FOREWORD
FIDEL’S VIRTUES
FELIPE PEREZ ROQUE
The following are remarks made by Felipe Perez Roque, Cuban minister of
foreign affairs, at the international colloquium organized by the Guayasamin
Foundation in Havana to mark Fidel Castro’s 80th birthday in 2006.
Dear friends:
You have come from all over the world both to celebrate Fidel’s 80th birth-
day and to reaffirm your solidarity with and love for the Cuban revolution
and its generous people, who have defied storms, blockades and acts of
aggression without losing their optimism, without allowing their hope and
joy to be dimmed, and whogive you a warmwelcome.
This is a special moment in our history, as we Cubans wait hopefully,
calmly and steadfastly for Fidel to get better. His illness is unprecedented
in the nearly five decades of his labors, because Fidel has had a constitution
of iron—probably because he has not allowed himself the luxury of getting
sick. Hehas weathered enormous tensions, succumbing only to a few colds
and other minor ailments. Therefore, the past few months have been a new
experience for us, and our people have faced it with maturity and self-
confidence—which Fidel taught us—that will serve as a model for present
and future generations of Cubans…
I was unsure about what to say this afternoon, because most of you
have visited Cuba on other occasions and know of the Cuban revolution’s
struggles and of the solidarity that it has always expressed. Many of you
have said things here that I couldn’t say myself. Many of your words have
brought lumps to our throats and to the throats of the millions of Cubans
whohave watched these panel discussions on television.30 FIDEL CASTRO READER
Therefore, rather than make a polished speech, I decided it would be
better to express my feelings and say what any Cuban anywhere in Cuba
could tell you about what Fidel, the revolution and our independence mean
to us—they are all the same thing and are part and parcel of our present and
future…
I have come up with 14 or 15 personal virtues of Fidel, which have also
become virtues of the Cuban revolution and even of the Cuban people.
One of Fidel’s unquestionable contributions over the past 50 years or so is
that some of his personal virtues and ideas have become a part of this new
nation. The Cuba that he inherited and whichexisted for centuries has taken
a distinctive form over the last 50 years, during which a thoroughgoing,
genuine, home-grown social revolution was carried out and victoriously
defended on this tiny island.
The first virtue that I think Fidel contributed to the revolution, which is
now the key to our people’s actions, is his concept of unity as a prerequisite
for the defense and survival of a revolution, and even for the triumph of
an idea. No idea—no matter how correct it is—can triumph if those who
believe in it don’t defend it together.
The Cuban revolution survived and has been victorious because it
created and defended unity, and its strength in the future depends on pre-
serving that unity.
Other revolutions have been lost precisely because they lacked unity;
at the moment they triumphed—as is only natural in processes of such
intensity and diversity—their unity was broken, or was not achieved when
it was needed. Lack of unity can destroy a revolution.
Cuba’s unity is the special contribution of Fidel’s character and ideas.
This unity is not based onone personor group imposing their views onother
people and groups. Some of the protagonists of this revolution are sitting
here in this room. They could tell you, better than I, how the revolutionary
forces united in Cuba, how a single party was created as a guarantee of the
revolution’s continuity and how this was not the result of persecution of
anyone who thought differently, or of negotiated power-sharing arrange-
ments. Rather, it was the result of a process that is closely linked to Fidel
and the role he has played.
What arose with the revolution is now a virtue of all Cuban revolution-FOREWORD 31
aries and the people as a whole. All of us always promote unity, wherever
we are. Naturally, we’ve had our differences—arguments—too, but we’ve
always held fast to the key idea of unity as a prerequisite for victory. This is
one of Fidel’s contributions; things were not like this in Cuba before Fidel.
Earlier wars and struggles for the Cuban people’s right to independence
and sovereignty failed from a lack of unity. The first big war that Cuba
fought to win its independence from the Spanish colonial power—a hard-
fought war that lasted 10 years, between 1868 and 1878—failed because of a
lack of unity. It had leaders and others whowere no less committed and had
no fewer good qualities than Fidel, but that heroic war did not conclude in
victory—mainly, from a lack of unity. This wasalso true at other momentsin
the history of the Cubanrevolution, until Fidel madeunity an essential task,
based on his lack of pretentiousness, on his ability to listen to others and on
his ability to convince and persuade rather than to impose or dictate.
What made Che Guevara decide to join that epic effort after meeting
Fidel that night in Maria Antonia’s house in Mexico? It only took one conver-
sation for Che, with his intelligence, high educational level, ability, honesty
and purity, to decide to join those who proposed what seemed impossible:
to go to Cuba aboard a tiny vessel, to wage guerrilla warfare and defeat
an army that was supported by the United States—an army of 80,000 men,
around a thousand for each of the expeditionaries whowould arrive on the
Granma.
I don’t know if you have ever stood in front of the cabin cruiser Granma
and wondered how it was possible for 82 people, with their weapons and
supplies, to fit on that tiny vessel designed for 12 or 15 passengers. Partici-
pants recall that when the boat left the calm waters of the river in the dark
at 2:00 in the morning, Che asked, “When do we get to the ship that will
take us to Cuba?” He thought the Granma would take them to a larger boat.
Naturally, the preparations were secret; everything wascompartmentalized;
and others must have shared Che’s belief that they would be going to Cuba
on a larger ship.
Fifty years have passed since that voyage. Fifty years ago today, they still
had two days’ sailing to go before they would reach Cuba.
Unity is the first thingI put on mylist.
The second is ethics. I think it was Gilberto Lopez y Rivas who said that
Fidel and the Cubanrevolution had madeethics the essence of government.32 FIDEL CASTRO READER
Ethics is rooted in [Jose] Marti’s thinking, but it wasFidel’s practice over the
course of 50 years that turned ethics into an absolutely essential virtue of the
Cuban revolution. With Fidel’s concept of ethics as an essential component
of political and revolutionary action, the idea of the endjustifying the means
has no place. For Fidel, the end does not justify the means. You can’t reach
your objective or achieve victory at any price. That is whyno prisoners have
ever been tortured in Cuba since the revolution, even when they had im-
portant information that could have enabled us to prevent other crimes, to
prevent other terrorist attacks.
Veteran combatants say that Fidel lectured the members of Cuban state
security and others about this many times; the founders of the Rebel Army
were peasants who had just learned how to read and write. No one knows
of any instances of his ever having allowed, promoted or tolerated the idea
of torture or assassination as a method of struggle. The Cuban revolution
concentrated its activities on defeating the enemy army and its invading
troops, and never resorted to retribution.
Ethics made the Cuban revolutionaries beloved, in spite of all the twist-
ed propaganda that was launched against them. They always upheld the
principle that they would never take anything from the peasants, and the
hungry, barefooted members of the tiny guerrilla army always paid the
farmers for the chickens or the rice and beans they asked for to keep them-
selves going.
One of Fidel’s contributions to the revolution was the recognition that
you lose moral authority if your actions are unethical. More than 3,500
Cubans have been killed by acts of terrorism, and more than 2,000 Cubans
have physical disabilities caused bybombs, the strafing of civilians by planes
and ships off our coast, and other acts of terrorism, but the revolution’s
actions have always been ethical.
This is what Fidel is like, and this is whythe revolution has always been
defended within limits that exclude any possibility of imitating the enemy’s
methods—because, as I have already said, the end does not justify the
means. This is one of Fidel’s contributions, as weCubans are well aware.
You can make suggestions to Fidel about how to act, but you know
ahead of time, if you propose going even a fraction of an inch outside the
ethics, principles and ideas on which the revolution is based, that you will
be turned down—probably vehemently.FOREWORD 33
Third on my list is Fidel’s lack of interest in receiving homage and material
things. This is an essential part of him. It is not just his almost Spartan way
of living or his total lack of vanity. Hewasa brilliant student and could have
been an excellent lawyer. His first law partners—two classmates with whom
he founded a law practice after they graduated from law school—said that
they soon proposed that he leave the partnership and do something else,
because when a rich landowner contracted them to evict some poor people
from his land, Fidel wound up defending the poor people, and the partners
lost the contract.
Fidel’s lack of interest in material things has become an essential quality
of the Cuban revolution. For example, there’s the concept of solidarity as a
duty rather than as a means of political influence. Several participants in this
conference have said, “Cuba helped us without asking anything in return.”
Aid is often given in the world, but usually in exchange for favors of
one kind or another. There is not even one example of this with regard to
Cuba. No one can ever say that the Cuban revolution asked for anything in
exchange. Cuba gave its solidarity generously and purely, and it didn’t give
whatwas left over; rather, it shared what it had without asking for anything
in return. I think that this explains whyyou are here and why many others
like you wanted to be here.
Like everyone else, we may make mistakes; we aren’t perfect. We can
and do make mistakes, but I think that we have never made the mistake
of viewing solidarity as a means of furthering our own interests. That is a
quality that the Cuban people have, one that is recognized by visitors. It
was, perhaps, a characteristic of some sectors of our population in the past,
one of those specific qualities that were part of the Cuban essence, but it
was the revolution that extended this idea of sharing on a massive scale.
This idea enabled Cuba to hold a Festival of Youth and Students at a time
of severe crisis, during the “special period,” accommodating our visitors in
people’s homes. Everyone recognizes that the idea of sharing is a quality of
the people and of the revolution.
Wehave defects, but interest in material things is not one of them. As a
people, we have defended the idea that honor and independence are worth
more than material possessions. Wehave never compromised or bargained
with our right to be free; we have refused to surrender in exchange for34 FIDEL CASTRO READER
having the blockade lifted. Wehave said “No,” andJ think that this is essen-
tially a result of Fidel’s teachings.
Fidel’s fourth virtue is consistency. It is not just that if you read what
Fidel said about something in 1961, you will find, to your admiration and
surprise, that he has repeated those ideas many times—although not all of
them, because, logically, some things change. But whenI speak of consist-
ency, I’m referring, for example, to the fact that ever since the triumph of
the revolution, no Cuban diplomats have had to defend a cause in which
they didn’t believe or a principle with which they didn’t agree. No Cuban
diplomats have had the hard, bitter experience—that I’ve often seen other
diplomats go through—of having to tell someone, “Forgive me. I don’t agree
with what I’ve been ordered to say. My government ordered me to say it,
but I don’t agree with it, myself.” No Cuban diplomats have been placed
in that situation since the triumph of the revolution, and neither have any
other representatives of our revolution and our people.
The revolution has been consistent in its principles and has never placed
us in the position of having to choose between defending a principle in
which we believe or obeying a government order. Consistency has been
another feature of the government in Cuba, as has the idea of principles
above interests. The Cuban revolution has made both of them part of the
essence of government. That is Fidel’s work.
Personal example is the fifth item on mylist.
In Cuba, Fidel has upheld the idea that you can’t ask the people to
do anything that you yourself are not willing to do first. You may not
actually do it, but those who follow you know that you are willing to do
so. Starting with the first hurricane that scourged Cuba after the triumph
of the revolution, Fidel always went wherever a hurricane was expected to
hit—and he did this for nearly 45 years. The people have seen him there,
directing things in the midst of each hurricane, risking his life alongside
others, and this has become normal practice for Cubans.
All Cuban leaders are cut from this cloth; all of them understand that
personal example is of key importance and is a duty, that leaders must go in
front, that the only right leaders have is the right to sacrifice themselves—
that is the only privilege to be obtained from holding a position or beingFOREWORD 35
I member of the Cuban Communist Party. You can’t be a member of our
party unless your companeros, most of whomare not members of the party,
consider that you are sufficiently exemplary and have enough authority to
be one. This is why our party is not a mass organization. The idea that the
only right that being a memberof this vanguard party or holding a position
of responsibility gives you is the right to sacrifice yourself more and to
accept more restrictions—that is part of what Fidel has given us. Fidel has
always been in the midst of every battle, hurricane and task that requires
sacrifice and effort.
Well, for obvious reasons, Fidel couldn’t go on internationalist missions.
Hedidn’t have the same privilege Chehad—Fidel had promised Cheduring
their time in Mexico that he could leave for such a purpose one day. As
has already been said here, Fidel’s internationalist mission was to transform
Cubafrom a tiny island lost in the sea into solid ground for all whostruggle
for justice and honor anywhere in the world.
Personal example, the authority that ensues from leading the way,
from setting an example, from guiding with your own actions—that is one
of Fidel’s contributions. You can’t stay back while asking others to move
forward; if you do that, you cannot look themin the face.
I remember when Fidel said, “I see my bodyguards preparing to meet
newattacks onme, preparing to evacuate me, to get meout of the waywhile
they stay andfight. I let them. I say nothing; but they know, if anattack ever
happened, that I’d stay there with themfighting. If I left themthere fighting
for me, howcould I look themin the face?”
That quality, applied to all aspects of life, has been one of the bases
of Fidel’s authority in Cuba, and it explains why the people love him so
much. The people know what’s what and can’t be fooled. Cubans know
about sacrifice, but also, as part of their national character, they know how
to enjoy themselves. They are joyous, expansive and like to party, but they
are willing to give this up—and have done so on more than one occasion.
But they don’t like anyone who tries to fool them or who stays back while
ordering them to moveforward.
To guide these people, you have to lead them, which means being at the
head of the vanguard. That is part of what Fidel has given us, a result of
his teachings, and it’s not just four or five people who follow his example
in this; it has become a mass phenomenon and can be seen in factories,36 FIDEL CASTRO READER
agricultural enterprises and government ministries. Leaders must lead, set
an example, show the wayby their ownactions.
Che, a minister in the government of which Fidel was prime minister,
was an example of this.
Sixth is the truth. Telling the truth is absolutely necessary if you are to be
respected.
I remember when someone suggested to Fidel that he leave out part of
the truth. He didn’t agree, and the other person said, “But not telling the
whole truth is not the same as telling a lie.” Fidel replied, “But not telling the
whole truth is only a half-truth, and we’re talking about telling the truth.”
Theenemyhas never been able to showthat wehave lied, but wehave often
caught them out and said, “You’re lying. Here’s the proof.” The revolution
has never told a lie. That is a result of Fidel’s practice and his teaching.
The seventh virtue is sensitivity. Fidel conveyed that personal quality to the
policies and actions of the revolution.
I rememberwhenI was Fidel’s young, green assistant—in 1992 or 1993—
and I was overwhelmed by the fact that it was the middle of the night and
there were still at least 30 visitors who wanted to meet with him. This was
not possible for all of them, and Fidel hadjust had a long and tiring meeting.
He’d spent the whole day in one meeting after another and had not eaten
anything. It was in the special period, which were very hard years, with
blackouts and shortages of electricity, food and medicine. The country had
to meet the challenge of an unprecedented situation in which 85 percent of
our foreign trade had suddenly been cut off, which forced us to seek new
markets, under pressure from a blockade that was being tightened. Fidel
never rested but spent all day, every day, working…
Heturned 70 in 1996. [Oswaldo] Guayasaminwas here and did a portrait
of his hands. While he was being painted, Fidel protested, “But, Oswaldo,
those hands that you’re giving meare very thin and pale!” AndGuayasamin
told him, “Don’t you understand, Fidel? These aren’t hands; don’t you see?
They’re doves. They are pure; they’ve never stolen anything or been stained
with blood.”
One day during those hard years I told him, “You have several visitors. I
suggest that you see one more this morning… And then, how about takingFOREWORD 37
a rest? The only one left is Mr. Trudeau, who’s leaving first thing in the
morning.” (The former prime minister of Canada and Fidel were friends.)
And Fidel said, “What? Trudeau’s here, and you haven’t told me! Even
if he is leaving tomorrow,I have to see him!” I said, “But there are many
people, and you haven’t eaten anything today,” to which Fidel replied, “No,
I have to see him.” I said, “But, look, he is not prime minister anymore.”
That day,I learned my lesson once and for all. WhenI said, “But, really, he
is not prime minister anymore. If he were still prime minister… but that is
not the case,” Fidel turned around and, a fraction of an inch from myface,
told me, “Never again say anything like that to me. I’m interested in people,
not positions. In fact, I’m more interested in people when they don’t hold
important positions.”
That sensitivity is not just the virtue of one person or of a few men
and women; rather, it has permeated deep into the social fabric of the rev-
olution.
That same sensitivity led Fidel to go into the room where Ana Fidelia
Quirot, the outstanding Cuban track-and-field champion, was hovering
between life and death; because of that sensitivity, he dedicated himself to
saving her life. That ability to feel for others, to share in the pain and anguish
of others, is one of Fidel’s virtues that has become part of the patrimony of
millions in Cuba.
Fidel’s eighth virtue is his lack of pretentiousness and total absence of vanity.
Fidel wears the sameuniforms, manyof which are quite wornout, and there
are no decorations on his chest—he has never had a decoration, and only
the powerof his authority has led other comrades with great merits in Cuba
to accept them. For example, Fidel had to persuade Raul Castro and Juan
Almeida to accept the Hero of the Republic of Cuba stars that they wear on
their uniforms. They had not wanted to accept them, arguing that Fidel had
not received one, but Fidel convinced them to accept. Everyone knows that
once Fidel puts his arm around your shoulder and starts persuading you,
it’s highly likely you will be convinced.
Fidel has made this lack of pretentiousness, this total lack of vanity, an
aspiration for us.
Fidel reminded Tomas Borge—who is sitting here and who said some
very moving things this morning—of Marti’s comment, “All the glory in38 FIDEL CASTRO READER
the world can fit into a kernel of corn.” That has been his watchword, not as
an empty phrase, but as something he has consistently applied throughout
his life. For example, he still holds the same rank he had in the Sierra
Maestra: that of commander. The people call him”Fidel,” and he feels more
comfortable when they use this form of address than when someone says
“Mr. Prime Minister,” “Mr. President” or “Commander.”
Fidel will become involved in profound discussions about the environ-
ment with drivers and hotel waiters. He has never said, “No, that person is
not important enough to discuss things with me.” It is not in him to make
such a comment. Moreover, Fidel has never believed in protocol, and the
protocol followed in Cubahas been scaled downto makeit more acceptable
to him. These days it is more organized, but Fidel has never accepted the
idea that it is against protocol for him to go to see a visitor, and he has
showed up the night before a visitor was to be officially received. He has
absolutely no vanity. This lack of pretentiousness as part of his everyday
behavior—which millions of us Cubans hope to emulate and take as our
model—is another of Fidel’s contributions to the virtues of our revolution
and of our nation.
Ninth is Fidel’s belief that a revolutionary political figure is duty-bound to
learn. This is seen in Fidel’s infinite curiosity, the hundreds and thousands
of questions he asks about things so he can learn all about them in detail,
and his eagerness to read, which has led him to keep books and a small light
in his car. His keen desire to read and study reflects not only his liking for
books and for certain topics, but also his duty as a revolutionary and as a
political figure.
For Fidel, learning, knowing, reading and studying are not just a hobby
but a duty. Heis always surrounded by books. In his office, he has books on
the theory of cattle grazing and fodder, because the government, represent-
ing the people, is trying to improvecattle raising and increase production, to
multiply the fishes and the loaves. He has made notes in the margins of all
these books: “Note: check; discuss this with so-and-so; ask the university for
the results of the study.” There are books on the theory of grazing, byAndre
Voisin; on soil improvement; the main indicators of the machine industry;
biology; and chemistry. Hereads themnot as a hobby but as a revolutionary
whobelieves that he has the duty to learn and know.FOREWORD 39
Fidel’s tenth virtue is how muchhe demands of himself—he aspires to per-
fection not as a matter of personal vanity but as part of his duty. Whatever
Fidel does, he tries to do the best he can. Often, people don’t know every-
thing he has done. Several times, I’ve been congratulated for a speech half
or two-thirds of which Fidel had written. Ofcourse, I couldn’t say this at the
time, because that would have caused problems.
Many of us have witnessed Fidel’s desire to remain behind the scenes.
Heis not given credit for manyof the things he does, because no one knows
about it. Hewants things to be done well. Heis very demanding of himself,
setting an example for us, doing things well because that is his commitment
to the people, his wayof helping the cause we’re defending. This is whatwe
should do as revolutionaries and cadres in the revolution.
Eleventh is Fidel’s belief that defeat is not really defeat if it is not accepted—
if you don’t accept defeat, you can keep on struggling to reverse it; it will
only be a temporary episode and can be turned into victory. This idea of
refusing to accept defeat—everyone in Cuba knows that Fidel really hates
losing—is a quality that I think has extended from him to all Cuban rev-
olutionaries, to all our people and even further afield. Other people say that
it’s what characterizes Cubans. This can be seen in our athletes’ and our
people’s determination to do the very best they can, never accepting defeat.
This is not exactly the example Garcia Marquez gave in his prologue to
An Encounter with Fidel, byGianni Mina—whomI see here in the audience—
but he said something to the effect that Fidel’s refusal to admit defeat was
just as applicable to threading a needle as to waging a battle in Angola
thousands of miles away—he’ll keep on trying over and over again until he
succeeds. This is nowa virtue of the revolution.
If we had not believed that victory is possible as long as you keep on
fighting for it, wemight not be here today, for wewould not have been able
to withstand the nearly 50 years of blockade, acts of aggression, acts of ter-
rorism and attacks to which we have been subjected by the most powerful
imperial power the world has ever known.
When asked how this tiny country managed to stand firm when it was
alone—we had the support of the Soviet Union for 30 years, but we have
been alone here for the last 15 years; many times, our friends didn’t think
we would be able to survive, in light of the adversities we faced—we have40 FIDEL CASTRO READER
to reply:”Because Fidel madeit a part of the belief5 of millions in Cuba that
defeat is not defeat if it is not accepted, that there’s always a possibility of
reversing a temporary defeat. Just like the attack on the Moncada barracks,
the initial defeat of those who returned to Cuba on the Granma was tem-
porary rather than definitive. We’ve always gone back and begun again,
starting from scratch; that’s whywe’re still here.”
Twelfth is the aspiration to justice for all. Some people aspire to justice only
for themselves, striving to be rich or to achieve a personal goal. Somepeople
think of justice for their families or for others who are close to them. Some
people have even aspired to justice for their nation; but for Fidel, the idea of
fighting for justice has no limits. He has not only fought for justice for the
Cubanpeople—which, in itself, would have been significant—and dedicated
his life to this effort, but has also turned justice into a universal cause.
In 1959, Cuba had a population of six million. It had 6,000 doctors, 3,000
of whomleft Cuba, encouraged and paid by the USgovernment, which tried
to leave us without any professionals in this sphere. The other 3,000 stayed.
Yesterday, Fidel’s words, “We will train many doctors,” were recalled
here. Now, we have 25 doctors for every one of those who left. Fidel said,
“We will train them, because we will need them in Cuba and in the rest
of the world.” Without that universal aspiration to justice, Cuba would not
now have nearly 30,000 health care personnel, 21,000 of whomare doctors,
working in 69 countries.
That aspiration to justice for all, beyond the borders of our country,
inspires Cuban scientists to work hard, and Fidel has encouraged their pro-
jects, including one for a vaccine against malaria, a disease that does not
even exist in Cuba.
Thetransnationals don’t put moneyinto suchresearch, because cosmetics
and weight loss pills bring themmore money than vaccines against malaria.
There is not a big market for the medicines that poor people need. Cuban
scientists, inspired by the idea that justice meansjustice for all, have worked
and are working to create vaccines that will cure diseases that don’t exist in
Cuba. This is another of Fidel’s contributions and teachings.
Thirteen is the power of ideas. Personal conviction—this also comes to us
fromJose Marti, whosaid that even from the depths of a cave a correct ideaFOREWORD 41
is more powerful than an army. This is why we call our struggle a battle of
ideas, for this is the key arena in which to wage the struggle.
Fidel’s fourteenth virtue is empathy, which has also become part of our
people’s patrimony. In spite of all the acclaim and support he has received;
even though he has been turned into a myth, especially by enemy harass-
ment; and in spite of his immense authority that comes from his example,
his experience and his knowledge; Fidel can still put himself in someone
else’s shoes, imagine what someone else is thinking or feeling, and share
and understand the pain, doubts and fears of others.
I remember one day whenI was feeling terrible because of a mistake I
had unwittingly made when passing on Fidel’s instructions, and he saw I
was upset and said, “Would you like me to tell you something?I think it’s
very good that this has happened. It seems to me that what you’ve done
will be beneficial in the end.” At that moment, he was not the commander-
in-chief of the Cuban revolution, the president of the Council of State, or
even a veteran fighter who knew that a mistake in one small detail could
destroy an important project. At that moment, he was a human being who
understood that I wanted to find a hole to crawl into but couldn’t find one
and that I was dying of shame and couldn’t do anything to fix what had
happened. Fidel insisted—I’ve seen himdo the same thing manytimes with
other companeros, too—on showing me that in the end, mymistake would
be a positive thing for the final results of the work.
That is Fidel the human being—who, even though he seeks perfection
in everything he does and castigates himself if he does not achieve it, never-
theless does not demand it unfairly of others and understands that others
may make a mistake. Fidel offers encouragement. That is his way. In Cuba,
anyone who does not practice empathy—millions of Cubans have seen
Fidel do this—is unpopular, a bum, and Cubans won’t accept that person,
because empathy is a quality that the people nowexpect.
Finally, Fidel’s fifteenth virtue is his total absence of hatred for anyone. Che
said that a revolution was a great act of love. Fidel does not hate individuals,
even if they have been or are his enemies. What he hates is exploitation,
racial discrimination and other instances of injustice. The Cuban revolution
has never acted out of hatred, except for hatred of injustice, and that hatred42 FIDEL CASTRO READER
is not directed against those whoare responsible for, injustice.
The Cuban revolution is not based on hatred, even of traitors. Look at
Fidel’s replies when [Ignacio] Ramonet—whomI also see here in the audi-
ence—asked him about traitors. There is not a single word of hatred in
more than 700 pages of Fidel’s replies to Ramonet, in Gianni Mina or Tomas
Borge’s books. When they asked him about traitors and about those who
had tried to assassinate him, Fidel said very little.
Many of the terrorists who made thousands of Cuban families suffer,
and are still responsible for their suffering, are still alive. The revolution is
very strong, and if it were governed by hatred, it could go after those who
committed murder and other acts of terrorism against our country; but the
revolution has not done this. This comesfromFidel’s thinking, fromthe idea
that we shouldn’t execute the tools of imperialism; if we did, others might
appear. Rather, wemustoverthrow imperialism, whichhas created and sup-
ported them. The revolution has not gone after the murderers and torturers
whoescaped from Cuba onthe eve of January 1, 1959, and it didn’t even ex-
ecute them when they returned to our homeland as invaders. Some of them
are still alive and can testify to this. There is absolutely no hatred in Fidel.
When you ask Fidel about the US presidents such as John F. Kennedy,
and his brother Robert—Kennedy was president at the time of Operation
Mongoose, though not the only one, because it lasted for decades and has
not ended yet—you won’t find any hatred in Fidel.
I remember the day when Eunice, John and Robert’s sister, asked Fidel
for a statement, around the time of the 30th anniversary of the October
[Missile] Crisis. Fidel had a lot of work and didn’t want to do this, but she
said, ‘T ask on behalf of myfamily, Mr. President. I know how mybrothers
opposed you, and I don’t agree with some of the things they did. I respect
your complete absence of hatred and the fact that you never felt hatred for
my brothers, who gave you reason to hate.” Fidel ended up agreeing and
gave her an interview that is one of the most complete testimonies on the
October [Missile] Crisis and what led up to it.
Fidel has instilled these qualities in us, qualities that come both from his
own behavior and from other sources. Cuban revolutionaries aren’t moti-
vated by hatred. More than 350,000 Cubans went to fight in southern Africa
to oppose the powerful apartheid troops, who even had several nuclear
weapons; in doing so, as Che wanted, they were guided by deep love. TwoFOREWORD 43
thousand Cubans lost their lives there. Our combatants were faced with a
powerful army. That war, which ended with the preservation of Angola’s
territorial integrity and with Namibia’s independence, lasted for 15 years.
Angola wouldn’t exist today and it would have taken much longer to
defeat apartheid if the Cuban troops had not opposed the racist army in
southern Africa, thousands of miles from our homeland. This is even more
meritorious when you consider that this was done alone, at a time when
the Soviet Union was already collapsing and the socialist camp was falling
apart.
Piero Gleijeses spoke here andwrote a bookabout this subject. Whenthat
war ended, our combatants came back home, and what Amilcar Cabral had
said was borne out: that the Cubans would return home from Africa taking
only the bones of their dead. Wedon’t ownthe mines, the oil wells, the land
or the forests there. Wedidn’t go there looking for diamonds or oil; wewent
to fight for the idea of justice, a quality that is part of the patrimony Fidel
has given our people. Our troops were inspired by altruism, not hatred.
That is the way it was in the guerrilla struggle in the Sierra Maestra, where
the enemy’s woundedwere cared for first, and at the Bay of Pigs. That is the
wayit has always been, including in Angola.
This complete absence of hatred of individuals, combined with a hatred
of injustice, imperialism and exclusion, is another of Fidel’s qualities, and it
explains his total absence of rancor. If youask himabout those whobetrayed
and attacked him, he won’t express any hatred. I think this is another lesson
wehave received fromFidel.
As I mentioned, this is not supposed to be an essay or a rigorous academic
work. If it has one virtue, it is its total honesty.
Like any other Cuban,I wouldn’t say these words here if I didn’t believe
in them deeply, because Fidel has also taught us to reject vanity and flattery.
Nothing annoys Fidel more than flattery.
These words also reflect a deep affection, which is the main feeling our
people have for Fidel, seeing himas their father, their older brother, a mem-
ber of their family, apart from his responsibilities and his merits.
The enemies of the Cuban revolution—the enemies of justice, truth and
honor—are counting the minutes, waiting and hoping for Fidel to die, not
understanding that Fidel is notjust a man, that Fidel is his people and, when44 FIDEL CASTRO READER
it comes downto it, that Fidel is every manand womanin the world whois
willing to fight and does fight to make the world a better place.
Our enemies dream on, but they are mistaken when they think that
Fidel’s absence will mean the absence of his ideas, and that the convictions
and principles that Fidel has sown on a mass scale amonghis people and in
the world will disappear. Fidel wants his ideas to remain. Convalescing, re-
covering and returning to the battle, he will once more defeat those enemies
whoare steeped in hatred and mediocrity.
Thank you all for coming here. Thankyou for having allowed us to cele-
brate Fidel’s birthday in this way. Fidel would not have allowed us Cubans
to do so if it weren’t for you…
I thank you and promise that we will keep on struggling to promote the
ideas and dreams to which Fidel has dedicated his life. Wewill do this with
him leading our people again and, when the time comes that he and the
others of his generation are no longer with us, I amsure that our people will
have made those ideas and principles their ownforever.
This is our greatest gift to Fidel: to always defend and struggle to pro-
mote those ideas.
Thank you.
Felipe Perez Roque
November 30, 200
My mother showed me how to work hard and both my sister and mother encourage me to be myself.
