Our People Would Never Allow This Country to be Colonized Again

Today we have ideas that are, in my opinion, quite clear, on how socialism should be built, but we need many very clear ideas, and many questions from you, who are responsible for this, on how socialism can be preserved and will be preserved in the future

Author: Fidel Castro Ruz | internet@granma.cu

November 18, 2021 09:11:35

Photo: www.twitter@Israel_BuenaFe

I ask you all, without exception, to consider: Can a revolutionary process be irreversible or not; what are the ideas or the degree of consciousness that would make the reversal of a revolutionary process impossible?

Every revolutionary strategist and tactician has the duty to devise a strategy and tactics that will lead to the fundamental objective of changing the real world. No tactic or strategy that undermines unity is a good one.

The world is in desperate need of unity, and if we fail to construct a minimum of unity, we will get nowhere.

I have thought a lot about the role of ethics. What are the ethics of a revolutionary? All revolutionary thinking begins with a little bit of ethics, with a little bit of values instilled by parents, instilled by teachers. No revolutionary is born with these ideas; just as we are not born speaking, someone taught us to speak. The influence of the family is also very great.

Today we have ideas that are, in my opinion, quite clear, on how socialism should be built, but we need many very clear ideas and many questions from you, who are responsible for this, on how socialism can be preserved and will be preserved in the future.

I warn you that our society is in fact going to be an entirely new society. And in this long-distance race, we have already given those closest to us more than a few clues. This is not to our credit, the credit goes to the empire, its threats against us, the challenge it imposed on us, were too great. The credit is theirs, the only thing that our noble, generous, brave and intelligent people have done, is to respond; and today they are responding, with the great strength of many developed intelligences.

Is it that revolutions are bound to collapse, or is it that men make revolutions collapse? Can men, can society, prevent revolutions from collapsing, or not? I’ll immediately add another question for you: Do you believe that this revolutionary, socialist process can collapse or not? Have you ever thought about it? Have you thought about it in depth?

But we are beginning - I began a long time ago - to ask ourselves this question, in the face of the super-powerful empire that stalks us, threatens us, has transition plans and military plans of action, for a given historical moment.

They have more than enough tanks, and we have none to spare, none!  All their technology fails; it is ice at noon in the middle of a hot park. And once again, like when we had seven rifles and few bullets, when we have many more than seven rifles, we have an entire people who have learned to handle weapons; an entire people who, in spite of our mistakes, possess such a level of culture, knowledge and consciousness that they would never allow this country to become a colony again.

(Excerpts from speech given in the University of Havana’s Aula Magna, November 17, 2005)