Vancouver International Che Guevara Conference

2011-08-15T20:18:00.000-07:00

REPORT BACK:

CUBA TODAY!

The Gain & Challenges

4TH INTERNATIONAL
CHE GUEVARA CONFERENCE

November 11 - 13, 2011

Vancouver, BC, Canada

Che Guevara Conference 2011 A Huge Success

For the 4th consecutive year, the Vancouver International Che Guevara Conference took center stage to discuss the theme, “Cuba Today: The Gains and Challenges.” The conference was a great success, bringing together over 500 people to participate in 26 packed hours of workshops, discussions, films and cultural presentations hosted by 17 distinguished presenters from Cuba, Venezuela, and across North America. The conference is organized by Vancouver Communities in Solidarity Cuba (VCSC).

*** Click here for conference photos ***

DAY 1
The conference opened with a welcoming by Coast Salish Elder Kelly White, who presented Aleida Guevara with a handmade star blanket, a symbol of protection and respect to welcome the Cuban revolutionary to her territory. VCSC Executive Committee member Colleen Glynn gave a conference opening and presented a special greeting from Cuban Ambassador to Canada, the Honourable Mrs. Teresita Vicenti Sotolongo.

Throughout the conference, the diversity of participants was apparent. Looking around the hall, you could see youths of 15 years to elders in their 80’s, representing a wide variety of nationalities and ethnicities, and members of many different communities. Participating in the conference were members of arts and cultural communities and the LGBTQ community, and a wide range of ethnic and religious communities, including the Muslim community, Indigenous, Latin American, African, Middle Eastern, and so on. This broad and inclusive environment brought everyone together under the banner of discussion and debate on “Cuba Today.”

Dr. Aleida Guevara, a Cuban revolutionary leader, prominent author, pediatrician, and daughter of legendary revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara, joined the conference for the second consecutive year to present a much-anticipated workshop titled “World Crisis, Imperialist Offensive and Our Alternatives.” She emphasized that the fight Che Guevara led to confront imperialism in every corner of the world remains the central challenge in today’s fight for a better world. Dr. Guevara’s rousing talk was followed by the documentary film, “The Uncompromising Revolution” by renowned filmmaker Saul Landau.

Participants then had the privilege of taking part in two workshops by two lifelong Cuban revolutionaries. Mrs. Maria De La Luz B'hamel, the Minister Councilor of the Cuban Embassy in Ottawa presented on the topic of “Cuba’s Gains, Challenges and Evolving Socialism.” She was followed by Manuel Yepe, who worked directly with Che Guevara before and after the Cuban Revolution, and is currently a journalist and professor at the Superior Institute of International Relations of Havana. Professor Yepe presented the innovative workshop, “Cuban Reform VS. Chinese Reform: What We Can Learn.”

Throughout the day participants also had the chance to reflect on the different Cuban photo and art exhibits on display, and also read from the world’s perhaps largest ever printing of “Socialism and Man in Cuba”. This impressive 5 by 10 feet banner was visible from everywhere in the hall, and between workshops VCSC organizer Azza read aloud selected quotations from this, Che Guevara’s most fundamental writing.

Nelson P. Valdes, renowned Cuban-American intellectual and Emeritus Professor at the University of New Mexico, closed the first day with the workshop, “Cuban Foreign Policy Against U.S. Foreign Policy: Revolution and Counterrevolution in Our Backyard”. With over 50 years of experience on the subject, Professor Valdes really illustrated the vicious and continuous battle the U.S. has waged against Cuba and the “threat” of its good example.

To close the first day, Colleen Glynn returned to the stage with VCSC coordinator Tamara Hansen, who concluded by saying, “This conference is part of what Fidel calls the Battle of Ideas – where we have been able to discuss and debate not only the Cuban Revolution, but most importantly how learning from Cuba’s example is necessary in our struggle for a better world.”

DAY 2
The hall filled quickly on the 2nd day of the conference with participants from the previous day alongside new faces. To start out the day, the conference was greeted by the new Consul General of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Vancouver, Mrs. Merli Vanegas, who spoke of the Bolivarian and Cuban Revolutions as fundamentally linked in the past, present and future.

The workshop “Fidel, Cuba and the Imperialist Attack on Libya” discussed a critical issue in today’s world, and Cuba’s principled stand for the self-determination of oppressed nations. The workshop was presented by Tamara Hansen, VCSC coordinator and author of “5 Decades of the Cuban Revolution: The Challenges of an Unwavering Leadership”, alongside Aaron Mercredi, editorial board member of the Fire This Time Newspaper and organizer with the Indigenous Rights and Action Project (IRAP).

The advancements of women within the Cuban Revolution, which Fidel called the “revolution within a revolution”, were explored by Moon Vasquez, Cindy Domingo, and Michelle Clark, three Seattle organizers of the U.S. Women and Cuba Collaboration. They screened the documentary film “Maestra,” about the successful women-led campaign to eradicate illiteracy in Cuban directly after the Revolution.

Evergreen State College Professor Larry Mosqueda received a standing ovation for his thorough and thoughtful analysis of “Why Che’s Ideas are Fundamental for Our Struggle Today,” while Cuba’s achievements in the “agricultural revolution” were then highlighted by UBC Professor and Canada-Cuba Farmer to Farmer Project organizer Wendy Holm in her workshop, “Sustainability and Cooperatives in Cuba’s Future.”

Professor Nelson Valdes returned for the dynamic and interactive, “60 Minutes with Nelson Valdes: All the questions you were afraid to ask about Cuba,” in which everything from Cuban folklore to the rights of the LGTBQ community were up for discussion.

The conference would not have been complete without the return of Aleida Guevara for the final workshop, “Che and the Cuban Revolution”. Given the previous presentations and discussions on Che’s ideas, Aleida chose to focus on Che’s role as a revolutionary doctor, and to field a wide variety of questions about both her and her father’s revolutionary work and ideas. Aleida also shared both touching and humorous personal stories about her father’s life and work, as well as treated the audience to a her beautiful rendition of a Cuban song about Che Guevara. All of the presenters for the previous two days joined each other on stage to close the 2nd day of the conference and the hall was filled with chants of, “Viva Cuba!” “Viva Che!” “Venceremos - We will win!” as the presenters received a standing ovation. The hall was as full to close the workshop portion of the conference as it had been during the opening. Hundreds of diverse and engaged participants had listened to many presentations, shared and debated their own ideas, and become part of the proof found in the conference. The proof that Che’s ideas and the Cuban Revolution remain just as important today as they were 50 years ago.
DAY 3
The next day was a special cultural event in honour of the Cuban 5 heroes held in U.S. jails. An impressive and wide ranging group of artists shared their talents in the name of freedom and justice for these five Cuban men, who for 12 years have been unjustly held in U.S. jails for investigating and exposing U.S. backed terrorist groups which carry out attacks against Cuba.

The event began with the new documentary film “Will the Real Terrorist Please Stand Up?” by Saul Landau, which exposes the history of US backed terrorism against Cuba and makes a strong case for the freedom of the Cuban 5.

Artists such as Sangre Morena, Joaquin Ernesto and MX Catracho sang songs of love and revolution. Local poets Dilia Ochoa and Shakeel Lochan shared the stage and their hearts alongside Seattle based poet Hap Brocki, and Vancouver hip-hop artists and recent participants in the 2011 Cuban HipHop Symposium Joose Justis and Attikus brought new rhymes and energy into the fight for the freedom of the Cuban 5.

The event also featured an exhibition of artwork by Gerardo Hernandez, one of the Cuban 5, which showed both his sense of humour and determination in both the fight for the freedom of the Cuban 5, and also in defense of his beloved homeland.

Alicia Jrapko, Coordinator of the International Committee to Free the Cuba 5 gave greeting from San Fransisco, and lawyer and former Vancouver City Councillor Tim Louis was presented with a special award for his consistent campaigning for the freedom of the Cuban 5, by Marilu B’Hamel from the Cuban Embassy and VCSC Coordinator Tamara Hansen.

One of the most touching moments of the program was Aleida Guevara’s reading of a moving message and poem dedication to Che, which she received from Antonio Guerrero, one of the Cuban 5, written specially for the conference.

Ali Yerevani, political editor of both the Battle of Ideas Press and of the Fire This Time Newspaper gave the conference assessment and closing. After almost 26 hours of conference program, Ali emphasized that the fight to defend Cuba cannot be separated from the fight for a better world, and that this fight began long before 1959 and the triumph of the Cuban Revolution. He invited everyone to get involved in this struggle and consider an important quotation of Che’s when confronting the world’s challenges including the fight for the Cuban Five, “We are realists, we dream the impossible.”

The cultural event closed with the singing of a song dedicated to the Cuban 5 written and performed by members of VCSC and the Free the Cuban 5 Committee – Vancouver.

A cultural event dedicated to the Cuban 5 heroes was a fitting end to the 4th Annual Vancouver International Che Guevara Conference, as these five men are living proof that the Che’s example lives on, as does the fight for a better world.

2011-08-12T22:06:00.000-07:00

3nd INTERNATIONAL CHE CONFERENCE -
DAY 2

2011-08-12T21:57:00.000-07:00

3nd INTERNATIONAL CHE CONFERENCE -
CUBAN 5 EVENING

2011-08-12T21:45:00.000-07:00

3nd INTERNATIONAL CHE CONFERENCE - DAY ONE

2011-08-12T20:55:00.000-07:00

Report Back

Cuba & Revolutionary Internationalism

3rd International Che Guevara Conference
June 26-27, 2010

On June 26th and 27th, 2010, the Third Annual International Che Guevara Conference was held in Vancouver, Canada. This year’s conference, an annual event organized by Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba (VCSC), was on the theme of “Cuba and Revolutionary Internationalism”. With speakers from across the US, Canada, Cuba and Venezuela, this conference aimed to discuss a vitally important component of any revolutionary movement, which is at the core of the Cuban revolution: working-class internationalism. More than 400 people attended this important conference.

SATURDAY JUNE 26

Saturday, June 26th began with a press conference at the Russian Hall in Vancouver, which was well-attended by local media. The press conference also marked the unveiling of a graffiti mural outside the Russian Hall for the Cuban Five political prisoners held in US jails, the first public mural of its kind in North America. The mural is the work of local artist Josue Gonzalez.

The conference was then officially opened by Colleen Glynn, the secretary of Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba (VCSC). By the time the conference began, already more than 200 people filled the hall to see the film “Aleida Guevara Remembers Her Father, Che” and to hear Dr. Aleida Guevara share further recollections of her father, the legendary revolutionary Che Guevara. Dr. Guevara is a lifelong Cuban revolutionary leader, a pediatrician and the author of the book “Chavez, Venezuela and the New Latin America”.

The first workshop was “Cuba Today: How Far the Revolution has Come”, featuring a dynamic and interesting presentation by speaker Miguel Fraga, Press and Cultural Attaché at the Cuban Embassy in Ottawa. His excellent presentation highlighted Cuba’s achievements in health, education, culture, sports and other areas since the 1959 revolution.

The second workshop concentrated on “Cuba’s Internationalism and its Influence on the Bolivarian Revolutionary Process” and was led by Samira Amndan, Diplomatic Attaché at the Venezuelan Consulate in Toronto. Samira spoke about the important role that Cuba has played in supporting the current revolutionary process in Venezuela.

Larry Mosqueda, a professor of political economy at the Evergreen State University in Olympia, Washington delivered the third workshop, “The Origin of Revolutionary Internationalism: Through the Eyes of Marx and Engels”. Larry gave an interesting and well-received presentation on the roots of and necessity for working-class internationalism.

The first day of the conference finished off with special reflections and stories about working with Che Guevara from Manuel Yepe, a journalist and professor at the Superior Institute of International Relations in Havana, Cuba. Manuel was a leader in the underground July 26th Movement leading up to the triumph of the Cuban Revolution and worked directly with Ernesto Che Guevara.

SATURDAY EVENING
A Special Event Dedicated to the Five Cuban
Heroes Held in US Prisons

Following the workshops and discussion section of the day, the conference was transformed into a special evening for the Five Cuban Heroes held in US prisons. More than 120 people attended this special evening event, which featured poetry by Alejandro Mujica-Olea and Shakeel Lochan, music by the Latin band “Maria y los Dos Rafaels” and local hip-hop crew “Republica Central”, as well as speeches by Manolo de los Santos, a project coordinator for IFCO/Pastors for Peace in New York, Walter Lippmann, the editor in chief of CubaNews and a long-time social justice activist, and Dr. Aleida Guevara. The first day of the conference ended with new energy and drive to continue the struggle for the liberation of our five Cuban brothers held in US prisons.

SUNDAY JUNE 27

The second day of the conference began with a special presentation by Arnold August, author of the book “Democracy in Cuba and the 1997-98 Elections” and the forthcoming book “Cuba: Participatory Democracy and Elections in the 21st Century”. Arnold gave a presentation on “The Importance of May Day in Mass Mobilization for Advancing Social Consciousness in Cuba”, based on his different experiences of May Day in Cuba in 2001, 2009 and 2010. Arnold noted that May Day in Cuba is not just a day where millions of Cubans come to the streets to commemorate International Workers’ Day, but each year has a unique reflection of the social and political situation in the world and in Cuba.

The first workshop of the day was on “The Concept of Internationalism in Cuba’s Foreign Policy”, a presentation delivered by Manuel Yepe. Manuel gave an extensive history of the internationalist base of Cuba’s foreign policy since the beginning of the Cuban revolution.

Following a brief lunch break, conference attendees came back to hear a presentation on “Cuban Youth and Revolutionary Internationalism” by Manolo de los Santos, Alison Bodine and Tamara Hansen. Manolo and Alison are both project coordinators for IFCO/Pastors for Peace and Tamara is the coordinator of Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba and the co-chair of the Canadian Network on Cuba. All three focused on the internationalist education that Cuban youth are brought up with, learning not just about Cuba’s history but the history of struggles of people all around the world as well.

The next workshop of the day was “Looking at the Past: the Third International and Looking at the Future: the Creation of the Fifth International”, given by Ali Yerevani, the political editor of the Fire This Time Newspaper and a long-time social justice activist. Ali discussed the need for working people and all progressive forces around the world to unite in a common struggle for social justice, and in particular, the need for a revolutionary leadership in this struggle. He spoke about the important role of the Third International in doing this nearly 100 years ago, and about the importance of the call for a Fifth International by Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela.

The next workshop, “The Concept of Internationalism in Cuba’s Foreign Policy: Internationalism in Theory and Practice”, was delivered by Isaac Saney, a professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, the author of the book “Cuba: a Revolution in Motion” and a co-chair of the Canadian Network on Cuba. Isaac gave a comprehensive presentation focused on Cuba’s internationalist missions, from sending tens of thousands of doctors to countries around the world to sending 30,000 soldiers to Angola to fight in the war of liberation against the racist apartheid regime of South Africa which had invaded Angola.

Conference participants were all ears to hear the final presentation, “Che Guevara, Revolutionary Internationalist: Are His Ideas Relevant to the 21st Century?”. This workshop was delivered by featured conference speaker, Dr. Aleida Guevara. Dr. Guevara captivated the hall with her speech on Che’s ideas on internationalism and their importance in the world today. Her informative and vibrant presentation was met by a standing ovation by all in attendance.

Following a thank-you to Aleida Guevara and all of the conference speakers, a conference closing was delivered by Aaron Mercredi, an editorial board member of the Fire This Time Newspaper and an organizer with the Indigenous Rights and Action Project. Aaron emphasized the need to put all that was learned about revolutionary internationalism in the conference into action and get involved in the fight for social justice.

Today, an expanding new era of war and occupation, hunger, poverty and environmental devastation are more and more threatening the future of humanity. To ensure the survival of humanity, people around the world must unite in a global fight for social justice and the creation of a better world. Revolutionary internationalism is a necessary tool in this struggle, and the Third International Che Guevara Conference was a success in delving deeper into this concept both in theory and in practice as we see it in the Cuban revolution.

For further updates and information on activities of Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba and on next year’s Fourth International Che Guevara Conference, please check: www.vancubasolidarity.com

2011-01-20T21:25:00.000-08:00

2011-01-07T14:44:00.000-08:00

4th Annual International
Che Guevara Conference

Public Service Announcement

2010-12-23T00:49:00.000-08:00

DR. ALEIDA GUEVARA

TO SPEAK IN

VANCOUVER, CANADA

*For the Conference Program, click here

*For Conference Speakers, click here

3rd Vancouver International
Che Guevara Conference

CUBA &
REVOLUTIONARY INTERNATIONALISM

Saturday & Sunday June 26-27, 2010
Russian Hall
600 Campbell Ave at Georgia St
Vancouver, Canada

Featuring:
DR. ALEIDA GUEVARA - lifelong Cuban revolutionary leader, a pediatrician, prominent author of the book, “Chávez, Venezuela and the New Latin America” and daughter of the legendary Ernesto Che Guevara.

MANUEL YEPE - journalist and professor at the Superior Institute of International Relations of Havana. Manuel was a leader of the underground July 26 Movement in Matanzas leading up to the triumph of the Cuban revolution, and worked directly with Ernesto Che Guevara.

MIGUEL FRAGA - Press and Cultural Attaché at the Cuban Embassy in Canada.

SAMIRA AMNDAN - Political Attaché at the Venezuelan Consulate in Toronto.

ISAAC SANEY - Professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax and co-chair of the Canadian Network on Cuba. Author of the book, Cuba: a Revolution in Motion.

LARRY MOSQUEDA - Professor of Political Economy at Evergreen State University in Washington State.

ARNOLD AUGUST – Author of the book, Democracy in Cuba and the 1997-98 Elections and the forthcoming book, Cuba: Participatory Democracy and Elections in the 21st Century.

MANOLO DE LOS SANTOS - Coordinator of Caravans to Cuba and Haiti for Interreligious Foundation for Community Organizing (IFCO)/Pastors for Peace in New York City.

WALTER LIPPMANN - Editor-in-chief of Cuba News from Los Angeles.

TAMARA HANSEN - Coordinator of Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba (VCSC) and co-chair of the Canadian Network on Cuba.

ALI YEREVANI - Political editor of the Fire This Time Newspaper.

Since the triumph of Cuba’s 1959 revolution to today, the vision and political ideas that shape the Cuban revolution remain a source of inspiration, discussion and debate around the world. Through the ideas of Fidel, Che, the Cuban socialist project, and the dynamics of the mass revolutionary movement, Cuba has become a country renowned for its achievements in health, education, culture, science and many other aspects of social and human progress. The Cuban socialist project and the Cuban revolutionary leadership, despite 50 years of an inhuman and criminal blockade by various US administrations, have never wavered to imperialist pressure.

The annual International Che Guevara Conference is an opportunity to discuss and debate the ideas of the Cuban revolution, its dynamism and how it has impacted Latin America and the world. This year's conference, “Cuba and Revolutionary Internationalism” will discuss the foundation of the Cuban socialist revolution: revolutionary internationalism, its dynamism and its impact both inside and outside of Cuba. The first International Che Conference in 2008 was on the theme “Che Guevara, Thinker and Fighter: Are His Ideas Relevant for the 21st Century?” The Second International Che Conference in 2009 was on “50 Years of Dynamism of the Cuban Revolution”.

>>> Press Conference & Unveiling of New Graffiti Mural & Campaign for the Cuban 5
SATURDAY JUNE 26 ~ 11:00AM to 11:45AM
To start off the conference, Dr. Aleida Guevara will be unveiling a new mural in honour of the 5 Cuban Heroes held in US jails, which will be displayed outside the Russian Hall. The mural is a work by Josue Gonzalez, a talented, young graffiti artist. Alongside the mural a new post-card campaign for the Cuban 5 will be launched by the Free the Cuban 5 Committee-Vancouver.

SATURDAY JUNE 26 at 7:30PM
**SPECIAL EVENING: Saturday night of the conference will be a special evening dedicated to the 5 Cuban heroes held in US prisons with featured speakers, music, poetry and multimedia.

For updates and more information, see the conference blog at:
http://vancouverinternationalcheconference.blogspot.com/

Organized by:
Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba (VCSC)
http://www.vancubasolidarity.com/
778-882-5223 | cubacommunities@yahoo.ca

2010-11-10T03:31:00.000-08:00

2011 Che Guevara Conference Speakers Articles & Info

Dr. Aleida Guevara

* On the motorcycle behind my father, Che Guevara

* Time to Act, not Just Talk

Manuel Yepe

* Cuba's unique path

Maria de La Luz B'Hamel

* Cuban Embassy in Canada

Nelson Valdes

* It's a blockade, not an embargo: 20th year in a row

* Castro blasts Obama as "stupid," denounces American foreign policy

Larry Mosqueda

* Shocked and Horrified

Wendy Holm

* The Holm Team

Cindy Domingo and Moon Vasquez

* US Women & Cuba Collaboration

Aaron Mercredi

* Resisting Colonialism: The Indigenous Struggle for Self-Determination

Tamara Hansen

* 5 Decades of the Cuban Revolution: The Challenges of an Unwavering Leadership

Ali Yerevani

* Political Editor of the Battle of Ideas Press

2010-11-09T23:26:00.000-08:00

4ÈME ÉDITION DE LA CONFÉRENCE

INTERNATIONALE CHE GUEVARA

invitée d'honneur internationale :

DR. ALEIDA GUEVARA

Leader cubain,auteur éminent et fille du
légendaire révolutionnaire Ernesto Che Guevara

11-13 Novembre 2011

Thème:

~ Cuba, Aujourd'hui : les gains et les défis ~

Conférence:
11-12 Novembre 2011

10 Ateliers

10am – 7pm
Russian Hall
600 Avenue Campbell
Vancouver, Canada

Événement culturel en hommage à nos cinq héros cubain:
13 Novembre 2011
2pm – 6pm
Russian Hall
600 Avenue Campbell
Vancouver, Canada

Les thèmes qui seront abordés lors de cette conférence sont:

1. ''Crise mondiale, offensive impérialiste et nos alternatives''
2. ''Les gains,les défis et l'évolution du socialisme en Cuba''
3. ''La réforme Cubaine vs. la réforme Chinoise: ce que nous pouvons en apprendre''
4. "La politique étrangère cubaine vs. la politique étrangère américaine: révolution et contre-révolution dans notre arrière-cour''
5. ''Fidel, Cuba et l'attaque impérialiste contre la Libye''
6. ''Le rôle des femmes dans la campagne Nationale d'alphabétisation à Cuba ''
7. ''La durabilité et les coopératives dans l'avenir de Cuba''
8. ''Pourquoi les idées de Che sont fondamentales pour notre combat aujourd'hui?"
9. "60 minutes avec Nelson Valdes : Toutes les questions que vous n'avez jamais osé poser à propos de Cuba"
10."Che Guevara et la révolution cubaine"

Lors des trois dernières éditions de la conférence le groupe 'Communautés de Vancouver en Solidarité avec Cuba' (VCSC) a invité différents orateurs de cuba,du canada,des États-Unis et de partout dans le monde pour discuter du développement des idées d'Ernesto Che Guevara et des gains de la révolution cubaine.
La conférence internationale ''che guevara'' a débuté en 2008 en l'honneur du 80e anniversaire d'Ernesto Che Guevara. Chaque conférence aborda un thème unique, le première était ''Che Guevara : Penseur et Combattant! Ses Idées Sont-Ils Pertinente au21e Siècle?'',le Deuxième en 2009 était ''50 ans de dynamisme de la Révolution cubaine" , quant au troisieme en 2010 le thème était ''Cuba et l’internationalisme révolutionnaire". Ces trois conférences ,qui ont permit de débattre et discuter de l'importance de la révolution cubaine et le mouvement de solidarité avec Cuba dans le monde entier, ont été les seuls de leur genre au Canada.Nous sommes ravis que lors des trois dernières années, nous avons accueilli plus de 1200 personnes, 30 conférenciers et offert une occasion unique pour débattre et discuter de 25 sujets imporatants autour de la révolution cubaine: dynamique interne et contraintes externes.

La conférence qui aura lieu cette année ,le 11 et 12 Novembre 2011, ne sera pas différente. Intitulée, "Cuba aujourd'hui: les gains et les défis", cette conférence mettra en vedette de nombreux invités, dont notre invité d'honneur pour la deuxième année consécutive, le Dr Aleida Guevara, leader cubain,auteur éminent et fille du légendaire révolutionnaire Ernesto Che Guevara.

Communautés de Vancouver en Solidarité avec Cuba aura le plaisir de collaborer avec la Comité pour la Libération des Cinq – Vancouver pour co-organiser un événement spécial suite à la conférence le dimanche 13 Novembre, 2011. Cet événement sera une célébration culturelle et un hommage à nos cinq Héros cubains prisonniers politiques des Etats-Unis et à la lutte mondiale pour leurs liberté. Il comprendra des présentations par les leaders du mouvement international pour la liberté des 5 héros cubains de Cuba,des États-Unis et du Canada. Mais aussi l' événement inclura la projection d'un nouveau film documentaire,de la poésie, de la musique et un spectacle de danse. Nous seront également honorés de vous présenter quelques oeuvres artistiques de nos cinq héros cubains.

Veuillez cliquer sur le lien ci-dessous pour voir l'affiche de la conférence:

http://www.vancubasolidarity.com/posters/11111113checonference.pdf

Nous espérons vous voir nombreux pour cet événement spécial á Vancouver!

Pour plus d'informations et mises à jour veuillez consulter notre site web et blog :

http://www.vancubasolidarity.com/

http://vancouverinternationalcheconference.blogspot.com/

2010-11-09T00:52:00.000-08:00

2011 CHE CONFERENCE PROGRAM

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 11

10am-8:00pm

>10:00am-10:45am

Breakfast & Registration

>10:45-11:25am (40min)

Traditional Indigenous welcoming ceremony: KELLY WHITE

Conference Opening: COLLEEN GLYNN (NDP Chair, Richmond riding and VCSC EC member)

Conference Business and Rules: TAMARA HANSEN

GREETINGS via Skype by Cuban Ambassador to Canada Mrs. Teresita Vicenti Sotolongo

>11:30am -1:00pm (1h30min)

Workshop #1

“World Crisis, Imperialist Offensive and Our Alternatives”: ALEIDA GUEVARA

>1:05pm-1:55pm (50min)

DOCUMENTARY FILM “The Uncompromising Revolution”: by SAUL LANDAU

>2:00-3:15pm (1h15min)

Workshop #2

"Cuba’s Gains, Challenges and Evolving Socialism": MRS. MARIA DE LA LUZ B'HAMEL (Minister Councilor of Cuba Embassy)

>3:15pm-4:00pm (45min)

LUNCH

>4:10pm-5:40 (1h30min)

Workshop #3:

“Cuban Reform VS. Chinese Reform: What We Can Learn”: MANUEL YEPE (University of Havana)

>5:40pm-6:00pm (20mins)

BREAK

>6:05pm-7:20pm (1h15min)

Workshop #4

"Cuban Foreign Policy Against U.S. Foreign Policy: Revolution and Counterrevolution in Our Backyard":

NELSON VALDES (University of New Mexico)

7:20-7:30pm

Closing Day 1: COLLEEN GLYNN

=================

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 12

10am-8:00pm

>10:00am-10:30am

Breakfast & Registration

>10:30-10:40

Conference Opening: COLLEEN GLYNN (NDP Chair, Richmond riding and VCSC EC member)

GREETINGS by Consul General of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Vancouver Mrs. Merli Vanegas

>10:45am-11:45pm (1h)

Workshop #5

“Fidel, Cuba & Imperialist Attack on Libya”: AARON MERCREDI & TAMARA HANSEN

>11:45 – 12:20pm (30min)

PRESS CONFERENCE

>12:20pm-1:20pm (1h)

Workshop #6

Documentary Film “Maestra” & The US Women and Cuba Collaboration

MOON VASQUEZ & CINDY DOMINGO

>1:25pm - 2:40pm (1h15min)

Workshop #7

"Why Che's Ideas and Socialism are Fundamental for Our Struggle Today": LARRY MOSQUEDA (Evergreen State University, Washington)

>2:40pm-3:25pm (45min)

LUNCH

>3:35pm-4:50pm (1h15min)

Workshop #8

“Sustainability and Cooperatives in Cuba's Future”: WENDY HOLM (University of British Columbia)

>4:55pm-5:55pm (1h)

Workshop #9

“60 Minutes with Nelson Valdes: All the Questions You Were Afraid to Ask About Cuba"

>5:55pm-6:10pm (15min)

BREAK

>6:10pm-7:40pm (1h30min)

Workshop #10

"Che and the Cuban Revolution": ALEIDA GUEVARA

>7:40pm-8:00pm (20min)

Conference Assessment: ALI YEREVANI

Closing Day 2: COLLEEN GLYNN

==================

SUNDAY November 13, 2011

Special Cultural Event in Honour of the Five Cuban Heroes Held in U.S. Jails!

2pm - 6pm

==================

*** SPEAKER BIO's ***

DR. ALEIDA GUEVARA * Havana, Cuba
Cuban revolutionary leader, a pediatrician, prominent author of the book, “Chavez, Venezuela and the New Latin America” and daughter of the legendary Ernesto Che Guevara.

MANUEL YEPE * Havana, Cuba
Journalist and professor at the Superior Institute of International Relations of Havana. Manuel was a leader of the underground July 26 Movement in Matanzas leading up to the triumph of the Cuban revolution, and worked directly with Ernesto Che Guevara.

MARIA DE LA LUZ B’HAMEL * Ottawa, Canada
Minister Councilor to Cuban Embassy in Canada.

NELSON VALDES * Albuquerque, NM, USA
Nelson P. Valdes is the creator and director of the first university computerized data base on Latin America (LADB in 1986), University of New Mexico. He is a Latin Americanist, Sociologist. Emeritus Professor. Specialist on Cuba and the US Southwest. He has written analytical and opinion pieces for numerous newspapers, magazines and academic journals. He was born in Cuba.

LARRY MOSQUEDA * Olympia, WA, USA
Professor of Political Economy at Evergreen State University in Olympia, Washington, USA and long-time social justice activist.

WENDY HOLM * Vancouver, BC, Canada
Professor of UBC’s International Field Studies in Sustainable Agriculture (Cuba), economist, author and award winning journalist and sustainability expert. Wendy is also the organizer of the Canada-Cuba Farmer to Farmer Project.

CINDY DOMINGO * Seattle, WA, USA

Cindy Domingo is co-chair of the U.S. Women & Cuba Collaboration and the Cuba, Women and Bolivarian Alliance Issues Committee of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Cindy has been co-leading women's delegations to Cuba since 2000.

MOON VASQUEZ * Seattle, WA, USA

Latina Lesbian Feminist active in Seattle’s social justice community for many years. Moon has helped lead numerous women’s delegations to Cuba and Mexico to promote peace and understanding across borders with the Everywoman’s Delegation for Cuba and the U.S. Women & Cuba Collaboration.

KELLY WHITE * Vancouver, BC, Canada,

Coast Salish Elder, & Indigenous media activist.

COLLEEN GLYNN * Richmond, BC, Canada

Chair of the Civic New Democratic Party (NDP) and Executive Member of Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba (VCSC).

TAMARA HANSEN * Vancouver, BC, Canada
Coordinator of Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba (VCSC), author of the book “5 Decades of the Cuban Revolution: the Challenges of an Unwavering Leadership” and former co-chair of the Canadian Network on Cuba.

AARON MERCREDI * Vancouver, BC, Canada
Editorial board member of the Fire This Time Newspaper and organizer with the Indigenous Rights and Action Project (IRAP).

ALI YEREVANI * Vancouver, BC, Canada
Political editor of the Fire This Time Newspaper, political editor of the Battle of Ideas Press, and participant in the 1979 Iranian revolution

2010-11-08T20:25:00.000-08:00

Russian Hall & Surrounding Area

Click on the Map above to see the Russian Hall

& Surrounding Area!

2010-11-08T19:53:00.000-08:00

Russian Hall

600 Campbell Ave, Vancouver, BC, V6A 1Y7

From Ramada Hotel to the Russian Hall

1) Head West on East Hastings St. toward

Cassiar Street

2) Turn Left on Clark Drive

3) Turn Right on Venables Street

4) Turn Right on Campbell Ave

For more detailed Directions click on the Map above!

2010-11-08T19:19:00.000-08:00

Ramada Vancouver Exhibition Park

3475 East Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC V5K 2A5 CA

A) From the North

1) Heading East on Trans Canada Highway 1 from North Vancouver

take Exit 26.

2) Turn left at the top of the exit ramp onto Hastings Street.

3) The Ramada Vancouver is 100 feet on the left..

B) From the South

1) From US Interstate 5 take Exit 275 to Douglas Border Crossing

2) Head North on 176 Street Highway 15 to West on Highway 1

3) Take Highway 1 until Exit 26

4) Turn Right at the top of the exit ramp onto Hastings Street

5) The Ramada Vancouver is 100 feet on the left.

C) From the East

1) Head West on Trans Canada Highway 1

2) Take Exit 26 to Hastings Street

3) Turn Right at the top of of the exit ramp onto Hastings Street

4) The Ramada Vancouver is 100 feet on the left

D) From the West

1) Heading East stay on Hastings Street

2) The Ramada Vancouver is 100 feet on the left hand side after

Cassiar St.

For more assistance on directions, please click here!

2010-11-02T23:21:00.000-07:00

IV CONFEENCIA INTERNACIONAL
CHE GUEVARA

   INVITADO ESPECIAL:
DRA. ALEIDA GUEVARA

Líder cubana, prominente autora e
hija del legendario revolucionario
Ernesto Che Guevara

11 a 13 de Noviembre, 2011

Tema:
~CUBA HOY: Los Logros y Desafíos~

RUSSIAN HALL
600 Campbell Ave.
Vancouver, BC, Canada

Conferencia: 11 y 12 de Noviembre, 2011

10 mesas de trabajo ~10am-7pm

Exposición y evento cultural para los Cinco Héroes Cubanos:

13 de Noviembre, 2011~ 2pm-6pm

Las mesas de trabajo incluirán los siguientes temas:

1. “La crisis mundial, ofensiva imperialista y nuestras alternativas”
2. “Los logros de Cuba, retos y el desarrollo del socialismo”
3. “La reforma de Cuba vs. la reforma de China: qué podemos aprender”
4. “La revolucionaria juventud cubana de hoy: proyecciones y desafíos”
5. “La sustentabilidad y las cooperativas en el futuro de Cuba”
6. “La democracia en Cuba y el VI Congreso del Partido Comunista de Cuba”
7. “La política exterior de Cuba frente a la política exterior de E.U.A: revolución y contrarrevolución en nuestro patio trasero”
8. “¿Por qué las ideas del Che son fundamentales para la lucha actual?”
9. “Lo que tenemos que aprender de la Revolución Cubana para avanzar en nuestra lucha actual”
10. “El Che y la Revolución Cubana”

La Conferencia Internacional Che Guevara comenzó en el 2008 en honor al 80 aniversario del natalicio del Che. Cada conferencia ha tenido su propia temática, la primera conferencia fue “Che Guevara: pensador y combatiente--¿Son relevantes sus ideas en el siglo XXI?”, en la Conferencia de 2009 se trató de los “50 Años del Dinamismo de la Revolución Cubana”, y la Conferencia de 2010 fue “Cuba e Internacionalismo Revolucionario”. En estos tres eventos se ha discutido y se hablado acerca de la importancia de la Revolución Cubana y del movimiento de solidaridad con Cuba alrededor del mundo, desde el punto de vista de activistas y revolucionarios. Estamos muy contentos que en los últimos tres años hemos tenido la participación de más de 1,200 personas, 30 ponentes y la presentación de 25 diferentes temas en torno a Revolución Cubana y su dinámica interna y externa.

La Conferencia del 2011 se llevará a cabo los días 11 y 12 de noviembre, y esta vez no será diferente. La Conferencia se titula “CUBA HOY: Los Logros y Desafíos”, y se contará con la presencia de varios invitados importantes, incluyendo a nuestra invitada de honor por segundo año consecutivo, la Dra. Aleida Guevara, líder cubana, prominente autora e hija del legendario revolucionario Ernesto Che Guevara.

Las Comunidades de Vancouver en Solidaridad con Cuba, también estarán trabajando con el Comité de Vancouver para Liberación de los 5, para organizar conjuntamente un evento especial al día siguiente del término de la Conferencia, el domingo 13 de noviembre de 2011. Este evento será una celebración cultural y homenaje a nuestros Cinco Héroes Cubanos y a la lucha mundial por su libertad de las cárceles estadounidenses. Se contará con la presencia de los líderes del movimiento internacional por la libertad de los Cinco Héroes Cubanos de Cuba, E.U.A. y Canadá. Además se presentará un nuevo documental, habrá poesía, música en vivo y presentaciones de bailes. También estamos honrados de exhibir el trabajo artístico de nuestros Cinco Héroes Cubanos.

Para ver el poster del evento, por favor visita:
http://www.vancubasolidarity.com/posters/11111113checonference.pdf

¡Esperamos contar contigo en Vancouver para este evento tan especial!

Para más información y actualizaciones por favor visita nuestro sitio web:
http://www.vancubasolidarity.com/

3rd INTERNATIONAL CHE GUEVARA CONFERENCE: Cuba & Revolutionary Internationalism June 26-27 2010

2010-10-12T20:20:00.000-07:00

June 26-27, 3rd International Che Guevara Conference

3rd INTERNATIONAL CHE GUEVARA CONFERENCE
Vancouver, Canada
26-27 June 2010

Theme:
~ Cuba & Revolutionary Internationalism ~

Russian Hall
600 Campbell Ave at Georgia St ~ Vancouver, Canada

Since the triumph of Cuba’s 1959 revolution to today, the vision and political ideas that shape the Cuban revolution remain a source of inspiration, discussion and debate around the world. Through the ideas of Fidel, Che, the Cuban socialist project, and the dynamics of the mass revolutionary movement, Cuba has become a country renowned for its achievements in health, education, culture, science and many other aspects of social and human progress. Not only have these achievements benefited the people of Cuba, but through the practice of revolutionary and working class internationalism, Cuba has made important contributions to third world nations across the globe, through brigades of Cuban doctors and teachers, as well as active solidarity with people fighting against capitalist injustice and imperialism. The Cuban socialist project and the Cuban revolutionary leadership, despite 50 years of an inhuman and criminal blockade by various US administrations, have never wavered to imperialist pressure.

The annual International Che Guevara Conference is an opportunity to discuss and debate the ideas of the Cuban revolution, its dynamism and how it has impacted Latin America and the world. The first International Che Conference in 2008 was on the theme “Che Guevara, Thinker and Fighter: Are His Ideas Relevant for the 21st Century?” The Second International Che Conference in 2009 was on “50 Years of Dynamism of the Cuban Revolution”. This year's conference, “Cuba and Revolutionary Internationalism” will discuss the foundation of the Cuban socialist revolution: revolutionary internationalism, its dynamism and its impact both inside and outside of Cuba. The conference, as in previous years, will feature speakers from Canada, Cuba, and other countries.

>> Workshops Include:

1. Cuba Today: How Far the Revolution Has Come
2. The Concept of Internationalism in Fidel's and Che's Ideas
3. The Origin of Revolutionary Internationalism: Explaining Marx and Engels
4. The Russian Revolution and the Foundation of the Third International
5. Cuba's Internationalism and its Influence on Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian Revolutionary Process
6. Cuban Youth and Revolutionary Internationalism
7. The Call for a Fifth International: The Urgency and Prospects
8. Cuban Foreign Policy: Internationalism in Theory and Practice

** Saturday night of the conference, June 26 at 7:30PM will be a special evening dedicated to the 5 Cuban heroes held in US prisons with featured speakers, music, poetry and multimedia.

For updates and more information, see the conference blog at:
http://vancouverinternationalcheconference.blogspot.com/

Organized by:
Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba (VCSC)
http://www.vancubasolidarity.com
778-882-5223 | cubacommunities@yahoo.ca

2010-06-24T16:29:00.000-07:00

INVITADOS ESPECIALES:
2010 Conferencia Che Guevara

DRA. ALEIDA GUEVARA - Permanente lider revolucionaria cubana y prominente autora del libro Chávez, Venezuela la nueva América Latina e hija del legendario revolucionario Ernesto Che Guevara.

MANUEL YEPE - Periodista y profesor del Instituto Superior de Relaciones Internacionales de la Habana. Manuel fue un líder del movimiento 26 de Julio, en Matanzas conduciendo al triunfo de la Revolución Cubana y trabajó directamente con Ernesto Che Guevara.

MIGUEL FRAGA - III Secretario de Prensa y Cultura de la Embajada de Cuba en Canadá.

SAMIRA AMNDAN - Agregada Política en el Consulado de Venezuela en Toronto.

ISAAC SANEY - Profesor de la Universidad de Dalhousie en Halifax y co-presidente de la Red Canadiense en Solidaridad con Cuba. Autor del libro, Cuba: A Revolution in Motion.

LARRY MOSQUEDA - Profesor de Economía Política en la Universidad Estatal Evergreen en el Estado de Washington.

ARNOLD AUGUST –Autor del libro, Democracy in Cuba and the 1997-98 Elections y el próximo libro, Cuba: Participatory Democracy and Elections in the 21st Century.

MANOLO DE LOS SANTOS - Coordinador de Caravanas a Cuba y Haití por la Fundacion Interreligiosa para Organizacion Comunitaria (IFCO) Pastores por la Paz en la Ciudad de Nueva York.

WALTER LIPPMANN - Redactor en Jefe de CubaNews de Los Ángeles.

TAMARA HANSEN - Coordinadora de Comunidades de Vancouver en Solidaridad con Cuba (VCSC) y co-presidente de la Red Canadiense en Solidaridad con Cuba.

ALI YEREVANI - Redactor Política de la prensa Fire This Time.

2010-06-23T08:49:00.000-07:00

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE:
2010 Che Guevara Conference

SATURDAY JUNE 26 - 11am-9:00pm

11:00am-11:30am
Breakfast & Registration
11:45am-12:00pm
Opening Ceremony – Colleen Glynn
12:00pm -12:35pm
FILM: Aleida Guevara Remembers Her Father, Che
12:35pm -1:15pm
“Aleida Guevara Remembers Her Father, Che” Further recollections, questions and answers – Dr. Aleida Guevara
1:15pm-2:30pm
Workshop #1: Cuba Today: How far the Revolution has come – Miguel Fraga
2:30pm-3:00pm
LUNCH
3:00pm-4:30pm
Workshop #2: Cuba’s Internationalism and its influence on Hugo Chavez and the Bolivarian Revolutionary Process – Samira Amndan
4:30pm-6:00pm
Workshop #3: The Origin of Revolutionary Internationalism: Through the eyes of Marx & Engels – Prof. Larry Mosqueda
6:00pm-6:30pm
SPECIAL REFLECTIONS: Working with Che Guevara – Manuel Yepe
6:30pm-6:45pm
First day closing & announcements
7:30pm-10:00pm
* Special evening for the Cuban 5 Held in US Jails * – Poetry: Alejandro Mujica-Olea, Speaking: Walter Lippmann, Manolo de los Santos, Miguel Fraga, Live Music & Film

SUNDAY JUNE 27 – 11am-9:00pm

11:00am-11:30am
Breakfast & 2nd day opening
11:30am-12:30pm
SPECIAL REFLECTIONS: The importance of May Day in mass mobilization for advancing social consciousness in Cuba – Arnold August
12:30pm-2:00pm
Workshop #4: The Concept of Internationalism in Fidel and Che’s Ideas – Manuel Yepe
2:00pm-2:30pm
LUNCH
2:30pm-3:45pm
Workshop #5: Cuban Youth and Revolutionary Internationalism – Manolo de los Santos, Tamara Hansen
3:45pm-5:00pm
Workshop #6: Looking at the past: the 3rd International & Looking to the future: the creation of the 5th International – Ali Yerevani
5:00pm-5:15pm
BREAK
5:15pm-6:30pm
Workshop #7: Cuban Foreign Policy: Internationalism in Theory and Practice – Isaac Saney
6:30pm-7:00pm
DINNER
7:00pm-8:30pm
Workshop #8: Che Guevara Revolutionary Internationalist: Are His Ideas Relevant to the 21st Century? – Dr. Aleida Guevara
8:30pm-9:00pm
Conference Summary & Closing Ceremony – Aaron Mercredi

2010-05-23T08:26:00.000-07:00

CONFERENCE SPEAKER BIOS:
2010 Che Guevara Conference

DR. ALEIDA GUEVARA - Lifelong Cuban revolutionary leader, a pediatrician, prominent author of the book, Chávez, Venezuela and the New Latin America and daughter of the legendary Ernesto Che Guevara.

MANUEL YEPE - Journalist and professor at the Superior Institute of International Relations of Havana. Manuel was a leader of the underground July 26 Movement in Matanzas leading up to the triumph of the Cuban revolution, and worked directly with Ernesto Che Guevara.

MIGUEL FRAGA - Press and Cultural Attaché at the Cuban Embassy in Canada.

SAMIRA AMNDAN - Diplomatic Attaché at the Consulate of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Toronto. Samira has been a social worker, and has more than 15 years of working with most of the social movements organized in Venezuela. She is a woman with an extensive left political history since her early years and is now working with heart and spirit with Hugo Chavez and for the Bolivarian Revolution.

ISAAC SANEY - Professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax and co-chair of the Canadian Network on Cuba. Author of the book, Cuba: a Revolution in Motion.

LARRY MOSQUEDA - Professor of Political Economy at Evergreen State University in Washington State.

ARNOLD AUGUST – Author of the book, Democracy in Cuba and the 1997-98 Elections and the forthcoming book, Cuba: Participatory Democracy and Elections in the 21st Century.

MANOLO DE LOS SANTOS - Coordinator of Caravans to Cuba and Haiti for Interreligious Foundation for Community Organizing (IFCO)/Pastors for Peace in New York City.

WALTER LIPPMANN - Editor-in-chief of Cuba News from Los Angeles.

TAMARA HANSEN - Coordinator of Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba (VCSC) and co-chair of the Canadian Network on Cuba.

ALI YEREVANI - Political editor of the Fire This Time Newspaper.

2010-05-07T17:33:00.000-07:00

DRA. ALEIDA GUEVARA

HABLARÀ EN

VANCOUVER, CANADA

*Para toda la Programa de la Conferencia, clic aquí

*Para Invitados Especiales, clic aquí

3ra Edición de la Conferencia

Internacional Che Guevara

CUBA e
INTERNACIONALISMO REVOLUCIONARIO

El sabado y domingo 26 - 27 de junio del 2010
Salón Rusia
600 Campbell Ave at Georgia St
Vancouver, Canada

Invitados especiales:

DRA. ALEIDA GUEVARA : Permanente lider revolucionaria cubana y prominente autora del libro "Chávez, Venezuela y la nueva América Latina" e hija del legendario revolucionario Ernesto Che Guevara.

MANUEL YEPE : Periodista y profesor del Instituto Superior de Relaciones Internacionales de la Habana. Manuel fue un líder del movimiento 26 de Julio, en Matanzas conduciendo al triunfo de la Revolución Cubana y trabajó directamente con Ernesto Che Guevara.

Dra. Aleida Guevara y Manuel Yepe estarán participando con nosotros en esta edición junto con otros ponentes de Cuba, Venezuela, Estados Unidos y Canada.

Desde el triunfo de la revolución cubana en 1959 y hasta hoy, la visión y las ideas políticas que le dieron forma a la revolución cubana siguen siendo una fuente de inspiración, reflexión y debate en todo el mundo. A través de las ideas de Fidel, el Che, el proyecto socialista cubano, y la dinámica del movimiento revolucionario de masas, Cuba se ha convertido en un país reconocido por sus logros en salud, educación, cultura, ciencia y muchos otros aspectos del progreso social y humano. No sólo los cubanos se han beneficiado de estos logros, asimismo y a través de la práctica del internacionalismo revolucionario de clase y de trabajo, Cuba ha realizado importantes contribuciones a las naciones del tercer mundo en todo el globo, a través de brigadas de médicos y maestros cubanos, así como la solidaridad activa con la gente que lucha contra la injusticia capitalista y el imperialismo. El proyecto socialista cubano y la dirección revolucionaria cubana, a pesar de 50 años de un bloqueo inhumano y criminal por diversos administraciones EE.UU., nunca se han rendido a la presión imperialista.

El informe anual del Che Guevara Internacional Conferencia es una oportunidad para discutir y debatir las ideas de la revolución cubana, su dinamismo y cómo ha impactado a la América Latina y al mundo. La primera Conferencia Internacional del Che la cual se llevo a cabo en 2008 trato temas tales como: "El Che Guevara, pensador y luchador: son sus ideas relevantes para el siglo 21?" Asimismo en La Segunda Conferencia Internacional del Che que fue para el 2009 se hablo acerca de los: "50 años de dinamismo de la Revolución Cubana". Por su parte la conferencia de este año, la cual es llamada "Cuba y el internacionalismo revolucionario" se discutirán las bases de la revolución socialista cubana: el internacionalismo revolucionario, su dinamismo y su impacto tanto dentro como fuera de Cuba. La conferencia, como en años anteriores, contará con exponentes de Canadá, Cuba y otros países.

Para actualizaciones y más información, consulte el blog de la conferencia en:
http://vancouverinternationalcheconference.blogspot.com/

Organizado por:
Comunidades de Vancouver en Solidaridad con Cuba (VCSC)
http://www.vancubasolidarity.com
778-882-5223 cubacommunities@yahoo.ca

2009-07-09T10:50:00.000-07:00

Report Back

50 Years of Dynamism
of the Cuban Revolution

2nd International Che Guevara Conference
June 26-28, 2009

On June 26th, 27th and 28th, 2009, the 2nd International Che Guevara Conference took place for the second consecutive year in Vancouver, Canada, hosted by Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba (VCSC). While the 2008 conference focused on the ideas of Che Guevara, this year's theme was "50 Years of Dynamism of the Cuban Revolution." This years conference featured guest speakers as well as participants from across Canada, the US and Cuba, who took the over 250 participants through presentations and discussions which spanned both the historic and current aspects of the Cuban Revolution, and how they have impacted revolutionary movements worldwide, especially in Latin America.

FRIDAY JUNE 26TH

On the opening night of the conference, Friday June 26th, participants were welcomed by the evening’s MC’s Aaron Mercredi, a VCSC organizer and editorial board member of the Fire This Time Newspaper and Colleen Glynn, also a VCSC organizer and president of the New Democratic Party (NDP) Richmond. The conference began with an Indigenous welcoming from Kelly White, a Coast Salish elder and activist, who spoke about the common struggle of Cuba and Indigenous nations, and welcomed the participants to the Coast Salish Territory with her drumming, prayers and call for “Viva Cuba!” The inspiration of the Cuban revolution was then expressed through the words of local poets Luis Velasquez and Shakeel Lochan. Tamara Hansen, Coordinator of Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba (VCSC) and co-chair of the Canadian Network on Cuba (CNC) then gave the conference opening address, and the conference was officially in full swing. With a warm welcome, the keynote speaker of the evening, Isaac Saney, was invited up. Isaac Saney is a professor at Dalhousie University as well as author of the acclaimed book “Cuba: A Revolution in Motion” and the co-chair of the Canadian Network on Cuba (CNC). He gave a presentation on the theme “Cuba: A Revolution in Motion & What We Need to Learn from the Cuban Revolution.” Accompanied by informative slides, Isaac Saney took participants through the immense progress that Cuba has made in the course of its revolution, in aspects of health, education, and other living standards. He also explained how Cuba has not kept these achievements to itself but with an internationalist perspective has sent tens of thousands of doctors and teachers to contribute around the world. After an enthusiastic applause, there was a lively discussion before the first day of the conference wrapped up.

SATURDAY JUNE 27TH

The second day of the conference featured a full day of inspirational workshops, dynamic discussion periods and multimedia and film presentations. The second day was MC’ed by Tamara Hansen and Colleen Glynn, who began the day with an excerpt from the classic Cuban film “Lucia.” After the film, the first workshop of the day “Roots and Causes of the Cuban Revolution” was presented by Walter Lippmann, Editor-in-chief of the CubaNews. Walter Lippmann spoke about the US domination of Cuba for many years before the revolution, the July 26th, 1953 attacks on the Moncada Barracks led by Fidel Castro, and the launching of the Cuban revolution. The next workshop took off from where the last workshop left off, and went into “The Early Years of the Cuban Revolution: Guerrilla Warfare, Socialist Revolution, Challenges and Progress.” This workshop was presented by Jorge Soberon, who is the newly appointed Cuban Consul General in Toronto,as well as the former Second Secretary of Cuban Interests Section in Washington, DC. The workshop began with the film clip “La Revolucion Cubana en Imagenas” which showed the many early progresses and revolutionary campaigns, as well as attacks from the US military from 1959 to 1965. Jorge Soberon expanded on these topics and answered the many questions that participants had.

In the afternoon, workshops continued with “The Cuban Revolution and Women's Liberation: A Revolution Within a Revolution.” This workshop was presented by Lisa Valenti, who is the National President of the U.S.-Cuba Sister Cities Association and participant in all 20 Pastors for Peace Caravans to Cuba, including a successful hunger strike for 94 days to release U.S.-seized aid bound for Cuba. Although Lisa was not able to be physically present for the conference, she spoke live from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, via video link, and her talk was warmly received by the conference participants. The next workshop, “US Imperialism and the Cuban Revolution: Socialism, the Blockade, and the Five Cuban Heroes” was presented by Gloria La Riva, Coordinator of the National Committee to Free the Cuban Five in the U.S. This workshop addressed the critical issues of the US attempts to destroy the Cuban revolutionary process, and the international efforts to defend Cuba’s right to self-determination and the freedom for the Five Cuban Heroes.

The second day of the conference closed with two films that showed the international impact of the Cuban Revolution. “Chavez, Venezuela and the New Latin America” was a documentary based on an interview by Aleida Guevara (the daughter of Che Guevara) with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. “Salud” took viewers through the many brigades of Cuban doctors who have traveled worldwide to contribute to healthcare on a global scale.

SUNDAY JUNE 28TH

The third and final day of the conference opened with a timeless film from the beginning of the Cuban Revolution, “A Cuban Story,” in which US actor Errol Flynn shares his experience of seeing Cuba change from a US playground to a proud and sovereign country.

The first workshop, “Cuba and Human Rights: Achievements and Fundamental Progress in Social Equality” was presented by Tamara Hansen and Alison Bodine, who is the project coordinator for IFCO/Pastors for Peace in New York and on the Editorial Board of the Fire This Time Newspaper. Due to political targeting from the government of Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency, Alison is banned from Canada for two years, and therefore was only able to be present via video link. This workshop covered the controversial topic of Cuban human rights, which imperialist countries such as the US and Canada often claims are violated. This workshop highlighted the real human rights that Cuba defends, including health, education, housing and food, rights which are not universal to citizens of the US and Canada.

The next workshop “The Cuban Revolution and Homosexual Rights: Revolutionary Leadership Rectifies Itself” also approached another topic clouded by imperialist misinformation, and showed the progresses and leadership that Cuba has taken in advancing homosexual rights. The presentation began with a short documentary about the Cuban National Center for Sex Education, followed by a film clip from the 2008 events in Havana for the International Day Against Homophobia. The workshop was presented by Nita Palmer, who is an organizer with the Free the Cuban 5 Committee – Vancouver and on the Editorial Board of the Fire This Time Newspaper.

In the afternoon, the next workshop “Cuba: Participatory Democracy and Elections in the 21st Century” was presented by Arnold August, an acclaimed journalist and author of the popular book on Cuba “Democracy in Cuba and the 1997-98 Elections” and the upcoming “Cuba: Participatory Democracy and Elections in the 21st Century.” He spoke from his research and experience in observing the Cuba electoral system, and in detail explained how it is in fact an extremely democratic and inclusive process.

The final workshop of the conference was “Revolutionary Resistance and Recovery: The Collapse of the Soviet Union, the Special Period and the Tourist Industry” by Jorge Soberon. The workshop started with the poignant film “Desafio” which outlined this historic period. The presentation explained this challenging period which should have destroyed the Cuban Revolution, but which Cuba persevered through, and is now progressing forward from in many aspects of their revolution.

The conference remained true to the Cuban spirit of internationalism and solidarity, as during this weekend there was a right-wing coup d’etat against the democratically elected President of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya. Tamara Hansen read out a statement from Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba, condemning the coup, which was unanimously approved by the conference participants.

After three days of workshops, discussions, and multimedia presentations, the conference closed with a cultural celebration, which highlighted the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution, as well as the 5th anniversary of Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba (VCSC) with the beautiful music of local musicians and poets.

This conference took the historic 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution as an opportunity to discuss the many challenges Cuba has faced and the achievements they have made within these 50 years. The Cuban Revolution has influenced movements such as Venezuela’s revolution, as well as Cuba supporters worldwide such as those who took part in the 2nd International Che Guevara Conference. The ideas presented in this conference brought many people together from a great diversity of backgrounds and ages, some who have been Cuba supporters for decades, and some whose first experience of Cuba was this conference. The 2nd International Che Guevara Conference was a great success, and will continue in future International Che Guevara Conferences. Through all of the topics discussed in this conference, from the roots of the Cuban Revolution, to the continuing progression of their revolutionary progress, Cuba remains a beacon of hope for humanity in the struggle for a better world.

2009-07-08T14:54:00.000-07:00

2nd INTERNATIONAL CHE CONFERENCE -
CULTURAL NIGHT

DAY ONE

2009-07-08T14:38:00.000-07:00

2nd INTERNATIONAL CHE CONFERENCE - DAY ONE

2009-07-08T14:18:00.001-07:00

2nd INTERNATIONAL CHE CONFERENCE -
DAY THREE

2009-07-08T14:16:00.000-07:00

2nd INTERNATIONAL CHE CONFERENCE -
DAY TWO

2009-07-08T14:12:00.001-07:00

2nd INTERNATIONAL CHE CONFERENCE - DAY ONE

2009-07-08T13:58:00.000-07:00

2nd INTERNATIONAL CHE CONFERENCE -
CULTURAL NIGHT

2009-07-08T13:53:00.000-07:00

2nd INTERNATIONAL CHE CONFERENCE - DAY THREE

2009-07-08T13:51:00.001-07:00

2nd INTERNATIONAL CHE CONFERENCE - DAY TWO

2009-07-01T11:00:00.000-07:00

Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba (VCSC) Statement Against the Coup d’etat in Honduras -
Approved at the 2nd International Che Conference

The following statement, against the coup d’etat in Honduras, was passed by thunderous applause and chants of “VIVA HONDURAS” at the closing session of the 2nd International Che Guevara Conference in Vancouver, Canada:

June 28th, 2009
On Sunday, June 28, 2009, Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was forcibly removed from office by the Honduran military in a coup d’etat. This vicious military coup was organized by the reactionary oligarchy of Honduras against Zelaya and his line of progressive measures and developments in favour of the people of Honduras. Zelaya had called a referendum to reform the constitution, a measure supported by Honduran people.

This coup d’etat has provoked worldwide condemnation from Venezuela, Bolivia, Cuba and other Latin American countries, as well as the European Union.

We, participants in the 2nd International Che Guevara conference in Vancouver, Canada: Strongly condemn this coup d’etat, as well as the brutal kidnapping and beating of the Cuban and Venezuelan Ambassadors to Honduras. Furthermore we demand the immediate release of Patricia Rodas, Foreign Minister of Honduras. This coup d’etat must be condemned by people of the world and we must demand the immediate reinstatement of President Manuel Zelaya.

The 2nd International Che Guevara Conference was organized by Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba (VCSC)

2009-07-01T02:24:00.000-07:00

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE :

2009 Che Guevara Conference

FRIDAY JUNE 26 - 7pm - 10pm

7:00pm Indigenous Welcoming
7:20pm Poetry Reading
7:35pm Opening of the 2nd International Che Guevara Conference
7:50pm Cuba: A Revolution in Motion & what we need to learn from the Cuban Revolution Keynote Speaker: Isaac Saney
9:20pm Discussion
9:50pm Evening Closing

SATURDAY JUNE 27 - 9am - 8pm

9:00-10:15am Registration and Breakfast
10:15-10:30am Conference Welcoming and Proceedings
10:30-11:00am Film - Pre-Revolutionary Cuba
11:00-12:30pm Roots and Causes of the Cuban Revolution ~ Walter Lippmann
12:30-2:00pm The Early Years of the Cuban Revolution: Guerrilla Warfare, Socialist Revolution, Challenges and Progress ~ Jorge Soberon
2:00-2:30pm Lunch
2:30-3:30pm The Cuban Revolution and Women's Liberation: A Revolution Within a Revolution ~ Lisa Valenti
3:30-5:00pm US Imperialism and the Cuban Revolution: Socialism, the Blockade, and the Five Cuban Heroes ~ Gloria La Riva
5:00-5:30pm Dinner
5:30-8:00pm Special Film Presentation: Cuba and Latin America: A Journey Through Film

SUNDAY JUNE 28 - 9am - 9pm

9:00-9:15am Breakfast
9:15-10:30am Film - "A Cuban Story"
10:30-12:30pm Cuba and Human Rights: Achievements and Fundamental Progress in Social Equality ~ Alison Bodine & Tamara Hansen
12:30-12:45pm Film: New Documentary on LGBT Rights in Cuba
12:45-1:45pm The Cuban Revolution and Homosexual Rights: Revolutionary Leadership Rectifies Itself ~ Nita Palmer
1:30-2:00pm Lunch
2:00-3:30pm Cuba: Participatory Democracy and Elections in the 21st Century ~ Arnold August
3:30-4:45pm Revolutionary Cuba and the question of leadership: What working class fighters can learn ~ Ali Yerevani
4:45-5:00pm Break
5:00-6:30pm Revolutionary resistance and recovery: the collapse of the Soviet Union, the special period and the tourist industry ~ Jorge Soberon
7:00-9:00pm Cultural Evening and Celebration of Five Years of the work of Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba

2009-06-30T23:50:00.000-07:00

Message of Solidarity from Embassy of the Bolivarian

Republic of Venezuela in Canada

Very Dear friends from the Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba:

On behalf of the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Canada, I would like to extend the warmest of greetings to all of you and to express our sincere gratitude for the extremely important labor that you continuously and selflessly perform in support of the progressive causes not just of Cuba, but of all of Latin America. Unfortunately, due to previous commitments and unforeseen circumstances we are unable to be physically with you this time around, but please rest assured that our best wishes and our unfettered recognition will always be with you, not only during the current event, which will undoubtedly be a complete success, but also throughout all your various and very significant yearly activities.

¡VIVA LA AMISTAD ENTRE CUBA Y VENEZUELA!

¡LONG LIVE CANADIAN SOLIDARITY!

Sincerely,

José Antonio Rodríguez de la Sierra

Chargé d’Affaires, a.i.

Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Canada

2009-06-13T19:35:00.000-07:00

2009-06-13T19:01:00.000-07:00

SPECIAL REGISTRATION:
Register For a Chance To Win A Prize!

For your donation of $20 or more, you will automatically be entered into a draw for $150 worth of books and T-shirts from the different vendors who will be displaying their tables at the conference. Please don't hesitate to ask us for more details. You can write your check or money order to Vancouver Communities in Solidarity with Cuba, and you can also call our representatives, Tamara Hansen 778-882-5223, Noah Fine 604-719-6947, and Payvand Pejvack 778-230-5963 to arrange your special contributions.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!

2009-06-10T14:58:00.000-07:00

Socialism and Man in Cuba (English)

Che Guevara

1965

Dear compañero,

Though belatedly, I am completing these notes in the course of my trip through Africa, hoping in this way to keep my promise. I would like to do so by dealing with the theme set forth in the title above. I think it may be of interest to Uruguayan readers.

A common argument from the mouths of capitalist spokespeople, in the ideological struggle against socialism, is that socialism, or the period of building socialism into which we have entered, is characterized by the abolition of the individual for the sake of the state. I will not try to refute this argument solely on theoretical grounds but rather to establish the facts as they exist in Cuba and then add comments of a general nature. Let me begin by broadly sketching the history of our revolutionary struggle before and after the taking of power.

As is well known, the exact date of the beginning of the revolutionary struggle — which would culminate in January 1959 — was July 26, 1953. A group led by Fidel Castro attacked the Moncada barracks in Oriente Province on the morning of that day. The attack was a failure; the failure became a disaster; and the survivors ended up in prison, beginning the revolutionary struggle again after they were freed by an amnesty. In this process, in which there was only the germ of socialism, the individual was a fundamental factor. We put our trust in him — individual, specific, with a first and last name — and the triumph or failure of the mission entrusted to him depended on that individual's capacity for action. Then came the stage of guerrilla struggle. It developed in two distinct environments: the people, the still sleeping mass that had to be mobilized; and its vanguard, the guerrillas, the motor force of the mobilization, the generator of revolutionary consciousness and militant enthusiasm. This vanguard was the catalyzing agent that created the subjective conditions necessary for victory.

Here again, in the framework of the proletarianization of our thinking, of this revolution that took place in our habits and our minds, the individual was the basic factor. Every one of the combatants of the Sierra Maestra who reached an upper rank in the revolutionary forces has a record of outstanding deeds to his or her credit. They attained their rank on this basis.

First heroic stage

This was the first heroic period, and in which combatants competed for the heaviest responsibilities, for the greatest dangers, with no other satisfaction than fulfilling a duty. In our work of revolutionary education we frequently return to this instructive theme. In the attitude of our fighters could be glimpsed the man and woman of the future.

On other occasions in our history the act of total dedication to the revolutionary cause was repeated. During the October [1962 missile] crisis and in the days of Hurricane Flora [in October 1963] we saw exceptional deeds of valor and sacrifice performed by an entire people.Finding the method to perpetuate this heroic attitude in daily life is, from the ideological standpoint, one of our fundamental tasks.

In January 1959, the revolutionary government was established with the participation of various members of the treacherous bourgeoisie. The presence of the Rebel Army was the basic element constituting the guarantee of power. Serious contradictions developed right away. In the first instance, in February 1959, these were resolved when Fidel Castro assumed leadership of the government, taking the post of prime minister. This process culminated in July of the same year with the resignation under mass pressure of President Urrutia.

In the history of the Cuban Revolution there now appeared a character, well defined in its features, which would systematically reappear: the mass. This multifaceted being is not, as is claimed, the sum of elements of the same type (reduced, moreover, to that same type by the ruling system), which acts like a flock of sheep. It is true that it follows its leaders, basically Fidel Castro, without hesitation. But the degree to which he won this trust results precisely from having interpreted the full meaning of the people's desires and aspirations, and from the sincere struggle to fulfill the promises he made.

Participation of the masses

The mass participated in the agrarian reform and in the difficult task of administering state enterprises; it went through the heroic experience of the Bay of Pigs; it was hardened in the battles against various groups of bandits armed by the CIA; it lived through one of the most important decisions of modern times during the October [missile] crisis; and today it continues to work for the building of socialism.

Viewed superficially, it might appear that those who speak of the subordination of the individual to the state are right. The mass carries out with matchless enthusiasm and discipline the tasks set by the government, whether in the field of the economy, culture, defense, sports, etc. The initiative generally comes from Fidel, or from the revolutionary leadership, and is explained to the people, who make it their own. In some cases the party and government take a local experience and generalize it, following the same procedure.

Nevertheless, the state sometimes makes mistakes. When one of these mistakes occurs, one notes a decline in collective enthusiasm due to the effect of a quantitative diminution in each of the elements that make up the mass. Work is paralyzed until it is reduced to an insignificant level. It is time to make a correction. That is what happened in March 1962, as a result of the sectarian policy imposed on the party by Aníbal Escalante. Clearly this mechanism is not enough to ensure a succession of sensible measures. A more structured connection with the mass is needed, and we must improve it in the course of the coming years. But as far as initiatives originating in the upper strata of the government are concerned, we are currently utilizing the almost intuitive method of sounding out general reactions to the great problems we confront.

In this Fidel is a master. His own special way of fusing himself with the people can be appreciated only by seeing him in action. At the great public mass meetings one can observe something like the dialogue of two tuning forks whose vibrations interact, producing new sounds. Fidel and the mass begin to vibrate together in a dialogue of growing intensity until they reach the climax in an abrupt conclusion crowned by our cry of struggle and victory. The difficult thing to understand for someone not living through the experience of the revolution is this close dialectical unity between the individual and the mass, in which both are interrelated and, at the same time, in which the mass, as an aggregate of individuals, interacts with its leaders.

Some phenomena of this kind can be seen under capitalism, when politicians appear capable of mobilizing popular opinion. But when these are not genuine social movements — if they were, it would not be entirely correct to call them capitalist — they live only so long as the individual who inspires them, or until the harshness of capitalist society puts an end to the people's illusions.

Invisible laws of capitalism

In capitalist society individuals are controlled by a pitiless law usually beyond their comprehension. The alienated human specimen is tied to society as a whole by an invisible umbilical cord: the law of value. This law acts upon all aspects of one's life, shaping its course and destiny. The laws of capitalism, which are blind and are invisible to ordinary people, act upon the individual without he or she being aware of it. One sees only the vastness of a seemingly infinite horizon ahead. That is how it is painted by capitalist propagandists who purport to draw a lesson from the example of Rockefeller — whether or not it is true — about the possibilities of individual success. The amount of poverty and suffering required for a Rockefeller to emerge, and the amount of depravity entailed in the accumulation of a fortune of such magnitude, are left out of the picture, and it is not always possible for the popular forces to expose this clearly. (A discussion of how the workers in the imperialist countries gradually lose the spirit of working-class internationalism due to a certain degree of complicity in the exploitation of the dependent countries, and how this at the same time weakens the combativity of the masses in the imperialist countries, would be appropriate here, but that is a theme that goes beyond the scope of these notes.)

In any case, the road to success is portrayed as beset with perils — perils that, it would seem, an individual with the proper qualities can overcome to attain the goal. The reward is seen in the distance; the way is lonely. Furthermore, it is a contest among wolves. One can win only at the cost of the failure of others.

The individual and socialism

I would now like to try to define the individual, the actor in this strange and moving drama of the building of socialism, in a dual existence as a unique being and as a member of society.

I think the place to start is to recognize the individual's quality of incompleteness, of being an unfinished product. The vestiges of the past are brought into the present in one's consciousness, and a continual labor is necessary to eradicate them. The process is two-sided. On the one hand, society acts through direct and indirect education; on the other, the individual submits to a conscious process of self-education. The new society in formation has to compete fiercely with the past. This past makes itself felt not only in one's consciousness — in which the residue of an education systematically oriented toward isolating the individual still weighs heavily — but also through the very character of this transition period in which commodity relations still persist. The commodity is the economic cell of capitalist society. So long as it exists its effects will make themselves felt in the organization of production and, consequently, in consciousness.

Marx outlined the transition period as resulting from the explosive transformation of the capitalist system destroyed by its own contradictions. In historical reality, however, we have seen that some countries that were weak limbs on the tree of imperialism were torn off first — a phenomenon foreseen by Lenin.

In these countries, capitalism had developed sufficiently to make its effects felt by the people in one way or another. But it was not capitalism's internal contradictions that, having exhausted all possibilities, caused the system to explode. The struggle for liberation from a foreign oppressor; the misery caused by external events such as war, whose consequences privileged classes place on the backs of the exploited; liberation movements aimed at overthrowing neo-colonial regimes — these are the usual factors in unleashing this kind of explosion. Conscious action does the rest. A complete education for social labor has not yet taken place in these countries, and wealth is far from being within the reach of the masses through the simple process of appropriation. Underdevelopment, on the one hand, and the usual flight of capital, on the other, make a rapid transition without sacrifices impossible. There remains a long way to go in constructing the economic base, and the temptation is very great to follow the beaten track of material interest as the lever with which to accelerate development.

There is the danger that the forest will not be seen for the trees. The pipe dream that socialism can be achieved with the help of the dull instruments left to us by capitalism (the commodity as the economic cell, profitability, individual material interest as a lever, etc.) can lead into a blind alley. When you wind up there after having traveled a long distance with many crossroads, it is hard to figure out just where you took the wrong turn. Meanwhile, the economic foundation that has been laid has done its work of undermining the development of consciousness. To build communism it is necessary, simultaneous with the new material foundations, to build the new man and woman.

New consciousness

That is why it is very important to choose the right instrument for mobilizing the masses. Basically, this instrument must be moral in character, without neglecting, however, a correct use of the material incentive — especially of a social character.

As I have already said, in moments of great peril it is easy to muster a powerful response with moral incentives. Retaining their effectiveness, however, requires the development of a consciousness in which there is a new scale of values. Society as a whole must be converted into a gigantic school.

In rough outline this phenomenon is similar to the process by which capitalist consciousness was formed in its initial period. Capitalism uses force, but it also educates people in the system. Direct propaganda is carried out by those entrusted with explaining the inevitability of class society, either through some theory of divine origin or a mechanical theory of natural law. This lulls the masses, since they see themselves as being oppressed by an evil against which it is impossible to struggle.

Next comes hope of improvement — and in this, capitalism differed from the earlier caste systems, which offered no way out. For some people, the principle of the caste system will remain in effect: The reward for the obedient is to be transported after death to some fabulous other world where, according to the old beliefs, good people are rewarded. For other people there is this innovation: class divisions are determined by fate, but individuals can rise out of their class through work, initiative, etc. This process, and the myth of the self-made man, has to be profoundly hypocritical: it is the self-serving demonstration that a lie is the truth.

In our case, direct education acquires a much greater importance.The explanation is convincing because it is true; no subterfuge is needed. It is carried on by the state's educational apparatus as a function of general, technical and ideological education through such agencies as the Ministry of Education and the party's informational apparatus. Education takes hold among the masses and the foreseen new attitude tends to become a habit. The masses continue to make it their own and to influence those who have not yet educated themselves. This is the indirect form of educating the masses, as powerful as the other, structured, one.

Conscious process of self-education

But the process is a conscious one. Individuals continually feel the impact of the new social power and perceive that they do not entirely measure up to its standards. Under the pressure of indirect education, they try to adjust themselves to a situation that they feel is right and that their own lack of development had prevented them from reaching previously. They educate themselves.

In this period of the building of socialism we can see the new man and woman being born. The image is not yet completely finished — it never will be, since the process goes forward hand in hand with the development of new economic forms.

Aside from those whose lack of education makes them take the solitary road toward satisfying their own personal ambitions, there are those — even within this new panorama of a unified march forward — who have a tendency to walk separately from the masses accompanying them. What is important, however, is that each day individuals are acquiring ever more consciousness of the need for their incorporation into society and, at the same time, of their importance as the motor of that society.

They no longer travel completely alone over lost roads toward distant aspirations. They follow their vanguard, consisting of the party, the advanced workers, the advanced individuals who walk in unity with the masses and in close communion with them.The vanguard has its eyes fixed on the future and its reward, but this is not a vision of reward for the individual. The prize is the new society in which individuals will have different characteristics: the society of communist human beings.

The road is long and full of difficulties. At times we lose our way and must turn back. At other times we go too fast and separate ourselves from the masses. Sometimes we go too slow and feel the hot breath of those treading at our heels. In our zeal as revolutionaries we try to move ahead as fast as possible, clearing the way. But we know we must draw our nourishment from the mass and that it can advance more rapidly only if we inspire it by our example.

Despite the importance given to moral incentives, the fact that there remains a division into two main groups (excluding, of course, the minority that for one reason or another does not participate in the building of socialism) indicates the relative lack of development of social consciousness. The vanguard group is ideologically more advanced than the mass; the latter understands the new values, but not sufficiently. While among the former there has been a qualitative change that enables them to make sacrifices in their capacity as an advance guard, the latter see only part of the picture and must be subject to incentives and pressures of a certain intensity. This is the dictatorship of the proletariat operating not only on the defeated class but also on individuals of the victorious class.

All of this means that for total success a series of mechanisms, of revolutionary institutions, is needed. Along with the image of the multitudes marching toward the future comes the concept of institutionalization as a harmonious set of channels, steps, restraints and well-oiled mechanisms which facilitate the advance, which facilitate the natural selection of those destined to march in the vanguard, and which bestow rewards on those who fulfill their duties and punishments on those who commit a crime against the society that is being built.

Institutionalization of the revolution

This institutionalization of the revolution has not yet been achieved. We are looking for something new that will permit a complete identification between the government and the community in its entirety, something appropriate to the special conditions of the building of socialism, while avoiding at all costs transplanting the commonplaces of bourgeois democracy — such as legislative chambers, for example — into the society in formation.

Some experiments aimed at the gradual institutionalization of the revolution have been made, but without undue haste. The greatest brake has been our fear lest any appearance of formality might separate us from the masses and from the individual, which might make us lose sight of the ultimate and most important revolutionary aspiration: to see human beings liberated from their alienation.

Despite the lack of institutions, which must be overcome gradually, the masses are now making history as a conscious collective of individuals fighting for the same cause. The individual under socialism, despite apparent standardization, is more complete. Despite the lack of a perfect mechanism for it, the opportunities for self expression and making oneself felt in the social organism are infinitely greater.

It is still necessary to deepen conscious participation, individual and collective, in all the structures of management and production, and to link this to the idea of the need for technical and ideological education, so that the individual will realize that these processes are closely interdependent and their advancement is parallel. In this way the individual will reach total consciousness as a social being, which is equivalent to the full realization as a human creature, once the chains of alienation are broken. This will be translated concretely into the reconquering of one's true nature through liberated labor, and the expression of one's own human condition through culture and art.

New status of work

In order to develop a new culture, work must acquire a new status. Human beings-as-commodities cease to exist, and a system is installed that establishes a quota for the fulfillment of one's social duty. The means of production belong to society, and the machine is merely the trench where duty is performed. A person begins to become free from thinking of the annoying fact that one needs to work to satisfy one's animal needs. Individuals start to see themselves reflected in their work and to understand their full stature as human beings through the object created, through the work accomplished. Work no longer entails surrendering a part of one's being in the form of labor power sold, which no longer belongs to the individual, but becomes an expression of oneself, a contribution to the common life in which one is reflected, the fulfillment of one's social duty.

We are doing everything possible to give work this new status as a social duty and to link it on the one hand with the development of technology, which will create the conditions for greater freedom, and on the other hand with voluntary work based on the Marxist appreciation that one truly reaches a full human condition when no longer compelled to produce by the physical necessity to sell oneself as a commodity. Of course, there are still coercive aspects to work, even when it is voluntary. We have not transformed all the coercion that surrounds us into conditioned reflexes of a social character and, in many cases, is still produced under the pressures of one's environment. (Fidel calls this moral compulsion.) There is still a need to undergo a complete spiritual rebirth in one's attitude toward one's own work, freed from the direct pressure of the social environment, though linked to it by new habits. That will be communism. The change in consciousness does not take place automatically, just as change in the economy does not take place automatically. The alterations are slow and not rhythmic; there are periods of acceleration, periods that are slower, and even retrogressions.

Furthermore, we must take into account, as I pointed out before, that we are not dealing with a period of pure transition, as Marx envisaged in his Critique of the Gotha Program, but rather with a new phase unforeseen by him: an initial period of the transition to communism, or of the construction of socialism. This transition is taking place in the midst of violent class struggles, and with elements of capitalism within it that obscure a complete understanding of its essence.

If we add to this the scholasticism that has held back the development of Marxist philosophy and impeded a systematic treatment of the transition period, whose political economy has not yet been developed, we must agree that we are still in diapers and that it is necessary to devote ourselves to investigating all the principal characteristics of this period before elaborating an economic and political theory of greater scope.

The resulting theory will, no doubt, put great stress on the two pillars of the construction of socialism: the education of the new man and woman and the development of technology. Much remains to be done in regard to both, but delay is least excusable in regard to the concept of technology as a basic foundation, since this is not a question of going forward blindly but of following a long stretch of road already opened up by the world's more advanced countries. This is why Fidel pounds away with such insistence on the need for the technological and scientific training of our people and especially of its vanguard.

Individualism

In the field of ideas that do not lead to activities involving production, it is easier to see the division between material and spiritual necessity. For a long time individuals have been trying to free themselves from alienation through culture and art. While a person dies every day during the eight or more hours in which he or she functions as a commodity, individuals come to life afterward in their spiritual creations. But this remedy bears the germs of the same sickness: that of a solitary being seeking harmony with the world. One defends one's individuality, which is oppressed by the environment, and reacts to aesthetic ideas as a unique being whose aspiration is to remain immaculate. It is nothing more than an attempt to escape. The law of value is no longer simply a reflection of the relations of production; the monopoly capitalists — even while employing purely empirical methods — surround that law with a complicated scaffolding that turns it into a docile servant. The superstructure imposes a kind of art in which the artist must be educated. Rebels are subdued by the machine, and only exceptional talents may create their own work. The rest become shamefaced hirelings or are crushed.

A school of artistic experimentation is invented, which is said to be the definition of freedom; but this “experimentation” has its limits, imperceptible until there is a clash, that is, until the real problems of individual alienation arise. Meaningless anguish or vulgar amusement thus become convenient safety valves for human anxiety. The idea of using art as a weapon of protest is combated.

Those who play by the rules of the game are showered with honors — such honors as a monkey might get for performing pirouettes. The condition is that one does not try to escape from the invisible cage.

New impulse for artistic experimentation

When the revolution took power there was an exodus of those who had been completely housebroken. The rest — whether they were revolutionaries or not — saw a new road. Artistic inquiry experienced a new impulse. The paths, however, had already been more or less laid out, and the escapist concept hid itself behind the word “freedom.” This attitude was often found even among the revolutionaries themselves, a reflection in their consciousness of bourgeois idealism.

In countries that have gone through a similar process, attempts have been made to combat such tendencies with an exaggerated dogmatism. General culture became virtually taboo, and the acme of cultural aspiration was declared to be the formally exact representation of nature. This was later transformed into a mechanical representation of the social reality they wanted to show: the ideal society, almost without conflicts or contradictions, that they sought to create.

Socialism is young and has its mistakes. We revolutionaries often lack the knowledge and intellectual audacity needed to meet the task of developing the new man and woman with methods different from the conventional ones; conventional methods suffer from the influences of the society that created them. (Once again the theme of the relationship between form and content is posed.) Disorientation is widespread, and the problems of material construction absorb us. There are no artists of great authority who also have great revolutionary authority. The members of the party must take this task in hand and seek the achievement of the main goal: to educate the people.

What is sought then is simplification, something everyone can understand, something functionaries understand. True artistic experimentation ends, and the problem of general culture is reduced to assimilating the socialist present and the dead (therefore, not dangerous) past. Thus socialist realism arises upon the foundations of the art of the last century.The realistic art of the 19th century, however, also has a class character, more purely capitalist perhaps than the decadent art of the 20th century that reveals the anguish of the alienated individual. In the field of culture, capitalism has given all that it had to give, and nothing remains but the stench of a corpse, today's decadence in art.

But why try to find the only valid prescription in the frozen forms of socialist realism? We cannot counterpose “freedom” to socialist realism, because the former does not yet exist and will not exist until the complete development of the new society. We must not, from the pontifical throne of realism-at-all-costs, condemn all art forms since the first half of the 19th century, for we would then fall into the Proudhonian mistake of going back to the past, of putting a strait-jacket on the artistic expression of the people who are being born and are in the process of making themselves. What is needed is the development of an ideological-cultural mechanism that permits both free inquiry and the uprooting of the weeds that multiply so easily in the fertilized soil of state subsidies.

In our country the error of mechanical realism has not appeared, but rather its opposite. This is because the need for the creation of a new individual has not been understood, a new human being who would represent neither the ideas of the 19th century nor those of our own decadent and morbid century.

What we must create is the human being of the 21stcentury, although this is still a subjective aspiration, not yet systematized. This is precisely one of the fundamental objectives of our study and our work. To the extent that we achieve concrete success on a theoretical plane — or, vice versa, to the extent that we draw theoretical conclusions of a broad character on the basis of our concrete research — we will have made a valuable contribution to Marxism-Leninism, to the cause of humanity.

By reacting against the human being of the 19th century we have relapsed into the decadence of the 20th century. It is not a very grave error, but we must overcome it lest we leave open the door for revisionism. The great multitudes continue to develop. The new ideas are gaining a good momentum within society. The material possibilities for the integrated development of absolutely all members of society make the task much more fruitful. The present is a time of struggle; the future is ours.

New revolutionary generation

To sum up, the fault of many of our artists and intellectuals lies in their original sin: they are not true revolutionaries. We can try to graft the elm tree so that it will bear pears, but at the same time we must plant pear trees. New generations will come that will be free of original sin. The probability that great artists will appear will be greater to the degree that the field of culture and the possibilities for expression are broadened.

Our task is to prevent the current generation, torn asunder by its conflicts, from becoming perverted and from perverting new generations. We must not create either docile servants of official thought, or “scholarship students” who live at the expense of the state — practicing freedom in quotation marks. Revolutionaries will come who will sing the song of the new man and woman in the true voice of the people. This is a process that takes time. In our society the youth and the party play a big part. The former is especially important because it is the malleable clay from which the new person can be built with none of the old defects. The youth are treated in accordance with our aspirations. Their education is every day more complete, and we do not neglect their incorporation into work from the outset. Our scholarship students do physical work during their vacations or along with their studies. Work is a reward in some cases, a means of education in others, but it is never a punishment. A new generation is being born. The party is a vanguard organization. It is made up of the best workers, who are proposed for membership by their fellow workers. It is a minority, but it has great authority because of the quality of its cadres. Our aspiration is for the party to become a mass party, but only when the masses have reached the level of the vanguard, that is, when they are educated for communism. Our work constantly strives toward this education. The party is the living example; its cadres must teach hard work and sacrifice. By their action, they must lead the masses to the completion of the revolutionary task, which involves years of hard struggle against the difficulties of construction, class enemies, the maladies of the past, imperialism.

Role of the individual

Now, I would like to explain the role played by the personality, by men and women as individuals leading the masses that make history. This is our experience; it is not a prescription.

Fidel gave the revolution its impulse in the first years, and also its leadership. He always set its tone; but there is a good group of revolutionaries who are developing along the same road as the central leader. And there is a great mass that follows its leaders because it has faith in them. It has faith in those leaders because they have known how to interpret its aspirations.

It is not a matter of how many kilograms of meat one has to eat, or of how many times a year someone can go to the beach, or how many pretty things from abroad you might be able to buy with present-day wages. It is a matter of making the individual feel more complete, with much more inner wealth and much more responsibility.

People in our country know that the glorious period in which they happen to live is one of sacrifice; they are familiar with sacrifice. The first ones came to know it in the Sierra Maestra and wherever they fought; later, everyone in Cuba came to know it. Cuba is the vanguard of America and must make sacrifices because it occupies the post of advance guard, because it shows the masses of Latin America the road to full freedom. Within the country the leadership has to carry out its vanguard role. It must be said with all sincerity that in a real revolution, to which one gives his or her all and from which one expects no material reward, the task of the vanguard revolutionary is both magnificent and agonizing.

Love of living humanity

At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality. Perhaps it is one of the great dramas of the leader that he or she must combine a passionate spirit with a cold intelligence and make painful decisions without flinching. Our vanguard revolutionaries must idealize this love of the people, of the most sacred causes, and make it one and indivisible. They cannot descend, with small doses of daily affection, to the level where ordinary people put their love into practice.

The leaders of the revolution have children just beginning to talk, who are not learning to say “daddy”; their wives, too, must be part of the general sacrifice of their lives in order to take the revolution to its destiny. The circle of their friends is limited strictly to the circle of comrades in the revolution. There is no life outside of it.

In these circumstances one must have a large dose of humanity, a large dose of a sense of justice and truth in order to avoid dogmatic extremes, cold scholasticism, or an isolation from the masses. We must strive every day so that this love of living humanity is transformed into actual deeds, into acts that serve as examples, as a moving force.

The revolutionary, the ideological motor force of the revolution within the party, is consumed by this uninterrupted activity that comes to an end only with death, unless the construction of socialism is accomplished on a world scale. If one's revolutionary zeal is blunted when the most urgent tasks have been accomplished on a local scale and one forgets about proletarian internationalism, the revolution one leads will cease to be a driving force and sink into a comfortable drowsiness that imperialism, our irreconcilable enemy, will utilize to gain ground. Proletarian internationalism is a duty, but it is also a revolutionary necessity. This is the way we educate our people.

Danger of dogmatism

Of course there are dangers in the present situation, and not only that of dogmatism, not only that of freezing the ties with the masses midway in the great task. There is also the danger of the weaknesses we can fall into. The way is open to infection by the germs of future corruption if a person thinks that dedicating his or her entire life to the revolution means that, in return, one should not be distracted by such worries as that one's child lacks certain things, that one's children's shoes are worn out, that one's family lacks some necessity.

In our case we have maintained that our children must have, or lack, those things that the children of the ordinary citizen have or lack; our families should understand this and struggle for it to be that way. The revolution is made through human beings, but individuals must forge their revolutionary spirit day by day.

Thus we march on. At the head of the immense column — we are neither ashamed nor afraid to say it — is Fidel. After him come the best cadres of the party, and immediately behind them, so close that we feel its tremendous force, comes the people in its entirety, a solid structure of individual beings moving toward a common goal, men and women who have attained consciousness of what must be done, people who fight to escape from the realm of necessity and to enter that of freedom.

This great throng organizes itself; its organization results from its consciousness of the necessity of this organization. It is no longer a dispersed force, divisible into thousands of fragments thrown into the air like splinters from a hand grenade, trying by any means to achieve some protection from an uncertain future, in desperate struggle with their fellows.

We know that sacrifices lie ahead and that we must pay a price for the heroic fact that we are, as a nation, a vanguard. We, as leaders, know that we must pay a price for the right to say that we are at the head of a people that is at the head of America. Each and every one of us readily pays his or her quota of sacrifice, conscious of being rewarded with the satisfaction of fulfilling a duty, conscious of advancing with everyone toward the new man and woman glimpsed on the horizon.

Allow me to draw some conclusions:

We socialists are freer because we are more fulfilled; we are more fulfilled because we are freer.
The skeleton of our complete freedom is already formed. The flesh and the clothing are lacking; we will create them.

Our freedom and its daily sustenance are paid for in blood and sacrifice. Our sacrifice is a conscious one: an installment paid on the freedom that we are building.
The road is long and, in part, unknown. We recognize our limitations. We will make the human being of the 21stcentury — we, ourselves. We will forge ourselves in daily action, creating a new man and woman with a new technology.
Individuals play a role in mobilizing and leading the masses insofar as they embody the highest virtues and aspirations of the people and do not wander from the path.
Clearing the way is the vanguard group, the best among the good, the party.

The basic clay of our work is the youth; we place our hope in it and prepare it to take the banner from our hands. If this inarticulate letter clarifies anything, it has accomplished the objective that motivated it. Accept our ritual greeting — which is like a handshake or an “Ave Maria Puríssima”:

Patria o muerte! [Homeland or death!]

2009-06-09T15:06:00.000-07:00

Che Guevara

El socialismo y el hombre en Cuba

(1965)

Estimado compañero:

Acabo estas notas en viaje por África, animado del deseo de cumplir, aunque tardíamente, mi promesa. Quisiera hacerlo tratando el tema del título. Creo que pudiera ser interesante para los lectores uruguayos.

Es común escuchar de boca de los voceros capitalistas, como un argumento en la lucha ideológica contra el socialismo, la afirmación de que este sistema social o el período de construcción del socialismo al que estamos nosotros abocados, se caracteriza por la abolición del individuo en aras del Estado. No pretenderé refutar esta afirmación sobre una base meramente teórica, sino establecer los hechos tal cual se viven en Cuba y agregar comentarios de índole general. Primero esbozaré a grandes rasgos la historia de nuestra lucha revolucionaria antes y después de la toma del poder.

Como es sabido, la fecha precisa en que se iniciaron las acciones revolucionarias que culminaron el primero de enero de 1959, fue el 26 de julio de 1953. Un grupo de hombres dirigidos por Fidel Castro atacó la madrugada de ese día el cuartel Moncada, en la provincia de Oriente. El ataque fue un fracaso, el fracaso se transformó en desastre y los sobrevivientes fueron a parar a la cárcel, para reiniciar, luego de ser amnistiados, la lucha revolucionaria.

Durante este proceso, en el cual solamente existían gérmenes de socialismo, el hombre era un factor fundamental. En él se confiaba, individualizado, específico, con nombre y apellido, y de su capacidad de acción dependía el triunfo o el fracaso del hecho encomendado.

Llego la etapa de la lucha guerrillera. Esta se desarrolló en dos ambientes distintos: el pueblo, masa todavía dormida a quien había que movilizar y su vanguardia, la guerrilla, motor impulsor de la movilización, generador de conciencia revolucionaria y de entusiasmo combativo. Fue esta vanguardia el agente catalizador, el que creó las condiciones subjetivas necesarias para la victoria. También en ella, en el marco del proceso de proletarización de nuestro pensamiento, de la revolución que se operaba en nuestros hábitos, en nuestras mentes, el individuo fue el factor fundamental. Cada uno de los combatientes de la Sierra Maestra que alcanzara algún grado superior en las fuerzas revolucionarias, tiene una historia de hechos notables en su haber. En base a estos lograba sus grados.

Fue la primera época heroica, en la cual se disputaban por lograr un cargo de mayor responsabilidad, de mayor peligro, sin otra satisfacción que el cumplimiento del deber. En nuestro trabajo de educación revolucionaria, volvemos a menudo sobre este tema aleccionador. En la actitud de nuestros combatientes se vislumbra al hombre del futuro.

En otras oportunidades de nuestra historia se repitió el hecho de la entrega total a la causa revolucionaria. Durante la Crisis de Octubre o en los días del ciclón Flora, vimos actos de valor y sacrificio excepcionales realizados por todo un pueblo. Encontrar la fórmula para perpetuar en la vida cotidiana esa actitud heroica, es una de nuestras tareas fundamentales desde el punto de vista ideológico.

En enero de 1959 se estableció el gobierno revolucionario con la participación en él de varios miembros de la burguesía entreguista. La presencia del Ejército Rebelde constituía la garantía de poder, como factor fundamental de fuerza.

Se produjeron enseguida contradicciones seria, resueltas, en primera instancia, en febrero del 59, cuando Fidel Castro asumió la jefatura de gobierno con el cargo de primer ministro. Culminaba el proceso en julio del mismo año, al renunciar el presidente Urrutia ante la presión de las masas.

Aparecía en la historia de la Revolución Cubana, ahora con caracteres nítidos, un personaje que se repetirá sistemáticamente: la masa.

Este ente multifacético no es, como se pretende, la suma de elementos de la misma categoría (reducidos a la misma categoría, además, por el sistema impuesto), que actúa como un manso rebaño. Es verdad que sigue sin vacilar a sus dirigentes, fundamentalmente a Fidel Castro, pero el grado en que él ha ganado esa confianza responde precisamente a la interpretación cabal de los deseos del pueblo, de sus aspiraciones, y a la lucha sincera por el cumplimiento de las promesas hechas.

La masa participó en la reforma agraria y en el difícil empeño de la administración de las empresas estatales; pasó por la experiencia heroica de Playa Girón; se forjó en las luchas contra las distintas bandas de bandidos armadas por la CIA; vivió una de las definiciones más importantes de los tiempos modernos en la Crisis de Octubre y sigue hoy trabajando en la construcción del socialismo.

Vistas las cosas desde un punto de vista superficial, pudiera parecer que tienen razón aquellos que hablan de supeditación del individuo al Estado, la masa realiza con entusiasmo y disciplina sin iguales las tareas que el gobierno fija, ya sean de índole económica, cultural, de defensa, deportiva, etcétera. La iniciativa parte en general de Fidel o del alto mando de la revolución y es explicada al pueblo que la toma como suya. Otras veces, experiencias locales se toman por el partido y el gobierno para hacerlas generales, siguiendo el mismo procedimiento.

Sin embargo, el Estado se equivoca a veces. Cuando una de esas equivocaciones se produce, se nota una disminución del entusiasmo colectivo por efectos de una disminución cuantitativa de cada uno de los elementos que la forman, y el trabajo se paraliza hasta quedar reducido a magnitudes insignificantes; es el instante de rectificar. Así sucedió en marzo de 1962 ante una política sectaria impuesta al partido por Aníbal Escalante.

Es evidente que el mecanismo no basta para asegurar una sucesión de medidas sensatas y que falta una conexión más estructurada con las masas. Debemos mejorarla durante el curso de los próximos años pero, en el caso de las iniciativas surgidas de estratos superiores del gobierno utilizamos por ahora el método casi intuitivo de auscultar las reacciones generales frente a los problemas planteados.

Maestro en ello es Fidel, cuyo particular modo de integración con el pueblo solo puede apreciarse viéndolo actuar. En las grandes concentraciones públicas se observa algo así como el diálogo de dos diapasones cuyas vibraciones provocan otras nuevas en el interlocutor. Fidel y la masa comienzan a vibrar en un diálogo de intensidad creciente hasta alcanzar el clímax en un final abrupto, coronado por nuestro grito de lucha y victoria.

Lo difícil de entender, para quien no viva la experiencia de la revolución, es esa estrecha unidad dialéctica existente entre el individuo y la masa, donde ambos se interrelacionan y, a su vez, la masa, como conjunto de individuos, se interrelaciona con los dirigentes.

En el capitalismo se pueden ver algunos fenómenos de este tipo cuando aparecen políticos capaces de lograr la movilización popular, pero si no se trata de un auténtico movimiento social, en cuyo caso no es plenamente lícito hablar de capitalismo, el movimiento vivirá lo que la vida de quien lo impulse o hasta el fin de las ilusiones populares, impuesto por el rigor de la sociedad capitalista. En esta, el hombre está dirigido por un frío ordenamiento que, habitualmente, escapa al dominio de la comprensión. El ejemplar humano, enajenado, tiene un invisible cordón umbilical que le liga a la sociedad en su conjunto: la ley del valor. Ella actúa en todos los aspectos de la vida, va modelando su camino y su destino.

Las leyes del capitalismo, invisibles para el común de las gentes y ciegas, actúan sobre el individuo sin que este se percate. Solo ve la amplitud de un horizonte que aparece infinito. Así lo presenta la propaganda capitalista que pretende extraer del caso Rockefeller —verídico o no—, una lección sobre las posibilidades de éxito. La miseria que es necesario acumular para que surja un ejemplo así y la suma de ruindades que conlleva una fortuna de esa magnitud, no aparecen en el cuadro y no siempre es posible a las fuerzas populares aclarar estos conceptos. (Cabría aquí la disquisición sobre cómo en los países imperialistas los obreros van perdiendo su espíritu internacional de clase al influjo de una cierta complicidad en la explotación de los países dependientes y cómo este hecho, al mismo tiempo, lima el espíritu de lucha de las masas en el propio país, pero ese es un tema que sale de la intención de estas notas.)

De todos modos, se muestra el camino con escollos que aparentemente, un individuo con las cualidades necesarias puede superar para llegar a la meta. El premio se avizora en la lejanía; el camino es solitario. Además, es una carrera de lobos: solamente se puede llegar sobre el fracaso de otros.

Intentaré, ahora, definir al individuo, actor de ese extraño y apasionante drama que es la construcción del socialismo, en su doble existencia de ser único y miembro de la comunidad.

Creo que lo más sencillo es reconocer su cualidad de no hecho, de producto no acabado. Las taras del pasado se trasladan al presente en la conciencia individual y hay que hacer un trabajo continuo para erradicarlas.

El proceso es doble, por un lado actúa la sociedad con su educación directa e indirecta, por otro, el individuo se somete a un proceso consciente de autoeducación.

La nueva sociedad en formación tiene que competir muy duramente con el pasado. Esto se hace sentir no solo en la conciencia individual en la que pesan los residuos de una educación sistemáticamente orientada al aislamiento del individuo, sino también por el carácter mismo de este período de transición con persistencia de las relaciones mercantiles. La mercancía es la célula económica de la sociedad capitalista; mientras exista, sus efectos se harán sentir en la organización de la producción y, por ende, en la conciencia.

En el esquema de Marx se concebía el período de transición como resultado de la transformación explosiva del sistema capitalista destrozado por sus contradicciones; en la realidad posterior se ha visto cómo se desgajan del árbol imperialista algunos países que constituyen ramas débiles, fenómeno previsto por Lenin. En estos, el capitalismo se ha desarrollado lo suficiente como para hacer sentir sus efectos, de un modo u otro, sobre el pueblo, pero no son sus propias contradicciones las que, agotadas todas las posibilidades, hacen saltar el sistema. La lucha de liberación contra un opresor externo, la miseria provocada por accidentes extraños, como la guerra, cuyas consecuencias hacen recaer las clases privilegiadas sobre los explotados, los movimientos de liberación destinados a derrocar regímenes neocoloniales, son los factores habituales de desencadenamiento. La acción consciente hace el resto.

En estos países no se ha producido todavía una educación completa para el trabajo social y la riqueza dista de estar al alcance de las masas mediante el simple proceso de apropiación. El subdesarrollo por un lado y la habitual fuga de capitales hacia países «civilizados» por otro, hacen imposible un cambio rápido y sin sacrificios. Resta un gran tramo a recorrer en la construcción de la base económica y la tentación de seguir los caminos trillados del interés material, como palanca impulsora de un desarrollo acelerado, es muy grande.

Se corre el peligro de que los árboles impidan ver el bosque. Persiguiendo la quimera de realizar el socialismo con la ayuda de las armas melladas que nos legara el capitalismo (la mercancía como célula económica, la rentabilidad, el interés material individual como palanca, etcétera), se puede llegar a un callejón sin salida. Y se arriba allí tras de recorrer una larga distancia en la que los caminos se entrecruzan muchas veces y donde es difícil percibir el momento en que se equivocó la ruta. Entre tanto, la base económica adaptada ha hecho su trabajo de zapa sobre el desarrollo de la conciencia. Para construir el comunismo, simultáneamente con la base material hay que hacer al hombre nuevo.

De allí que sea tan importante elegir correctamente el instrumento de movilización de las masas. Este instrumento debe ser de índole moral, fundamentalmente, sin olvidar una correcta utilización del estímulo material, sobre todo de naturaleza social.

Como ya dije, en momentos de peligro extremo es fácil potenciar los estímulos morales; para mantener su vigencia, es necesario el desarrollo de una conciencia en la que los valores adquieran categorías nuevas. La sociedad en su conjunto debe convertirse en una gigantesca escuela.

Las grandes líneas del fenómeno son similares al proceso de formación de la conciencia capitalista en su primera época. El capitalismo recurre a la fuerza, pero, además, educa a la gente en el sistema. La propaganda directa se realiza por los encargados de explicar la ineluctabilidad de un régimen de clase, ya sea de origen divino o por imposición de la naturaleza como ente mecánico. Esto aplaca a las masas que se ven oprimidas por un mal contra el cual no es posible la lucha.

A continuación viene la esperanza, y en esto se diferencia de los anteriores regímenes de casta que no daban salida posible.

Para algunos continuará vigente todavía la fórmula de casta: el premio a los obedientes consiste en el arribo, después de la muerte, a otros mundos maravillosos donde los buenos son los premiados, con lo que se sigue la vieja tradición. Para otros, la innovación; la separación en clases es fatal, pero los individuos pueden salir de aquella a que pertenecen mediante el trabajo, la iniciativa, etcétera. Este proceso, y el de autoeducación para el triunfo, deben ser profundamente hipócritas: es la demostración interesada de que una mentira es verdad.

En nuestro caso, la educación directa adquiere una importancia mucho mayor. La explicación es convincente porque es verdadera; no precisa de subterfugios. Se ejerce a través del aparato educativo del Estado en función de la cultura general, técnica e ideológica, por medio de organismos tales como el Ministerio de Educación y el aparto de divulgación del partido. La educación prende en las masas y la nueva actitud preconizada tiende a convertirse en hábito; la masa la va haciendo suya y presiona a quienes no se han educado todavía. Esta es la forma indirecta de educar a las masas, tan poderosa como aquella otra.

Pero el proceso es consciente; el individuo recibe continuamente el impacto del nuevo poder social y percibe que no está completamente adecuado a él. Bajo el influjo de la presión que supone la educación indirecta, trata de acomodarse a una situación que siente justa y cuya propia falta de desarrollo le ha impedido hacerlo hasta ahora. Se autoeduca.

En este período de construcción del socialismo podemos ver el hombre nuevo que va naciendo. Su imagen no está todavía acabada; no podría estarlo nunca ya que el proceso marcha paralelo al desarrollo de formas económicas nuevas. Descontando aquellos cuya falta de educación los hace tender al camino solitario, a la autosatisfacción de sus ambiciones, los hay que aun dentro de este nuevo panorama de marcha conjunta, tienen tendencia a caminar aislados de la masa que acompañan. Lo importante es que los hombres van adquiriendo cada día más conciencia de la necesidad de su incorporación a la sociedad y, al mismo tiempo, de su importancia como motores de la misma.

Ya no marchan completamente solos, por veredas extraviadas, hacia lejanos anhelos. Siguen a su vanguardia, constituida por el partido, por los obreros de avanzada, por los hombres de avanzada que caminan ligados a las masas y en estrecha comunión con ellas. Las vanguardias tienen su vista puesta en el futuro y en su recompensa, pero esta no se vislumbra como algo individual; el premio es la nueva sociedad donde los hombres tendrán características distintas: la sociedad del hombre comunista.

El camino es largo y lleno de dificultades. A veces, por extraviar la ruta, hay que retroceder; otras, por caminar demasiado aprisa, nos separamos de las masas; en ocasiones por hacerlo lentamente, sentimos el aliento cercano de los que nos pisan los talones. En nuestra ambición de revolucionarios, tratamos de caminar tan aprisa como sea posible, abriendo caminos, pero sabemos que tenemos que nutrirnos de la masa y que ésta solo podrá avanzar más rápido si la alentamos con nuestro ejemplo.

A pesar de la importancia dada a los estímulos morales, el hecho de que exista la división en dos grupos principales (excluyendo, claro está, a la fracción minoritaria de los que no participan, por una razón u otra en la construcción del socialismo), indica la relativa falta de desarrollo de la conciencia social. El grupo de vanguardia es ideológicamente más avanzado que la masa; esta conoce los valores nuevos, pero insuficientemente. Mientras en los primeros se produce un cambio cualitativo que le permite ir al sacrificio en su función de avanzada, los segundos sólo ven a medias y deben ser sometidos a estímulos y presiones de cierta intensidad; es la dictadura del proletariado ejerciéndose no sólo sobre la clase derrotada, sino también individualmente, sobre la clase vencedora.

Todo esto entraña, para su éxito total, la necesidad de una serie de mecanismos, las instituciones revolucionarias. En la imagen de las multitudes marchando hacia el futuro, encaja el concepto de institucionalización como el de un conjunto armónico de canales, escalones, represas, aparatos bien aceitados que permitan esa marcha, que permitan la selección natural de los destinados a caminar en la vanguardia y que adjudiquen el premio y el castigo a los que cumplen o atenten contra la sociedad en construcción.

Esta institucionalidad de la Revolución todavía no se ha logrado. Buscamos algo nuevo que permita la perfecta identificación entre el Gobierno y la comunidad en su conjunto, ajustada a las condiciones peculiares de la construcción del socialismo y huyendo al máximo de los lugares comunes de la democracia burguesa, trasplantados a la sociedad en formación (como las cámaras legislativas, por ejemplo). Se han hecho algunas experiencias dedicadas a crear paulatinamente la institucionalización de la Revolución, pero sin demasiada prisa. El freno mayor que hemos tenido ha sido el miedo a que cualquier aspecto formal nos separe de las masas y del individuo, nos haga perder de vista la última y más importante ambición revolucionaria que es ver al hombre liberado de su enajenación.

No obstante la carencia de instituciones, lo que debe superarse gradualmente, ahora las masas hacen la historia como el conjunto consciente de individuos que luchan por una misma causa. El hombre, en el socialismo, a pesar de su aparente estandarización, es más completo; a pesar de la falta del mecanismo perfecto para ello, su posibilidad de expresarse y hacerse sentir en el aparato social es infinitamente mayor.

Todavía es preciso acentuar su participación consciente, individual y colectiva, en todos los mecanismos de dirección y de producción y ligarla a la idea de la necesidad de la educación técnica e ideológica, de manera que sienta cómo estos procesos son estrechamente interdependientes y sus avances son paralelos. Así logrará la total consciencia de su ser social, lo que equivale a su realización plena como criatura humana, rotas todas las cadenas de la enajenación.

Esto se traducirá concretamente en la reapropiación de su naturaleza a través del trabajo liberado y la expresión de su propia condición humana a través de la cultura y el arte.

Para que se desarrolle en la primera, el trabajo debe adquirir una condición nueva; la mercancía-hombre cesa de existir y se instala un sistema que otorga una cuota por el cumplimiento del deber social. Los medios de producción pertenecen a la sociedad y la máquina es sólo la trinchera donde se cumple el deber. El hombre comienza a liberar su pensamiento del hecho enojoso que suponía la necesidad de satisfacer sus necesidades animales mediante el trabajo. Empieza a verse retratado en su obra y a comprender su magnitud humana a través del objeto creado, del trabajo realizado. Esto ya no entraña dejar una parte de su ser en forma de fuerza de trabajo vendida, que no le pertenece más, sino que significa una emanación de sí mismo, un aporte a la vida común en que se refleja; el cumplimiento de su deber social.

Hacemos todo lo posible por darle al trabajo esta nueva categoría de deber social y unirlo al desarrollo de la técnica, por un lado, lo que dará condiciones para una mayor libertad, y al trabajo voluntario por otro, basados en la apreciación marxista de que el hombre realmente alcanza su plena condición humana cuando produce sin la compulsión de la necesidad física de venderse como mercancía.

Claro que todavía hay aspectos coactivos en el trabajo, aún cuando sea necesario; el hombre no ha transformado toda la coerción que lo rodea en reflejo condicionado de naturaleza social y todavía produce, en muchos casos, bajo la presión del medio (compulsión moral, la llama Fidel). Todavía le falta el lograr la completa recreación espiritual ante su propia obra, sin la presión directa del medio social, pero ligado a él por los nuevos hábitos. Esto será el comunismo.

El cambio no se produce automáticamente en la conciencia, como no se produce tampoco en la economía. Las variaciones son lentas y no son rítmicas; hay períodos de aceleración, otros pausados e incluso, de retroceso.

Debemos considerar, además como apuntáramos antes, que no estamos frente al período de transición puro, tal como lo viera Marx en la Crítica del Programa de Gotha, sino de una nueva fase no prevista por él; primer período de transición del comunismo o de la construcción del socialismo. Este transcurre en medio de violentas luchas de clase y con elementos de capitalismo en su seno que oscurecen la comprensión cabal de su esencia.

Si a esto de agrega el escolasticismo que ha frenado el desarrollo de la filosofía marxista e impedido el tratamiento sistemático del período, cuya economía política no se ha desarrollado, debemos convenir en que todavía estamos en pañales y es preciso dedicarse a investigar todas las características primordiales del mismo antes de elaborar una teoría económica y política de mayor alcance.

La teoría que resulte dará indefectiblemente preeminencia a los dos pilares de la construcción: la formación del hombre nuevo y el desarrollo de la técnica. En ambos aspectos nos falta mucho por hacer, pero es menos excusable el atraso en cuanto a la concepción de la técnica como base fundamental, ya que aquí no se trata de avanzar a ciegas sino de seguir durante un buen tramo el camino abierto por los países más adelantados del mundo. Por ello Fidel machaca con tanta insistencia sobre la necesidad de la formación tecnológica y científica de todo nuestro pueblo y más aún, de su vanguardia.

En el campo de las ideas que conducen a actividades no productivas, es más fácil ver la división entre la necesidad material y espiritual. Desde hace mucho tiempo el hombre trata de liberarse de la enajenación mediante la cultura y el arte. Muere diariamente las ocho y más horas en que actúa como mercancía para resucitar en su creación espiritual. pero este remedio porta los gérmenes de la misma enfermedad.: es un ser solitario el que busca comunión con la naturaleza. Defiende su individualidad oprimida por el medio y reacciona ante las ideas estéticas como un ser único cuya aspiración es permanecer inmaculado.

Se trata sólo de un intento de fuga. La ley del valor no es ya un mero reflejo de las relaciones de producción; los capitalistas monopolistas la rodean de un complicado andamiaje que la convierte en una sierva dócil, aún cuando los métodos que emplean sean puramente empíricos. La superestructura impone un tipo de arte en el cual hay que educar a los artistas. Los rebeldes son dominados por la maquinaria y sólo los talentos excepcionales podrán crear su propia obra. Los restantes devienen asalariados vergonzantes o son triturados.

Se inventa la investigación artística a la que se da como definitoria de la libertad, pero esta «investigación» tiene sus límites imperceptibles hasta el momento de chocar con ellos, vale decir, de plantearse los reales problemas del hombre y su enajenación. La angustia sin sentido o el pasatiempo vulgar constituyen válvulas cómodas a la inquietud humana; se combate la idea de hacer del arte un arma de denuncia.

Si se respetan las leyes del juego se consiguen todos los honores; los que podría tener un mono al inventar piruetas. La condición es no tratar de escapar de la jaula invisible.

Cuando la Revolución tomó el poder se produjo el éxodo de los domesticados totales; los demás, revolucionarios o no, vieron un camino nuevo. La investigación artística cobró nuevo impulso. Sin embargo, las rutas estaban más o menos trazadas y el sentido del concepto fuga se escondió tras la palabra libertad. En los propios revolucionarios se mantuvo muchas veces esta actitud, reflejo del idealismo burgués en la conciencia.

En países que pasaron por un proceso similar se pretendió combatir estas tendencias con un dogmatismo exagerado. La cultura general se convirtió casi en un tabú y se proclamó el summum de la aspiración cultural, una representación formalmente exacta de la naturaleza, convirtiéndose ésta, luego, en una representación mecánica de la realidad social que se quería hacer ver; la sociedad ideal, casi sin conflictos ni contradicciones, que se buscaba crear.

El socialismo es joven y tiene errores.

Los revolucionarios carecemos, muchas veces, de los conocimientos y la audacia intelectual necesarias para encarar la tarea del desarrollo de un hombre nuevo por métodos distintos a los convencionales y los métodos convencionales sufren de la influencia de la sociedad que los creó. (Otra vez se plantea el tema de la relación entre forma y contenido.) La desorientación es grande y los problemas de la construcción material nos absorben. No hay artistas de gran autoridad que, a su vez, tengan gran autoridad revolucionaria. Los hombres del Partido deben tomar esa tarea entre las manos y buscar el logro del objetivo principal: educar al pueblo.

Se busca entonces la simplificación, lo que entiende todo el mundo, que es lo que entienden los funcionarios. Se anula la auténtica investigación artística y se reduce al problema de la cultura general a una apropiación del presente socialista y del pasado muerto (por tanto, no peligroso). Así nace el realismo socialista sobre las bases del arte del siglo pasado.

Pero el arte realista del siglo XIX, también es de clase, más puramente capitalista, quizás, que este arte decadente del siglo XX, donde se transparenta la angustia del hombre enajenado. El capitalismo en cultura ha dado todo de sí y no queda de él sino el anuncio de un cadáver maloliente en arte, su decadencia de hoy. Pero, ¿por qué pretender buscar en las formas congeladas del realismo socialista la única receta válida? No se puede oponer al realismo socialista «la libertad», porque ésta no existe todavía, no existirá hasta el completo desarrollo de la sociedad nueva; pero no se pretenda condenar a todas la formas de arte posteriores a la primer mitad del siglo XIX desde el trono pontificio del realismo a ultranza, pues se caería en un error proudhoniano de retorno al pasado, poniéndole camisa de fuerza a la expresión artística del hombre que nace y se construye hoy.

Falta el desarrollo de un mecanismo ideológico cultural que permita la investigación y desbroce la mala hierba, tan fácilmente multiplicable en el terreno abonado de la subvención estatal.

En nuestro país, el error del mecanicismo realista no se ha dado, pero sí otro signo de contrario. Y ha sido por no comprender la necesidad de la creación del hombre nuevo, que no sea el que represente las ideas del siglo XIX, pero tampoco las de nuestro siglo decadente y morboso. El hombre del siglo XXI es el que debemos crear, aunque todavía es una aspiración subjetiva y no sistematizada. Precisamente éste es uno de los puntos fundamentales de nuestro estudio y de nuestro trabajo y en la medida en que logremos éxitos concretos sobre una base teórica o, viceversa, extraigamos conclusiones teóricas de carácter amplio sobre la base de nuestra investigación concreta, habremos hecho un aporte valioso al marxismo-leninismo, a la causa de la humanidad. La reacción contra el hombre del siglo XIX nos ha traído la reincidencia en el decadentismo del siglo XX; no es un error demasiado grave, pero debemos superarlo, so pena de abrir un ancho cauce al revisionismo.

Las grandes multitudes se van desarrollando, las nuevas ideas van alcanzando adecuado ímpetu en el seno de la sociedad, las posibilidades materiales de desarrollo integral de absolutamente todos sus miembros, hacen mucho más fructífera la labor. El presente es de lucha, el futuro es nuestro.

Resumiendo, la culpabilidad de muchos de nuestros intelectuales y artistas reside en su pecado original; no son auténticamente revolucionarios. Podemos intentar injertar el olmo para que dé peras, pero simultáneamente hay que sembrar perales. Las nuevas generaciones vendrán libres del pecado original. Las posibilidades de que surjan artistas excepcionales serán tanto mayores cuanto más se haya ensanchado el campo de la cultura y la posibilidad de expresión. Nuestra tarea consiste en impedir que la generación actual, dislocada por sus conflictos, se pervierta y pervierta a las nuevas. No debemos crear asalariados dóciles al pensamiento oficial ni «becarios» que vivan al amparo del presupuesto, ejerciendo una libertad entre comillas. Ya vendrán los revolucionarios que entonen el canto del hombre nuevo con la auténtica voz del pueblo. Es un proceso que requiere tiempo.

En nuestra sociedad, juegan un papel la juventud y el Partido.

Particularmente importante es la primera, por ser la arcilla maleable con que se puede construir al hombre nuevo sin ninguna de las taras anteriores.

Ella recibe un trato acorde con nuestras ambiciones. Su educación es cada vez más completa y no olvidamos su integración al trabajo desde los primeros instantes. Nuestros becarios hacen trabajo físico en sus vacaciones o simultáneamente con el estudio. El trabajo es un premio en ciertos casos, un instrumento de educación, en otros, jamás un castigo. Una nueva generación nace.

El Partido es una organización de vanguardia. Los mejores trabajadores son propuestos por sus compañeros para integrarlo. Este es minoritario pero de gran autoridad por la calidad de sus cuadros. Nuestra aspiración es que el Partido sea de masas, pero cuando las masas hayan alcanzado el nivel de desarrollo de la vanguardia, es decir, cuando estén educados para el comunismo. Y a esa educación va encaminado el trabajo. El Partido es el ejemplo vivo; sus cuadros deben dictar cátedras de laboriosidad y sacrificio, deben llevar, con su acción, a las masas, al fin de la tarea revolucionaria, lo que entraña años de duro bregar contra las dificultades de la construcción, los enemigos de clase, las lacras del pasado, el imperialismo…

Quisiera explicar ahora el papel que juega la personalidad, el hombre como individuo de las masas que hacen la historia. Es nuestra experiencia no una receta.

Fidel dio a la Revolución el impulso en los primeros años, la dirección, la tónica siempre, peros hay un buen grupo de revolucionarios que se desarrollan en el mismo sentido que el dirigente máximo y una gran masa que sigue a sus dirigente porque les tiene fe; y les tiene fe, porque ellos han sabido interpretar sus anhelos.

No se trata de cuántos kilogramos de carne se come o de cuántas veces por año se pueda ir alguien a pasearse en la playa, ni de cuántas bellezas que vienen del exterior puedan comprarse con los salarios actuales. Se trata, precisamente, de que el individuo se sienta más pleno, con mucha más riqueza interior y con mucha más responsabilidad. El individuo de nuestro país sabe que la época gloriosa que le toca vivir es de sacrificio; conoce el sacrificio. Los primeros lo conocieron en la Sierra Maestra y dondequiera que se luchó; después lo hemos conocido en toda Cuba. Cuba es la vanguardia de América y debe hacer sacrificios porque ocupa el lugar de avanzada, porque indica a las masas de América Latina el camino de la libertad plena.

Dentro del país, los dirigentes tienen que cumplir su papel de vanguardia; y, hay que decirlo con toda sinceridad, en una revolución verdadera a la que se le da todo, de la cual no se espera ninguna retribución material, la tarea del revolucionario de vanguardia es a la vez magnífica y angustiosa.

Déjeme decirle, a riesgo de parecer ridículo, que el revolucionario verdadero está guiado por grandes sentimientos de amor. Es imposible pensar en un revolucionario auténtico sin esta cualidad. Quizás sea uno de los grandes dramas del dirigente; éste debe unir a un espíritu apasionado una mente fría y tomar decisiones dolorosas son que se contraiga un músculo. Nuestros revolucionarios de vanguardia tienen que idealizar ese amor a los pueblos, a las causas más sagradas y hacerlo único, indivisible. No pueden descender con su pequeña dosis de cariño cotidiano hacia los lugares donde el hombre común lo ejercita.

Los dirigentes de la Revolución tienen hijos que en sus primeros balbuceos, no aprenden a nombrar al padre; mujeres que deben ser parte del sacrificio general de su vida para llevar la Revolución a su destino; el marco de los amigos responde estrictamente al marco de los compañeros de Revolución. No hay vida fuera de ella.

En esas condiciones, hay que tener una gran dosis de humanidad, una gran dosis de sentido de la justicia y de la verdad para no caer en extremos dogmáticos, en escolasticismos fríos, en aislamiento de las masas. Todos los días hay que luchar porque ese amor a la humanidad viviente se transforme en hechos concretos, en actos que sirvan de ejemplo, de movilización.

El revolucionario, motor ideológico de la revolución dentro de su partido, se consume en esa actividad ininterrumpida que no tiene más fin que la muerte, a menos que la construcción se logre en escala mundial. Si su afán de revolucionario se embota cuando las tareas más apremiantes se ven realizadas a escala loca y se olvida el internacionalismo proletario, la revolución que dirige deja de ser una fuerza impulsora y se sume en una cómoda modorra, aprovechada por nuestros enemigos irreconciliables, el imperialismo, que gana terreno. El internacionalismo proletario es un deber pero también es una necesidad revolucionaria. Así educamos a nuestro pueblo.

Claro que hay peligros presentes en las actuales circunstancias. No sólo el del dogmatismo, no sólo el de congelar las relaciones con las masas en medio de la gran tarea; también existe el peligro de las debilidades en que se puede caer. Si un hombre piensa que, para dedicar su vida entera a la revolución, no puede distraer su mente por la preocupación de que a un hijo le falte determinado producto, que los zapatos de los niños estén rotos, que su familia carezca de determinado bien necesario, bajo este razonamiento deja infiltrarse los gérmenes de la futura corrupción.

En nuestro caso, hemos mantenido que nuestros hijos deben tener y carecer de lo que tienen y de lo que carecen los hijos del hombre común; y nuestra familia debe comprenderlo y luchar por ello. La revolución se hace a través del hombre, pero el hombre tiene que forjar día a día su espíritu revolucionario.

Así vamos marchando. A la cabeza de la inmensa columna —no nos avergüenza ni nos intimida decirlo— va Fidel, después, los mejores cuadros del Partido, e inmediatamente, tan cerca que se siente su enorme fuerza, va el pueblo en su conjunto sólida armazón de individualidades que caminan hacia un fin común; individuos que han alcanzado la conciencia de lo que es necesario hacer; hombres que luchan por salir del reino de la necesidad y entrar al de la libertad.

Esa inmensa muchedumbre se ordena; su orden responde a la conciencia de la necesidad del mismo ya no es fuerza dispersa, divisible en miles de fracciones disparadas al espacio como fragmentos de granada, tratando de alcanzar por cualquier medio, en lucha reñida con sus iguales, una posición, algo que permita apoyo frente al futuro incierto.

Sabemos que hay sacrificios delante nuestro y que debemos pagar un precio por el hecho heroico de constituir una vanguardia como nación. Nosotros, dirigentes, sabemos que tenemos que pagar un precio por tener derecho a decir que estamos a la cabeza del pueblo que está a la cabeza de América. Todos y cada uno de nosotros paga puntualmente su cuota de sacrificio, conscientes de recibir el premio en la satisfacción del deber cumplido, conscientes de avanzar con todos hacia el hombre nuevo que se vislumbra en el horizonte.

Permítame intentar unas conclusiones:

Nosotros, socialistas, somos más libres porque somos más plenos; somos más plenos por ser más libres.

El esqueleto de nuestra libertad completa está formado, falta la sustancia proteica y el ropaje; los crearemos.

Nuestra libertad y su sostén cotidiano tienen color de sangre y están henchidos de sacrificio.

Nuestro sacrificio es consciente; cuota para pagar la libertad que construimos.

El camino es largo y desconocido en parte; conocemos nuestras limitaciones. Haremos el hombre del siglo XXI: nosotros mismos.

Nos forjaremos en la acción cotidiana, creando un hombre nuevo con una nueva técnica.

La personalidad juega el papel de movilización y dirección en cuanto que encarna las más altas virtudes y aspiraciones del pueblo y no se separa de la ruta.

Quien abre el camino es el grupo de vanguardia, los mejores entre los buenos, el Partido.

La arcilla fundamental de nuestra obra es la juventud, en ella depositamos nuestra esperanza y la preparamos para tomar de nuestras manos la bandera.

Si esta carta balbuceante aclara algo, ha cumplido el objetivo con que la mando.

Reciba nuestro saludo ritual, como un apretón de manos o un «Ave María Purísima»:

Patria o muerte.

2009-06-08T15:10:00.000-07:00

Le Socialisme et L'Homme à Cuba

Ernesto Che Guevara

1965

Il est courant d'entendre de la bouche des porte-parole capitalistes cette objection idéologique que la période de transition du socialisme, à laquelle nous nous attelons, se caractérise par le sacrifice de l'individu sur l'autel de l'Etat.

Je ne vais pas essayer de réfuter cette affirmation sur une base simplement théorique, mais je rétablirai les faits tels qui sont vécus à Cuba en ajoutant des commentaires d'ordre général.

Tout d'abord, j'ébaucherai à grands traits l'histoire de notre lutte révolutionnaire avant et après la prise du pouvoir.

C'est le 26 juillet 1953 que naquirent les luttes révolutionnaires qui aboutirent à la Révolution du 1er janvier 1959. Un groupe d'hommes, dirigé par Fidel CASTRO, attaque à l'aube de ce jour, la caserne Moncada, dans la province orientale. L'attaque fut un échec; l'échec se transforma en désastre, les survivants se retrouvèrent en prison, mais recommencèrent la lutte révolutionnaire aussitôt amnistiés.

Au cours de ce processus où le socialisme n'existait qu'en puissance, l'homme était un facteur fondamental. C'est en lui, être unique, avec un nom et un prénom, que l'on mettait sa confiance, et c'est de son aptitude à l'action dont dépendait le succès ou l'échec de la lutte engagée.

Puis vint l'étape de la guérilla. Celle-ci se développa dans deux milieux distincts, le peuple, masse encore endormie qu'il fallait mobiliser, et son avant-garde, les guérilleros, qui suscitaient la conscience révolutionnaire et l'enthousiasme combatif. Cette avant-garde fut l'agent catalyseur qui créa les conditions subjectives nécessaires pour la victoire. Et, à mesure que nous faisions nôtres les idéaux du prolétariat, qu'une révolution s'opérait dans nos habitudes et dans nos esprits, l'individu restait encore un facteur fondamental.

Chaque combattant de la Sierra Maestra, qui avait acquis un grade supérieur dans les forces révolutionnaires, comptait à son actif un grand nombre d'actions d'éclat. C'est sur cette base qu'il obtenait ses grades.

C'est au cours de cette première étape héroïque que l'on se disputait pour obtenir les tâches comportant les plus grandes responsabilités et les plus grands dangers sans autre satisfaction que celle du devoir accompli.

Dans notre travail d'éducation révolutionnaire, nous revenons souvent sur ce fait plein d'enseignement. L'attitude de nos combattants montrait déjà l'homme futur. Ce don total à la cause révolutionnaire se répéta dans bien d'autres occasions de notre histoire; pendant la crise d'Octobre et lors du cyclone "Flora", nous avons vu des actes de courage et des sacrifices exceptionnels réalisés par tout un peuple.

L'une de nos tâches fondamentales, du point de vue idéologique, est de trouver la formule pour perpétuer dans la vie quotidienne cette attitude héroïque.

En janvier 1959, le gouvernement révolutionnaire se constitua, avec la participation de divers membres de la bourgeoisie réactionnaire. La présence de l'Armé rebelle, facteur de force, constituait la garantie du pouvoir. Mais aussitôt apparurent de sérieuses contradictions qui furent en partie surmontées lorsqu'en 1959 Fidel CASTRO assuma la direction du gouvernement en tant que Premier ministre. Ces événements devaient aboutir, en juillet de la même année, à la démission du Président Urrutia sous la pression des masses. Ainsi apparaissait clairement dans l'histoire de la Révolution cubaine un élément qui se manifestera systématiquement: la masse.

Cet être aux faces multiples n'est pas, comme on le prétend, une somme d'éléments tous semblables, agissant comme un troupeau docile (certains régimes le réduisent à cela). Il est vrai, qu'il suit, sans vaciller, ses dirigeants, Fidel CASTRO principalement; mais le degré de confiance que celui-ci a acquis correspond précisément à sa juste interprétation des désirs et des aspirations du peuple et à la lutte sincère qu'il a menée pour l'accomplissement des promesses faites.

Les masses ont participé à la Réforme agraire et à la difficile tâche de l'administration des entreprises d'état; elles ont connu l'héroïque expérience de Playa Giron (NDLR: l'invasion ratée de la "Baie des cochons"), elles se sont forgées dans les luttes contre les diverses bandes armées par la CIA; Elles ont vécu l'un des plus important moment de l'histoire moderne pendant la crise d'Octobre (NDLR: la crise des missiles en 1962) et, aujourd'hui, elles continuent à travailler à la construction du socialisme.

A première vue, on pourrait croire que ceux qui parlent de l'assujettissement de l'individu à l'Etat ont raison; les masses réalisent avec un enthousiasme et une discipline inégalés, les tâches que le gouvernement a fixées, qu'elles soient d'ordre économique ou culturel, défensif, sportif, etc. L'initiative vient, en général, de Fidel et du Haut commandement de la Révolution, et elle est expliquée au peuple qui la fait sienne. D'autres fois, des expériences locales sont lancée par le Parti, et le Gouvernement, pour être ensuite généralisées, suivant le même procédé.

Cependant, l'Etat se trompe quelques fois. Quand une de ces erreurs se produit, on remarque le manque d'enthousiasme des masses par la diminution de l'activité de chacun, et le travail se paralyse jusqu'à se réduire à des dimensions insignifiantes; c'est le moment de changer de procédé.

C'est ce qui arriva en mars 1962, face à la politique sectaire imposée par Anibal Escalante.

Il est évident que ce mécanisme ne suffit pas pour assurer des décisions efficaces et qu'il manque une connexion plus structurée avec la masse.

Nous devons l'améliorer au cours des années à venir, mais pour les initiatives qui viennent des couches supérieures du gouvernement, nous utilisons pour l'instant la méthode quasi intuitive qui consiste à ausculter les réactions générales face aux problèmes posés. Fidel est un maître du genre, et on ne peut apprécier la façon particulière dont il s'intègre au peuple qu'en le voyant à l'œuvre. Dans les grands rassemblements publics, on observe un phénomène analogue à la résonance de deux diapasons; Fidel et le peuple commence à vibrer en un dialogue d'une intensité croissante jusqu'à son apogée finale consacrée par notre cri de lutte et de victoire.

Ce qui est difficile à comprendre pour qui ne vit pas l'expérience de la Révolution, c'est une étoile dialectique qui existe entre chaque individu et la masse, c'est l'interaction qu'il y a entre la masse et ses dirigeants.

Dans la société capitaliste, on peut voir quelques phénomènes de ce type, quand apparaissent les hommes politiques capable de provoquer la mobilisation populaire. Mais alors, s'il ne s'agit pas d'un authentique mouvement social, le mouvement ne durera que le temps que vivra celui qui lui donne son impulsion, ou dans la fin des illusions populaires, imposées par la société capitaliste.

Dans celle-ci, l'homme est dirigé par un ordre rigide qui, habituellement, échappe au domaine de la compréhension. L'individu, aliéné, est lié à la société dans son ensemble par un invisible cordon ombilical: la loi de la valeur. Celle-ci agit sur tous les aspects de sa vie, elle modèle son destin.

Les lois aveugles du capitalisme, invisibles pour la plupart des gens, agissent sur l'individu sans que celui-ci sans aperçoive. Il ne voit qu'un vaste horizon qui lui semble infini. C'est ainsi que la propagande capitaliste prétend présenter le cas Rockefeller - véridique ou non - comme une leçon sur les possibilités de succès. La misère qu'il faut accumuler pour que surgisse un tel exemple et la somme de bassesses qu'implique une fortune de cet ampleur n'apparaissent pas dans le tableau et il n'est pas toujours possible aux forces populaires de voir clairement ces phénomènes. (Il faudrait ici étudier la façon dont, dans les pays impérialistes, les ouvriers perdent leur conscience internationaliste sous l'influence d'une certaine complicité dans l'exploitation des pays dépendants et comment, de ce fait, dans leur propre pays, leur combativité s'en trouve affaiblie, mais ceci sort de notre propos.)

De toutes façons dans une telle société, le chemin à parcourir est plein d'obstacles et, apparemment, seul un individu possédant certaines qualités peut les franchir pour arriver au but; on guette la lointaine récompense mais le chemin est solitaire; de plus, c'est la loi la loi de la jungle: seul l'échec des autres permet la réussite.

Je vais essayer maintenant de définir l'individu, acteur de ce drame étrange et passionnant qu'est la construction du socialisme, dans sa double existence d'être unique et de membre de la communauté.

Je crois que le plus simple est de reconnaître sa qualité d'être inachevée. Les tares de l'ancienne société se perpétuent dans la conscience individuelle et il faut faire un travail incessant pour les faire disparaître. Le processus est double: d'un côté s'est la société qui agit avec son éducation directe et indirecte, de l'autre, c'est l'individu qui se soumet en une attitude consciente d'auto-éducation.

La nouvelle société en formation doit combattre très durement le passé, qui se répercute non seulement dans la conscience individuelle où pèsent les résidus d'une éducation systématiquement orientée vers l'isolement de l'individu, mais aussi dans le caractère même de cette période de transition où persistent les rapports marchands.

La marchandise est le noyau économique de la société capitaliste; tant qu'elle existera, ses effets se feront sentir dans l'organisation de la production, et par conséquent dans la conscience.

Dans le schéma de MARX, la période de transition était conçue comme le résultat de la transformation explosive du système capitaliste déchiré par ses contradictions; plus tard, dans la réalité, on a vu comment se détachent de l'arbre impérialiste quelques pays qui constituent ses branches faibles, phénomène qui avait été prévu par Lenin.

Dans ces pays, le capitalisme s'est suffisamment développé pour faire sentir d'une façon ou d'une autre ses effets sur le peuple, mais ce ne sont pas ses propres contradictions qui, en fin de compte, font éclater le système. La lutte de libération contre l'oppresseur étranger, la misère provoquée par des accidents extérieurs comme la guerre, qui a pour conséquence de faire peser encore plus l'oppression des classes privilégiées sur les exploités, les mouvements de libération destinés à renverser les régimes néocolonialistes, sont les facteurs qui déclenchent habituellement le mouvement révolutionnaire. L'action consciente fait le reste.

Dans ces pays, il n'y a pas encore eu une éducation complète orientée vers le travail social, et le phénomène d'appropriation ne permet pas de mettre les richesses à la portée de tous.

Du fait du sous-développement d'une part, et de l'habituelle fuite des capitaux vers les pays "civilisés" de l'autre, un changement rapide et sans sacrifices est impossible. Nous avons encore beaucoup de chemin à parcourir avant d'arriver à un niveau de développement économique suffisant, et la tentation de marcher sur des chemins battus, de recourir à l'intérêt matériel comme levier d'un développement économique accéléré est très grande.

On court alors le risque que les arbres cachent la forêt: en poursuivant la chimère de réaliser le socialisme à l'aide des armes pourries léguées par le capitalisme (la marchandise prise comme unité économique, la rentabilité, l'intérêt matériel individuel comme stimulant, etc.) On risque d'aboutir à une impasse. Et de fait, on y aboutit après avoir parcouru une longue distance au cours de laquelle les chemins se sont souvent entrecroisés, ce qui fait qu'il est difficile de savoir à quel moment on s'est trompé de route. Pendant ce temps, la base économique adoptée fait son travail de sape dans le développement de la conscience Pour construire le communisme, il faut changer l'homme en même temps que la base économique.

D'où la grande importance de choisir correctement l'instrument de mobilisation des masses. Cet instrument doit être fondamentalement d'ordre éthique, sans oublier une correcte utilisation du stimulant matériel, surtout de nature sociale.

Comme je l'ai déjà dit, dans les moments de péril extrême, il est facile de faire agir les stimulants moraux ; mais pour qu'ils se maintiennent en vigueur, il faut développer dans les consciences de nouvelles valeurs. La société, dans son ensemble, doit devenir une gigantesque école. Les grandes lignes de ce phénomène sont semblables à celles de la formation de la conscience capitaliste dans sa première période. Le capitalisme a recourt à la force, mais en plus il enseigne son idéologie de classe dominante. La propagande directe est faite par ceux qui sont chargés d'expliquer l'inéluctabilité d'un régime de classe, qu'il soit d'origine divine ou imposé par la nature de façon mécanique. Ceci désarme les masses qui se voient opprimées par un mal contre lequel il est impossible de lutter. Ensuite vient l'espoir et, en cela, le capitalisme se différencie des précédents régimes de castes qui ne laissaient aucune issus possibles. Pour certains, la formule de caste restera valable : la récompense pour ceux qui obéissent, c'est l'accès après la mort à d'autres mondes merveilleux où les bons sont récompensés et, ainsi, la vieille tradition continue. Chez d'autres, il y a une innovation : la division en classes reste fatale, mais les individus peuvent sortir de celle à laquelle ils appartiennent par le travail, l'initiative, etc. Cette auto- éducation en vue de la réussite est profondément hypocrite : on tente de prôner dans un but intéressé que ce mensonge, la réussite individuelle, est à la portée de tous. Pour nous, l'éducation directe a une importance beaucoup plus grande. L'explication est convaincante parce qu'elle est vraie ; elle n'a pas besoin de subterfuges. Elle s'exerce à travers l'appareil éducatif de l'Etat en fonction de la culture générale, technique et idéologique, au moyen d'organismes tels que le Ministère de l'Education et l'appareil de propagande du Parti. L'Education s'implante dans les masses et la nouvelle attitude préconisée tend à devenir une habitude ; la masse la fait sienne et elle fait pression sur ceux qui ne sont pas encore éduqués. Telle est la façon indirecte d'éduquer les masses, aussi puissante que l'autre.

Mais cette éducation est consciente ; l'individu reçoit continuellement l'influence du nouveau pouvoir social et perçoit qu'il n'y est pas complètement adapté. Par l'éducation indirecte, il essaie de se conformer à une situation qui lui paraît juste, chose qu'il n'a pu faire jusqu'alors à cause de l'insuffisance de son propre développement. Il s'éduque lui-même. Dans cette période de construction du socialisme, nous pouvons assister à la naissance de l'homme nouveau. Son image n'est pas encore tout à fait fixée, elle ne pourra jamais l'être étant donné que cette évolution est parallèle au développement de nouvelles structures économiques. En dehors de ceux que l'insuffisance de leur éducation pousse vers un chemin solitaire, vers la satisfaction égoïste de leurs ambitions, il y a ceux qui, même à l'intérieur du nouveau cadre d'évolution collective, ont tendance à avancer isolés de la masse qu'ils accompagnent. L'important est que les hommes acquièrent chaque jour une plus grande conscience de la nécessité de leur incorporation dans la société et en même temps de leur importance comme moteur de celle-ci. Ils n'avancent plus complètement seuls, à travers des chemins détournés, vers leurs désirs lointains. Ils suivent leur avant-garde constituée par le Parti, les ouvriers de l'avant-garde, des hommes d'avant-garde qui avancent liés aux masses et en étroite communion avec elles. Les avant-gardes ont le regard fixé vers l'avenir et vers leur récompense ; mais celle-ci n'est pas entrevue comme quelque chose d'individuel ; leur récompense, c'est la nouvelle société où les hommes seront différents ; la société de l'homme communiste.

Le chemin est long et plein de difficultés. Quelquefois, ayant pris une impasse, nous devons reculer ; d'autre fois, ayant avancé trop vite, nous nous séparons des masses ; en certaines occasions, nous allons trop lentement et nous sentons l'haleine toute proche de ceux qui talonnent. Dans notre ambition de révolutionnaires, nous essayons d'aller aussi vite que possible, en frayant le chemin, mais nous savons que c'est de la masse que nous tirons notre substance et que celle-ci ne pourra avancer plus rapidement que si nous l'encourageons par notre exemple. Malgré l'importance donnée aux stimulants moraux, le fait qu'il existe une division en deux groupes principaux (en dehors, bien sûr, du petit nombre de ceux qui, pour une raison ou pour une autre, ne participent pas à la construction du socialisme) indique la relative insuffisance du développement de la conscience sociale. Le groupe d'avant-garde est idéologiquement plus avancé que la masse ; celle-ci connaît les nouvelles valeurs, mais insuffisamment. Alors que chez les premiers il se produit un changement qualitatif qui leur permet de se sacrifier dans leur fonction d'avant-garde, les seconds sont moins conscients et doivent être soumis à des pressions d'une certaine intensité ; c'est la dictature du prolétariat s'exerçant non seulement sur la classe vaincue, mais aussi, individuellement, sur la classe victorieuse. Ce qui implique, pour que le succès soit total, la nécessité. d'une série de mécanismes: 1es institutions révolutionnaires ensemble harmonieux de canaux, d'échelons, engrenage bien huilé qui seules permettront la sélection naturelle de ceux qui sont destinés à marcher à l'avant-garde et la répartition des récompenses et des châtiments selon les mérites de chacun.

Nous ne sommes pas encore parvenus à instaurer les institutions de la Révolution. Nous cherchons quelque chose de nouveau qui permette une parfaite identification du gouvernement et de l'ensemble de la communauté (des institutions adaptées aux conditions particulières de la construction du socialisme et le plus éloignées possible des lieux communs de la démocratie bourgeoise transplantés dans une société en formation, telles les chambres législatives). Nous avons fait quelques expériences dans le but de créer progressivement les institutions de la Révolution, mais sans trop de hâtes. Notre plus grand frein a été la crainte qu'un rapport formel ne nous sépare des masses et de l'individu et ne nous fasse perdre de vue la dernière et la plus importante ambition révolutionnaire qui est de voir l'homme libre de son aliénation. Malgré la carence d'institutions qui doit être surmontée graduellement, les masses font maintenant l'histoire comme un ensemble conscient d'individus qui luttent pour une même cause. En régime socialiste, malgré son apparente standardisation, l'homme est plus complet; malgré l'absence d'un mécanisme parfaitement adapté, sa possibilité de s'exprimer et de peser dans l'appareil social est infiniment plus grande. Il est encore nécessaire d'accentuer sa participation consciente, individuelle et collective à tous les mécanismes de direction et de production, et de la lier à l'éducation technique et idéologique, de façon qu'il sente combien ces processus sont étroitement interdépendants et leur progression parallèle. Ainsi, les chaînes de l'aliénation une fois brisées, il atteindra la conscience totale de son être social , sa pleine réalisation en tant que créature humaine. Ceci se traduira concrètement par la reconquête de sa nature propre à travers le travail libéré et par l'expression de sa condition humaine, à travers la culture et l'art.

Pour que l'homme reprenne possession de sa nature, il faut que l'homme marchandise cesse d'exister et que la société lui verse une quote-part en échange de l'accomplissement de son devoir social. Les moyens de production appartiennent à la société et la machine est comme la tranchée où s'accomplit le devoir. L'homme commence à libérer sa pensée de l'angoisse due à la nécessité de satisfaire ses besoins immédiats par le travail. Il commence à se reconnaître dans son œuvre et à comprendre sa grandeur humaine à travers l'objet créé et le travail réalisé. Son travail ne suppose plus l'abandon d'une partie de son être sous forme de force vendue, ne lui appartenant plus, mais devient une émanation de lui-même, un apport à la vie commune, l'accomplissement de son devoir social. Nous faisons tout ce qui est possible pour donner au travail cette nouvelle dimension de devoir social et pour le lier d'une part au développement de la technique, d'où viendront les conditions d'une plus grande liberté, et d'autre part, au travail volontaire. Ces deux facteurs répondent à l'appréciation marxiste selon laquelle l'homme n'atteint réellement sa pleine condition humaine que lorsqu'il produit sans la contrainte de la nécessité physique de se vendre comme marchandise. Bien sûr, il y a encore des aspects coercitifs dans le travail, même quand il est volontaire. L'homme n'a pas encore réussi à faire le travail qui lui incombe par un réflexe conditionné de nature sociale et il produit encore très souvent sous la pression du milieu (c'est ce que Fidel appelle la contrainte morale). Il ne peut jouir pleinement de son œuvre. accomplie dans le cadre de nouvelles habitudes, sous la pression du milieu social. Cela, il ne pourra le faire que dans le communisme.

De plus, ainsi que nous l'avons déjà noté, nous devons considérer que nous ne nous trouvons pas devant une période de transition pure comme celle décrite par Marx dans La Critique du programme de Gotha et d'Erfut, mais devant une nouvelle phase, non prévue par 1ui : 1a première période de transition vers le communisme ou période de construction du socialisme. Celle-ci se déroule au milieu de violentes luttes de classes et les éléments du capitalisme qui subsistent obscurcissant la compréhension de sa véritable nature. Si l'on ajoute à cela la scolastique, qui a freiné le développement de la philosophie marxiste et empêché systématiquement l'étude de cette période dont on n'a pas analysé les fondements économiques, nous devons convenir que nous sommes encore au berceau et que nous devons entreprendre la recherche de toutes les caractéristiques primordiales de cette période, avant d'élaborer une théorie économique et politique de plus grande portée. Cette théorie donnera une prééminence totale aux deux piliers de la construction du socialisme: la formation de l'homme nouveau et le développement de la technique. Dans ces deux domaines, il nous reste encore beaucoup à faire, mais le retard de cette base fondamentale qu'est la technique est moins excusable, étant donné qu'il ne s'agit pas pour nous d'avancer à l'aveuglette, mais de suivre pendant un bon moment le chemin frayé par les pays les plus avancés du monde. C'est pour cela que Fidel insiste tellement sur la nécessité de la formation technique et scientifique de notre pays et plus encore de son avant-garde.

Le Parti est une organisation d'avant-garde. Les meilleurs travailleurs sont proposés par leurs camarades pour y être intégrés. Il est minoritaire, mais il a une grande autorité en raison de la qualité de ses cadres. Nous aspirons à ce que le Parti devienne un parti de masse, mais quand les masses auront atteint le niveau de développement de L'avant-garde, c'est-à-dire quand elles seront éduquées pour le communisme. Tous nos efforts vont dans ce sens. Le Parti est un exemple vivant, ses cadres doivent donner des leçons d'ardeur au travail et de sacrifice, ils doivent, par leur action, conduire les masses au bout de leurs tâches révolutionnaires. Ce qui implique des années d'une dure lutte contre les difficultés de la construction du socialisme, les ennemis de classe, les séquelles du passé et l'impérialisme. Je voudrais maintenant expliquer le rôle que joue la personnalité, l'homme en tant que dirigeant des masses qui font l'histoire. Il s'agit de notre expérience et non d'une recette. Fidel a donné son élan à la Révolution pendant les premières années et il l'a toujours dirigée, il lui a donné le ton. Mais il y a un groupe de révolutionnaires qui évolue dans le même sens que le dirigeant suprême, et une grande masse qui suit les dirigeants parce que ceux-ci ont su interpréter ses aspirations.

Il ne s'agit pas du nombre de kilos de viande que l'on mange, ni du nombre de fois où l'on peut aller à la plage, ni du nombre d'articles de luxe importés que l'on peut s acheter avec les salaires actuels. Il s'agit précisément que l'individu se sente plus riche intérieurement et beaucoup plus responsable. L'homme de notre pays sait que la glorieuse époque qui lui est échue est une époque de sacrifice, il connaît le sacrifice.

Les premiers en ont fait l'expérience dans la Sierra Maestra, ensuite nous l'avons connu dans tout Cuba. Cuba est l'avant-garde de l'Amérique latine et - parce qu'elle occupe cette place d'avant-garde, parce qu'elle indique aux masses d'Amérique latine la véritable liberté, elle doit faire des sacrifices. A l'intérieur du pays les dirigeants doivent remplir leur rôle d'avant-garde et il faut le dire en toute franchise dans une révolution véritable à laquelle on donne tout et dont on n'attend aucune rétribution matérielle, la tâche du révolutionnaire est à la fois magnifique et angoissante.

Permettez-moi de dire, au risque de paraître ridicule, que le vrai révolutionnaire authentique est guidé par de grands sentiments de générosité, il est impossible d'imaginer un révolutionnaire authentique sans cette qualité. Peut-être est-ce là un des grands drames du dirigeant, il doit allier à un tempérament passionné une froide intelligence (et prendre de douloureuses décisions sans que se contracte un seul de ses muscles). Nos révolutionnaires d'avant-garde doivent idéaliser cet amour des peuples, des causes les plus sacrées, et le rendre unique, indivisible. Ils ne peuvent exercer leur sensibilité quotidienne au même niveau que les autres hommes.

Les dirigeants de la Révolution ont des enfants qui, dans leurs premiers balbutiements, n'apprennent pas leur nom et des femmes qui sont, elles aussi, sacrifiées au triomphe de la Révolution. Le cadre des amis correspond strictement à celui des compagnons de la Révolution. En dehors d'elle il n'y a pas de vie. Dans ces conditions, il faut avoir beaucoup d'humanité, un grand sens de la justice et de la vérité pour ne pas tomber dans un dogmatisme extrême, dans une froide scolastique, pour ne pas s'isoler des masses. Tous les jours il faut lutter pour que cet amour de l'humanité se manifeste par des faits concrets, qui servent d'exemple et qui soient mobilisateurs. Le révolutionnaire dans son Parti – moteur idéologique de la Révolution, se consume dans cette tâche ininterrompue qui ne se termine qu'avec la mort, à moins que la construction du socialisme n'aboutisse dans le monde entier. Si son ardeur révolutionnaire s'émousse une fois les tâches les plus urgentes réalisées, à l'échelle locale, et s'il oublie l'internationalisme prolétarien, la Révolution qu'il dirige cesse d'être un moteur et s'enfonce dans une confortable torpeur qui est mise à profit par nos irréconciliables ennemis, les impérialistes qui, alors, gagnent du terrain.

L'internationalisme prolétarien est un devoir, mais c'est aussi une nécessité révolutionnaire. C'est ce que nous apprenons à notre peuple.

Il est certain que la situation actuelle comporte des dangers, non seulement celui du dogmatisme, non seulement celui de figer nos rapports avec les masses au milieu de notre grande tâche, mais aussi des faiblesses dans lesquelles nous pouvons tomber. Un homme qui consacre sa vie entière à la Révolution ne peut se laisser distraire par la pensée de ce qui manque à un enfant, de ses chaussures usées, du strict nécessaire qui manque à sa famille. S'il se laisse hanter par ces préoccupations, il crée un terrain favorable au développement de la corruption. Nous avons toujours soutenu, quant à nous, que nos enfants doivent posséder les mêmes choses que les autres enfants, mais qu'ils doivent aussi être privés de ce dont s'ont privés les autres enfants. Notre famille doit le comprendre et lutter pour cela. La Révolution se fait à travers l'homme, mais il faut que celui-ci forge, jour après jour, son esprit révolutionnaire.

C'est ainsi que nous avançons. A la tête de l'immense colonne – nous n'avons pas honte de le dire – marche Fidel, derrière lui vont les meilleurs cadres du Parti et, immédiatement après, si près que l'on sent sa force énorme, vient l'ensemble du peuple qui marche fermement vers le but commun. Il est composé d'individus qui ont acquis la conscience de ce qu'il faut faire, d'hommes qui luttent pour sortir du royaume de la nécessité et entrer dans celui de la liberté. Cette foule immense s'ordonne, sa discipline correspond à une nécessité comprise par tous, ce n'est plus une foule dispersée, divisible à l'infini, dans laquelle chacun essaie, par n'importe quel moyen, par une lutte acharnée contre ses semblables, de trouver un appui face à l'avenir incertain. Nous savons que nous avons encore des sacrifices à faire, et que nous devons payer pour notre situation héroïque de nation d'avant-garde. Nous autres, les dirigeants, nous devons payer pour avoir le droit de dire que nous sommes à l'avant-garde du peuple qui est à la tête de l'Amérique latine. Nous payons tous, régulièrement, notre part de sacrifices, conscients d'être récompensés par la satisfaction du devoir accompli et d'avancer tous ensemble vers l'homme nouveau que l'on aperçoit à l'horizon. Permettez-moi quelques conclusions. Nous, les socialistes, nous sommes plus libres parce que nous sommes plus riches, nous sommes plus riches parce que nous sommes plus libres. Le squelette de notre pleine liberté est prêt. Il ne lui manque plus que sa substance et ses vêtements, nous les créerons. Notre liberté et notre pain quotidien ont la couleur du sang et sont gonflés de sacrifices. Notre sacrifice est conscient, c'est le prix de la liberté que nous construisons. Le chemin est long et en partie inconnu. Nous connaissons nos limites.

Nous ferons l'homme du XXIeme siècle. Nous nous forgerons dans l'action quotidienne en créant l'homme nouveau avec une nouvelle technique. La personnalité joue un grand rôle mobilisateur et directeur du moment qu'elle incarne les plus hautes vertus et les aspirations du peuple et qu'elle ne s'éloigne pas de la route. C'est le groupe d'avant-garde qui ouvre le chemin, les meilleurs d'entre les bons, le Parti. L'argile fondamentale de notre œuvre est la jeunesse. Nous y déposons tous nos espoirs et nous la préparons à prendre le drapeau de nos mains. Si cette lettre balbutiante éclaire quelque chose, elle aura rempli son objectif. Recevez notre salut, rituel comme une poignée de mains ou un Ave Maria.

La PATRIE OU La MORT !

Che Guevara Talks

2009-06-06T19:57:00.000-07:00

Che Guevara talking about the Bays of Invasion

Che Guevara recites a poem

Che Guevara talking about Labour

Timeline of Che Guevara's Life

"Haste Siempre Commandante" Slideshow with music

2009-06-04T18:43:00.000-07:00

Che Guevara talking about Labour

2009-05-04T18:34:00.000-07:00

Che Guevara recites a poem

2009-05-04T18:11:00.000-07:00

Che Guevara talking about the Bay of Pigs Invasion

2008-05-20T19:45:00.000-07:00

1st INTERNATIONAL CHE CONFERENCE -
DAY TWO

2008-05-20T19:04:00.000-07:00

1st INTERNATIONAL CHE CONFERENCE -
DAY ONE