"Of course revolutions don’t take place in a laboratory: they are the work of the masses in the living reality of history, in harsh conditions and in the middle of a ruthless class struggle."
“Today there are higher ideals. Before we were fighting for our country; today we’re fighting for the world and we’re doing so for two reasons. Firstly, we have acquired an awareness of humanity, so beautifully expressed in Martí’s phrase, "The homeland is humanity". Secondly, because we have acquired these concepts through Martí’s teachings and our political, revolutionary, Marxist, Leninist, socialist education.”
“This struggle against neoliberal globalization is a common cause shared by all the peoples of the world, who cannot calmly accept the breaking of the Kyoto Protocol, which means some hope”.
“Perhaps the most useful contribution to the struggle for a better world that we can make through our modest efforts will be to demonstrate how much can be done with so little, if all of the human and material resources of a society are put at the service of the people.”
“Ideas are and always will be the most important weapon of all. Our experience has taught us that if one day our country were to be attacked and even occupied by powerful forces, each and every man or woman, wherever they may be, can be an army. When a combatant or group of combatants are left cut off or isolated, they can and should assume responsibility for their own actions and continue fighting”.
“On July 17 - look how close we are to the date - negotiations took place between the U.S. and Spanish troops, without the participation of any representative of the Cuban forces; an armistice was called and the city surrendered that day. U.S. troops penetrated the city and did not allow Cuban patriots to enter. This is one of the saddest episodes in our history, since those soldiers who had fought for 30 years, beginning on October 10, 1868, were not permitted to enter the city. The U.S. flag was raised over the Government Palace and the Morro Fortress.
“To correct matters in their country, Cubans had been fighting for a long time. But there was a greater force which prevented us from correcting things in our country. This force was the imperialist penetration of the United States in our homeland. It was this force which frustrated our full independence. It was this force which prevented Calixto García and his brave soldiers in Santiago de Cuba from succeeding. It was this force which prevented the liberation army from undertaking revolution in the early days of the republic.
“Calixto García Íñiguez, one of the most glorious generals of our wars of independence, survived a gunshot to his chin, aimed at his head. His mother, who had refused to believe her son had been taken prisoner, on finding out the whole truth, exclaimed with pride: that’s my boy!”
“To fight for the future does not mean not to avoid doing everyday what must be done for the present. These two ideas must not be confused.”
“Revolutionaries have always fought for the future. Máximo Gómez and Martí fought for the future. When Martí died at Dos Ríos he knew he was dying for the future. He was not concerned with seeing the results of all that. It would have been extraordinarily useful to have him longer. It can be said that he died in the prime of youth, when his talent was at its best. They were fighting for the future.”