The Communist Party of Greece honours the memory and historic contribution of Comandante Fidel Castro Ruz, leader of the Cuban Revolution and the Communist Party of Cuba, on the centenary of his birth.
Through their struggle, Fidel and his comrades wrote an important chapter in the history of the international revolutionary movement. This chapter will remain indelible, despite the efforts of the enemies of the peoples — the bourgeoisie and imperialist powers — and opponents and deniers of every kind who reject the revolutionary struggle to overthrow the exploitative capitalist system and build a new socialist and communist world.
A special place in Fidel Castro’s revolutionary journey is occupied by his unwavering belief in, and invaluable contribution to, the cause of proletarian internationalism — the invincible weapon of the working class and peoples in their struggle for social liberation. The defining feature of Fidel’s life was his leading role in the armed struggle, the victory of the Cuban Revolution, the socialisation of the concentrated means of production and central planning, and the establishment of the new socialist society amidst the harsh conditions of the blockade and the long-standing counter-revolutionary actions of US imperialism.
This is a great internationalist legacy that is highly relevant today. The bourgeois ideological and political apparatus is working systematically to erase the significance, relevance and realism of revolutionary struggle by exploiting various opportunistic social democratic substitutes. These are the so-called 'progressive' and 'left-wing' governments and parties that glorify parliamentarism and the 'peaceful path'. They regard capitalist ownership of the means of production as sacred and inviolable, and bow down to the criterion of profit, thereby supporting the management of capitalism and the preservation and reproduction of the exploitation of man by man..
At the 1st Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba in 1975, Fidel noted: “The revolution itself, the decisive struggle against imperialism and the exploiting classes, was an exceptional teacher for us all. For this reason, on 16 April 1961, against the powerful backdrop of thunderous gunfire and clenched fists, and at the very moment we were burying the victims of the mercenary bombings, the working people were able to proclaim with heroic determination, in the face of the occupiers, that the Revolution was now becoming socialist. At that moment, the foreign monopolies, the large landowners and the local bourgeoisie had been stripped of their wealth, whilst our working class had lost the only thing it possessed – its chains...”.
Secondly, the Cuban revolutionary expressed the internationalism of the Cuban people, defended Lenin and the Great October Socialist Revolution, the first workers’ power and the construction of socialism in the Soviet Union, whilst pointing out, through his interventions, the errors and deviations that subsequently led to the counter-revolution and the restoration of capitalism. Fidel highlighted the influence of the victorious October Revolution on the Cuban Revolution and on the spread of Marxist–Leninist thought, and he recognised and appreciated the internationalist aid provided by the Soviet Union to Cuba.
Thirdly, Fidel and Che believed deeply in internationalist support for peoples struggling against the bourgeoisie and imperialism for social liberation. This is a great contribution, and there are dozens of examples wherecubanrevolutionary forces, acting on the decision of the Communist Party of Cuba, found themselves in the thick of the fighting, as in Latin America and Africa, with weapons in hand, alongside doctors and teachers, making great sacrifices, with devotion to Proletarian Internationalism and to the common struggle of the peoples.
These are heroic chapters, and the peoples do not forget; they express their own internationalism with the communists at the forefront, supporting the Cuban Revolution over the years, spreading its ideas, and confronting anti-communism and organised smear campaigns.
In this great struggle, over the years, the Communist Party of Greece has played a leading role in our country in supporting the Cuban Revolution. Since 1959, even whilst operating in conditions of clandestinity, throughout all historical periods up to the present day, it has condemned the criminal blockade imposed by US imperialism, the sanctions, interventions and threats, through large-scale popular demonstrations at the US embassy, through organised action within the trade unions, within the labour and popular movement, in workplaces, through interventions in the Greek Parliament and the European Parliament – where the EU’s anti-communism is expressed and anti-Cuban attacks are launched.
The KKE asserts its categorical position by every means at its disposal: “Hands off Cuba”, fully aware that the key to Proletarian Internationalism is strengthening the struggle to overthrow capitalist barbarism, build a new socialist society and break the imperialist chain in Greece and other capitalist states.