonexistent at this time.”
Focusing on Cuba, he thundered, “Yankee imperialism
believes Cuba will not be able to resist and that the new situation created in the socialist camp will enable it to inevitably
make our revolution collapse. Cuba is not a country in which
socialism arrived afer the victorious divisions of the Red
Army,” Castro noted referring to Eastern European nations
that came under Soviet control following the Second World War.
“In Cuba, we Cubans forged socialism through an authentic and heroic struggle,” he said, leaning forward. “Thirty
years of resistance to the most powerful empire on earth,
which wanted to destroy our revolution, are a testimony of
our political and moral strength.”
Fidel, as Cubans usually called him, dressed in his usual
green fatigues, warned of what awaited the island should it discard the revolution. “We owe everything that we are to the
revolution and socialism,” he said. “If capitalism returned
someday to Cuba, our independence and sovereignty would
disappear forever. We would be an extension of Miami, a simple appendix of the Yankee empire.”
Today, more battered than ever, communist Cuba is still standing. This is not a political claim, just a hard reality.
Ricardo Chavira Chicano 