Castro warned about ‘siren songs’
Excerpts from the speech delivered by President Raúl Castro during the commemoration of the 55th anniversary of the triumph of the Revolution, in Santiago de Cuba, on Jan. 1 of this year — barely three months ago. These statements acquire a special significance in view of the disclosure of the ZunZuneo plan as reported by Associated Press (Thursday, April 3) and reproduced by Progreso Weekly. The translation is by Progreso Weekly.
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Next, I shall broach an issue where there’s a long road to trek. I refer to the challenge imposed upon us by the permanent campaign of political-ideological subversion conceived and directed by the centers of world power to recolonize the minds of the people and nullify their hopes of building a better world. […]
In our case, as happens in other regions of the world, we perceive attempts to subtly introduce platforms of neoliberal thinking and restoration of neocolonial capitalism aimed at the very essence of the Socialist Revolution, through a premeditated manipulation of history and the current situation of widespread crisis in the capitalist system, to the detriment of national values, identity and culture, favoring individualism, selfishness and mercantilist interests above morality.
In brief, they deceitfully endeavor to sell the youngest people the alleged advantages of doing away with ideology and social awareness, as if such precepts did not appropriately represent the interests of the powerful class in the capitalist world. In addition, with this they intend to create a rupture between the historic leadership of the Revolution and the new generations, and promote uncertainty and pessimism in the face of the future, all that with the clear purpose of dismantling socialism in Cuba from the inside.
In these circumstances, the challenge grows greater and we are sure that, with the aid of the forces available to the Revolution, we shall emerge victorious in this crucial battlefield by bringing into reality the objectives adopted in the ideological area by the First Conference of the Communist Party two years ago, a direction in which we have not advanced enough.
There is much work to be done. For this, we can count on the drive and patriotic commitment of the great mass of revolutionary intellectuals, artists, teachers and educators, as well as the firmness of our centers for social research, universities and their student bodies, even without fully utilizing their potential.
The attempts to disseminate ideas that deny the vitality of the concepts of Marx, Lenin and Martí must be countered, among other ways, by a creative theoretical conceptualization of the socialism that’s possible within Cuba’s capabilities as the only alternative of equality and justice for all.
The new generations of leaders, who gradually and orderly are assuming the main responsibilities in the leadership of the nation, should never forget that this is the Socialist Revolution of the humble, by the humble and for the humble, an indispensable precept and effective antidote to refrain from falling under the influence of the siren songs of the enemy, who will not renounce the objective of distancing [our leaders] from our people so as to undermine their unity with the Communist Party, the only and legitimate heir of the legacy and authority of the Commander in Chief of the Cuban Revolution, comrade Fidel Castro Ruz. (Applause and shouts of “Viva!”)
