"The men who have fallen in our three wars of independence today join forces with the men who have fallen in this war. And we can say to all those who have fallen in our struggles for freedom that at last the time has come for their dreams to be fulfilled."
Quotes
“The true law and order is that which is based on freedom, on respect for justice, and not on force”.
“The problem is not just one of freedom; the problem is not just that everyone should have the freedom to speak, to write, to vote, to meet together, the problem is that they should also have the right to live.”
"We will know how to resist any aggression, but that we will know how to overcome any aggression, and that again we would have no other dilemma than that with which we began the revolutionary struggle: that of freedom or death".
“And not only shall we know how to stand up to any aggression; we shall know how to triumph over any aggression; and we shall have no choice other than the one with which we started our revolutionary struggle: freedom or death. But now, freedom means something else: freedom means homeland. And our choice shall be: Homeland or Death.”
“[…] because when a people are constructing their future, when a people have come out of the past and broken their chains, a breech has been opened in the middle of a wall of interests, and that people will never resign themselves to give up the path they have taken, that people can never be defeated by anything or anyone! […]”
“If behind the free flag, if behind the redeeming Revolution there were not a firm and heroic people like this one, the homeland would neither be free nor the flag would be sovereign, nor would the Revolution march forward with the unwavering firmness with which it marches.”.
“The peoples of the Americas freed themselves from Spanish colonialism at the beginning of the last century, but they did not free themselves from exploitation. The feudal landowners assumed the authority of the Spanish rulers, the Indians continued in painful servitude, the Latin American man in one form or another remained a slave and the minimal hopes of the peoples succumbed under the power of the oligarchies and the strap of foreign capital”.
“"Their society" of privileged minorities over exploited majorities, "their class order" which they maintain with blood and fire over the dispossessed, "the homeland" which they alone enjoy, depriving the rest of the people of that enjoyment, to repress the revolutionaries who aspire to a new society, a just order, a true homeland for all”.
"Without culture, freedom is not possible. The accuracy of this claim is what inspires our efforts today. And for us, culture is not limited to artistic pursuits, but rather, it encompasses a concept of comprehensive general culture that includes professional training and basic knowledge of a wide range of disciplines in the sciences, arts and humanities".
“We know that nothing will crush the Revolution, but we also know that every new effort makes us stronger, makes our Revolution stronger, makes our Revolution safer and makes our Revolution freer; it also strengthens our people as the master of their destiny…!”
“How useful it is to rummage through our peoples’ extraordinary history! So many things to be learned, so many lessons, so many examples! What a never-ending source of heroism! Because there have never been a people on this continent that have fought more for their freedom than the Cuban people!”