Today, July 26, 2013, represents the 60th year anniversary of the historic attack on the Moncada Military Garrison in Santiago de Cuba. This attack was carried out by young Cuban revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro Ruz, Raul Castro, Juan Almeida, Camilo Cienfugos, and others. The rebels were attempting to overrun the garrison, secure the arms inside, and use that victory to propel their effort to overthrow the viciously oppressive regime of Fulgencio Batista. The Bastista dictatorship was hugely unpopular in Cuba because of it's massive corruption, terrorist violence against the populace, and it's firm cooperation with U.S. imperialist interests, including the full access to the island nation by the criminal Mafia crime family.
The attack against the garrison on 7/26/53 was unsuccessful and most of the rebels were imprisoned. The movement was reorganized and revitalized two years later in 1955 when dozens of the original participants in the 7/26/53 attack were reunited in a Mexico City jail. Present for this reorganization effort were the Castro brothers, Almeida, Cienfugos, and an Argentine medical doctor who happened to be thrown into the same jail for participating in protests against U.S. destabilization in Guatemala. That doctor's name was Ernesto "Che" Guevara. The band of rebels adopted the Argentine Guevara as a part of their mission and regrouped under the name "The July 26th Movement." After being underestimated by the Central Intelligence Agency and Mexican Intelligence, the rebels were unceremoniously released where they embarked upon reigniting the revolutionary movement in Cuba. The group, with Guevara, returned to Santiago de Cuba in 1956. Only a handful of the 82 rebels imprisoned in Mexico survived the sinking of the Granma ship off the shore of Santiago, but those 11 survivors were able to safely escape into the mountains and initiate their guerilla campaign against the Batista regime. With a well organized support movement in the urban areas and well disciplined and highly tactical guerilla units operating in the Sierra Maestra mountains, the rebels began to gain success. On Janurary 1, 1959, the rebels marched successfully into the streets of Havana and since that time, Cuba has fought, and continues to fight to maintain and develop their socialist revolution.
In the contemporary times of 2013 and beyond, where revolution for many people is more of an idealistic concept than a material and historical one, Cuba remains committed to it's developing socialist revolution. They still have many obstacles to overcome, but they have established a system that successfully and efficiently meets the basic needs for all of it's citizens. Even those who presently defect from Cuba, like U.S. professional baseball sensation Yasiel Puig, are forced to admit their decision isn't based on lack of resources. When interviewed, Puig freely admited that he had sufficient food, healthcare, and education in Cuba. His desire to come to the U.S. had nothing to do with oppression, but everything to do with wanting more material wealth for himself.
Cuba's journey towards socialist construction will require continued advancements in the areas of education so that historically backward ideas and practices like racism, sexism, and homophobia, are wiped out, but in fairness, the Cuban revolution has made strides in these areas that far outrace it's Caribbean contemporaries. Plus, the socialist model of free quality education is the best way to insure reactionary ideas are gradually and systematically wiped out. Mariana Castro is the daughter of Raul and Vilma Espin and she is the Director of Sex Education in Cuba. Her recent very public comments about confronting and eradicating racism, homophobia, and sexism in Cuba are clear examples of this progress.
Cuba is liberalizing it's policies on revenue development to open up markets and further industrialize the country. This is a necessary economic strategy since socialism functions most effectively when utilizing the industrial capabilities of a former capitalist system. There are no rules in socialist development that say you have to do things in any particular order. Cuba is a former colony and as a result, much of what's happening now is necessary to strengthen socialism in that country. They are on the right path and they don't need help from moralist "revolutionaries" in North America and Europe. They also won't be intimidated by terrorist supporting anti-communist hacks on the right. The truth is the world owes the July 26th Movement revolutionaries a huge thank you for providing a model of resistance for modern day revolutionaries and people committed to justice.
The attack against the garrison on 7/26/53 was unsuccessful and most of the rebels were imprisoned. The movement was reorganized and revitalized two years later in 1955 when dozens of the original participants in the 7/26/53 attack were reunited in a Mexico City jail. Present for this reorganization effort were the Castro brothers, Almeida, Cienfugos, and an Argentine medical doctor who happened to be thrown into the same jail for participating in protests against U.S. destabilization in Guatemala. That doctor's name was Ernesto "Che" Guevara. The band of rebels adopted the Argentine Guevara as a part of their mission and regrouped under the name "The July 26th Movement." After being underestimated by the Central Intelligence Agency and Mexican Intelligence, the rebels were unceremoniously released where they embarked upon reigniting the revolutionary movement in Cuba. The group, with Guevara, returned to Santiago de Cuba in 1956. Only a handful of the 82 rebels imprisoned in Mexico survived the sinking of the Granma ship off the shore of Santiago, but those 11 survivors were able to safely escape into the mountains and initiate their guerilla campaign against the Batista regime. With a well organized support movement in the urban areas and well disciplined and highly tactical guerilla units operating in the Sierra Maestra mountains, the rebels began to gain success. On Janurary 1, 1959, the rebels marched successfully into the streets of Havana and since that time, Cuba has fought, and continues to fight to maintain and develop their socialist revolution.
In the contemporary times of 2013 and beyond, where revolution for many people is more of an idealistic concept than a material and historical one, Cuba remains committed to it's developing socialist revolution. They still have many obstacles to overcome, but they have established a system that successfully and efficiently meets the basic needs for all of it's citizens. Even those who presently defect from Cuba, like U.S. professional baseball sensation Yasiel Puig, are forced to admit their decision isn't based on lack of resources. When interviewed, Puig freely admited that he had sufficient food, healthcare, and education in Cuba. His desire to come to the U.S. had nothing to do with oppression, but everything to do with wanting more material wealth for himself.
Cuba's journey towards socialist construction will require continued advancements in the areas of education so that historically backward ideas and practices like racism, sexism, and homophobia, are wiped out, but in fairness, the Cuban revolution has made strides in these areas that far outrace it's Caribbean contemporaries. Plus, the socialist model of free quality education is the best way to insure reactionary ideas are gradually and systematically wiped out. Mariana Castro is the daughter of Raul and Vilma Espin and she is the Director of Sex Education in Cuba. Her recent very public comments about confronting and eradicating racism, homophobia, and sexism in Cuba are clear examples of this progress.
Cuba is liberalizing it's policies on revenue development to open up markets and further industrialize the country. This is a necessary economic strategy since socialism functions most effectively when utilizing the industrial capabilities of a former capitalist system. There are no rules in socialist development that say you have to do things in any particular order. Cuba is a former colony and as a result, much of what's happening now is necessary to strengthen socialism in that country. They are on the right path and they don't need help from moralist "revolutionaries" in North America and Europe. They also won't be intimidated by terrorist supporting anti-communist hacks on the right. The truth is the world owes the July 26th Movement revolutionaries a huge thank you for providing a model of resistance for modern day revolutionaries and people committed to justice.
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