The Militant - 7/6/98 -- Cuba's Revolutionary Example

Vol.62/No.26 July 6, 1998

Cuba's Revolutionary Example
"The imperialists are afraid of Cuba. They are afraid that the example of our revolution could spread," says Enrique Carreras, a division general in the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Cuba, getting to the heart of why Washington's hostility to the Cuban revolution doesn't end.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the decisive battles led by the Rebel Army that triumphed with the victory of the Cuban toilers over the U.S.-backed tyranny of Fulgencio Batista, opening the door to the first socialist revolution in the Americas. The interview with Carerras in this issue of the Militant - and the ones with generals Néstor Lopez Cuba and José Ramón Fernández that have already been published or will appear in these pages in July - are invaluable for fighting workers and youth around the world in understanding the Cuban revolution and the example set by its communist leadership.

These leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces explain how by mobilizing in their millions, the Cuban people have stayed the hand of imperialist war aims. The Cuban leadership's unwillingness to compromise their dignity and sovereignty, even under the threat of nuclear attack by Washington, is what stayed the U.S. rulers' hands during the "missile crisis" in October 1962, preventing war. Maintaining the same unwavering stance, Cubans stood their ground again just two years ago, shooting down two planes whose pilots - opponents of Cuba's socialist revolution - violated the island's air space despite numerous warnings.

The generals describe Cuba's internationalist record -from Algeria to Vietnam to Nicaragua - joining those around the world fighting imperialism. This is in continuity with the course set by the Bolsheviks who led the first socialist revolution in history. And the interviews show why workers and farmers in Cuba - because they have taken power - can resist the impact of the capitalist economic crisis that is devastating the lives of hundreds of millions of working people around the world today. In face of this economic crisis, known in Cuba as the "special period," the communist leadership there is able to mobilize the ingenuity and creativity of the unions, mass organizations, and the revolutionary army to find ways to resist and minimize its effects on working people.

We encourage our readers to study and discuss these interviews with others, and to make a special effort to get them into the hands of co-workers, strikers, Puerto Rican independence fighters, and others.

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