“and thanks to the men who undermost adverse conditions, the men who in the republican era waged and unequal struggle against Yankee penetration, men ranging from Juan Gualberto Gómez and Sanguily, who stubbornly opposed this penetration, to the men who in the 20's and 30's sacrificed themselves and fell in the struggle to ensure that the Cuban nationality, the Cuban national spirit, would survive, that the national soul would not be absorbed by the powerful foreigner, thanks to these men, to this work of generations, to this tradition, we have been able to reap this maturity and this revol
“The great founders of our hopes and dreams, to which they devoted their lives, who got to know the entrails of the imperialist monster and in regards to Iberian-American peoples, the “giant in seven-league boots”, very little was missing to live the terrible dilemma of extreme tragedy or shining hope that today envelops our globalized planet”.
“It is neither a dream nor something impossible that all those fabulous resources that could serve to educate, train and improve mankind, can one day be used for these humane purposes.”
“We must nurture values. There is no alternative, if within a maximum of freedom, because authentic values are those practiced in the greatest freedom”.
“If we are to speak about ideology, let us speak about the ideology of saving the world; not later, but as soon as possible. Let's try to save it and improve it as of now. After we have saved it, we will be able to improve it even more.”
“Another terrible problem that we are suffering (...) is that of the aggression to our national identities, the ruthless aggression to our cultures, as never before in history, the trend towards a universal monoculture. How can anyone conceive such world? It is not a world order that combines the wealth and culture of many countries, but a world order that, by definition, destroys culture, a globalization that inevitably destroys culture.”
“It is possible for our country, in its capacity as a revolutionary state, to devote a great part of its efforts to that struggle for the future, to that struggle against the neo-liberal globalization that is crushing us all. It is not the struggle against globalization as an inevitable phenomenon, but the struggle for a more humane and fair globalization.”
“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.”
“Our battle is not only a battle for survival, it is not just surviving for the sake of surviving, no. It is a battle to take part in the struggle for a better world, to participate in that struggle along with the world.”