Reading Fidel is a sublime act of learning

Reading Fidel is a sublime act of learning. With his speeches, you always learn something new, and it seems that he speaks in the present tense because his ideas are more and more current. Fidel was not only the president of Cuba, but he was also a social educator.

His speeches significantly influence the education of those who read them because they convey political, ideological, and social ideas. They are invaluable, ethical and aesthetic messages that contribute to the formation of values. They are also an essential tool for the work of leftist forces, political parties, community organizations, university professors, and study centres.

This volume compiles transcendental speeches on topics, which are as current as they are essential. Fidel tells is about internationalist missions that will remain eternal as a historical record of Cuba’s revolutionary spirit and solidarity, the efforts to develop our industry, and the obstacles imposed by the US to sabotage the supply of fuel. It explains the concept of special period—a circumstance in which we had to survive and look for ways to develop ourselves. It highlights the attention that should be given to the peasant sector to contribute to the country’s economic improvement through a food program. And he reiterates its importance even in the most challenging conditions, the essential importance of saving socialism and the Revolution.

Throughout these speeches, Fidel also recognizes the complex situation Left movements and political organizations are going through in Latin America, a region he describes in detail, emphasizing the social-ills that still afflict our countries. He does an excellent analysis of neoliberalism and its consequences. In the final speech, Fidel recalls his entrance to the University of Havana and his concerns as a young man of those times. He acknowledges that many of his concerns are the same ones he was still fighting for. He focuses on the threats that loom over the Cuban Revolution and the importance of defending it from within because it can be that Cubans themselves will destroy it.

While in prison, I always considered Fidel’s speeches an inexhaustible source of knowledge and guidance. His conviction to win undoubtedly strengthened me and made me face that situation with much more courage.

Fidel’s discourse constitutes an ethical and political treasure that shows us the way to true social emancipation and justice. By reading them, you will notice how the imperialist schemes of domination towards Latin America and the intentions of the US government to suffocate Cuba are still maintained economically.

With his permanent vigilance for the present and future of our people, Fidel played a notable role as a popular educator in history. His extraordinary vision showed that without political education, there is no possible Revolution.

Foreword, by Fernando Gonzalez Llort from Comrade of the Revolution: Selected Speeches of Fidel Castro.