Fidel did not leave us a catechism or a collection of slogans; he leaves a masterly synthesis of his thought on what the Revolution is, what it should always be, what principles it cannot abandon. He describes it in all its dimensions; in all its redemptive, historical and moral greatness. And he speaks equally of how the men and women who carry it forward should be.
"We have made a Revolution greater than ourselves," he once said. And with that extraordinary definition of May 1, 2000, he places us Cubans before the challenge of making ourselves worthy, day by day, of that greater work.
Ignacio Ramonet affirms that today we are not simply facing "a health crisis"; but rather a "total social event" that shakes social relations, institutions and values. Meanwhile, Frei Betto asks "What will ‘the day after’ this pandemic be like? What will change in our countries and in our lives?”
For Atilio Borón, the post-pandemic scenario implies a challenge for "all the anti-capitalist forces on the planet" and "an opportunity that would be unforgivable to miss". And he recalls a meeting of intellectuals from the Network in Defense of Humanity, in 2012, where Fidel called on them to continue fighting, even in the most difficult conditions.
Ignacio, Betto and Atilio were very close friends of Fidel. I am sure that, in the midst of this crisis, they have often thought about him, as many others have, and how he would have evaluated what is happening and what could happen in the future.
The first thing that Fidel would require of us, in order to analyze this "total social event", would be to move away from abstract theories and arm ourselves with that "sense of the historical moment" that characterized his view when it came to deciphering complex circumstances and making decisions.
In this era of unbridled selfishness, where neoliberal barbarism is added to the pandemic, Fidel's appeal to the revolutionaries resounds with greater force: "selflessness, altruism, solidarity and heroism”. What better characterization can be made of the Cuban doctors and nurses who are currently facing the coronavirus in more than 20 countries?
Add to that other demands of Fidel: the capacity to face the struggle "with audacity, intelligence and realism" and "change everything that must be changed"; courage to "challenge powerful dominant forces inside and outside the social and national sphere" and "defend values that are believed in at the price of any sacrifice", and an absolute faith in "the strength of truth and ideas", in unity, in independence, in "our dreams of justice for Cuba and for the world".
Apart from a group of rogues and irresponsible people, the majority of our people have given ample proof of their spirit of solidarity, commitment and discipline in this emergency stage. It can be said that the precepts enumerated by Fidel in his concept of Revolution have taken root in the most intimate fibers of a large part of Cuban society.
Fidel added: "never lie or violate ethical principles", an expression with powerful roots in Martí, that contrasts with the international political landscape, where mafias, low blows, corruption, blackmail, buying and selling of souls and the use of the crisis for electoral purposes proliferate; where a Queen with a capital letter lives: the Lie.
The U.S. government's campaign, which attempts to discredit Cuban medical cooperation, is based on slander, impotence and rancor. Perhaps this obsessive resentment is also born from the inevitable comparison between the shameful image of a superpower that has not known how to deal with the epidemic, which committed clumsiness with tragic consequences for its population, and the small, blockaded and attacked Island that is giving lessons in generosity to the whole world. Martí wrote in his notes about "the hatred of the petty to the generous" and "of the one who envies a superiority of spirit and a largeness of heart that he does not possess".
The concept of Revolution highlights the non-negotiable goal of achieving ”full equality and freedom”, the right to “be treated as a human being”, the duty to “treat others equally” and the process of “emancipating ourselves by our own efforts”.
Capitalist propaganda uses the flags of freedom to the hilt. It accuses socialism and any minimally progressive government of authoritarianism and of repressing "citizens' freedoms". For obvious reasons, it does not dare to speak of equality. There is an irrefutable truth that Fidel reiterated again and again in his revolutionary preaching: there is no greater enemy of authentic freedom and democracy than capitalism. Attributing to that system an intrinsic "democratic" and "liberating" nature is one of the most shameless scams of the hegemonic industry of informational and cultural domination.
For Fidel, as for Martí, "without culture there is no freedom possible". A person immersed in ignorance, incapable of understanding the repressive and exploitative logic of the system, is a helpless victim of commercial advertising that leads him to get into debt in order to buy what he does not need, to dream of a status that is forbidden to him, to live from one frustration to another and to blame himself for his destiny as a "loser". In the icy eyes of the system he is not properly a human being. He is just a figure, a ghost, a shadow. At best, it sees him as a consumer; never as a citizen. From time to time it may happen that he sees him as a voter, and he then deploys his increasingly sophisticated instruments of electoral manipulation.
The Revolution does not accept the neoliberal philosophy where the population is divided into a minority of the privileged and a multitude of "disposables". Now, with the pandemic, many doctors in developed countries have been forced to choose between "salvageable" and "unsalvageable" patients. This is why the loyalty maxim of "being treated and treating others as human beings" is so valid. Everyone’s life and health, without exception, are sacred.
The educational, scientific and cultural work of the Revolution, inclusive and participatory, has stimulated the creativity of Cubans and prepared them to be capable of achieving emancipation and definitively overcoming all vestiges of colonialism and dependence.
(Translation by Red en Defensa de la Humanidad – Cuba)
