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This is a speech given by Fidel Castro in October of 1959, speaking to the people of Cuba about the U.S. response to the revolution. The speech is filled with flowery language and passion from Castro as he defends the virtue of the revolution and denounces counterrevolutionaries in Cuba and abroad. This speech highlights Castro’s power as a speaker and the important role his personality played in Cuba-U.S. relations.
In the speech, Castro accuses the U.S. of bombing Cuba, and he asserts that Cuba is a harmless state incapable of defending itself. However, he also warns against further provocation, claiming that Cuba is prepared to fight for the cause of the revolution. This impassioned speech is in stark contrast to the backroom discussions happening in the U.S. at the same time which are much more concerned with practical issues, not idealistic ones.
“Workers, farmers, students, all Cubans: . . .
These are the questions we should ask ourselves: Why are we being attacked? Why have we had to meet here together again? Why are there traitors? Why is there an attempt to make the Revolution fail? What accusations are being made against the Revolution? Why are certain charges made against us? What ends are being sought? How should the people contend with these maneuvers and motives? How can the success of the Revolution be assured? What measures have we taken and what measures are we willing to take in order to defend the Revolution?”
“The reactionaries, the invaders, and the counterrevolutionaries, both inside Cuba and outside Cuba, whether numerous or few, will find a nation that is proud to declare that we do not wish to do harm to anyone; that we do not wish to jeopardize any other people in any part of the world; that we wish only to live by our own labor; we wish only to live from the fruits of our own intelligence and wish only to live by the work of our own hands, but in order to defend our aspirations; in order to fulfill our destiny in this world; in order to defend rights that are the inalienable rights of any people of the world, big or small, today, yesterday, or tomorrow, in order to defend our honest aspirations, the Cuban people are ready to fight.”
Castro, Fidel. “Castro Calls on Cubans to Resist the Counterrevolution.” In The Cuba Reader: History, Culture, Politics, edited by Aviva Chomsky, Barry Carr, Alfredo Prieto, and Pamela Maria Smorkaloff, 472–75. Duke University Press, 2019. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv11smxrz.101.