LOS ANGELES — Despite the catastrophic fires burning across the area, the Militant Labor Forum here held a special meeting Jan. 10, celebrating the 66th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution.
“The wildfires raging through the Los Angeles area are a reminder that one important conquest of the Cuban Revolution is how it confronts natural disasters like hurricanes,” Socialist Workers Party member Bernie Senter told meeting participants. “The entire population is mobilized and empowered. Their scarce resources are effectively used to mitigate its impact. Here, working people are left on their own and everything is in the hands of insurance companies and other capitalists.
“Every step of the way, the leadership of the revolution under Fidel Castro responded to the aspirations of the toiling majority,” he pointed out. “This leadership was forged over years. There was nothing spontaneous about it. As radicalizing young people from the cities and peasants in the countryside were recruited to the Rebel Army, they were battle-tested and trained in the moral values and principles that were the foundation of the revolution. Their mobilization and involvement in the achievements of the revolution transformed the Cuban people. And it changed us in the Socialist Workers Party, and provided a powerful example for a world socialist revolution.”