“The Cuban people along with international solidarity defeated this imperial position [America] in the middle of the 21st century and have demonstrated the potential of a nation that has lived under an iron handed blockade and permanent aggression including state sponsored terrorism and yet has survived. In the new circumstances we have the absolute conviction that we will move forward even more than we already have.” PeopleStatesAmericaMovingNationsMiddleCenturyPositionCircumstancesAbsolutesIncludingInternationalConvictionTerrorismMoving ForwardPermanentIronAggressionDefeatedSolidaritySurvived21st CenturyCubanBlockades Author:Alejandro Castro Espin
“Cubans are a people who suffered from capitalism in the cruelest way, in the social order, the economic order and the political order.” PeopleWayPoliticalOrderSocialEconomicCapitalismCubanSocial OrderEconomic Order Author:Alejandro Castro Espin
“There is us living the Cuban experience that we believe is ours. We do not believe that it is perfect, but it has been above all counting truly on the people, which is where the origins of true democracy lie.” PeopleBelieveHas BeensLyingPerfectDemocracyCountingCubanTrue Democracy Author:Alejandro Castro Espin
“The American people have on many occasions been willing to shed their own blood for a noble cause, like when hundreds of thousands of Americans participated in the fight against fascism in Europe, and other causes. There are many good people there, and the Cuban people know the American people, we have many examples of solidarity from the American people in every stage of the Cuban people's fight for independence.” PeopleKnowsFightingCausesBloodStageExampleWillingEuropeIndependenceNobleOccasionsGood PeopleFascismShedSolidarityCubanNoble Causes Author:Alejandro Castro Espin
“When we talk about Cuban democracy we are referring to participatory democracy which is big difference with representative bourgeois democracy. Our is a democracy in which everything is consulted with the people; it is a democracy in which every aspect and important decision that has an impact in the life and society of the people, is done in consultation.” PeopleImportantDoneBigsDifferencesDecisionDemocracyAspectImpactRepresentativesBourgeoisReferringCubanImportant DecisionsConsultationParticipatory Democracy Author:Alejandro Castro Espin
“I have a lot of faith and confidence in Cuban democracy.” DemocracyCuban Author:Alejandro Castro Espin
“We have a complete respect for history, we respect the experiences of other countries and we have our own, but the truth is that if the Cuban revolution had not been a democracy it would not have survived.” IfsCountryDemocracyRevolutionTruth IsOther CountriesSurvivedCubanCuban Revolution Author:Alejandro Castro Espin
“It is important to eliminate the stigma created by American imperialism and its allies regarding the Cuban political system. That stigma must be eliminated. You may think that there are no direct elections in Cuba. I am going to tell that they are direct and you can compare our process with any other country including the United States.” ThinkingMayImportantCountryStatesPoliticalProcessUnitedUnited StatesDirectElectionIncludingCompareAlliesOther CountriesImperialismCubaStigmaPolitical SystemsCubanAmerican Imperialism Author:Alejandro Castro Espin
“When the nuclear weapons were sent to the racist South African government, where a few million white people subjugated more than 13 million black people, it was so they could use them against the Cuban forces that were defending Angola. These things have not been written down but they need to be told as part of the reality of history which should not be distorted the way the historians connected to the power elite tend to do.” PeopleWayNeedsShouldUseRealityGovernmentForceBlackWhiteMillionsWrittenWeaponsSouthConnectedNuclearRacistHistorianBlack PeopleElitesNuclear WeaponsSouth AfricaCubanAngola Author:Alejandro Castro Espin
“The role that Cuba played and the lives of those 2,077 Cubans, whose mothers and families mourn for having lost their children in Africa, helped achieve the true security and independence of Angola. It was a contribution because in the end the Angolan people were the ones who decided that. We also contributed in a definitive way securing the independence of Namibia after years that a United Nations resolution was being ignored by South Africa and the western powers.” PeopleWayYearsChildrenEndsMotherLostNationsUnitedRolesAchieveSecurityDecidedIndependenceSouthWesternContributionResolutionSouth AfricaIgnoredUnited NationsCubaMournCubanBeing IgnoredAngolaNamibia Author:Alejandro Castro Espin
“With the Cuban presence in Namibia it was possible to achieve the security and real freedom of that country and the end of Apartheid in South Africa, with the modest contribution of the international military presence in Africa.” RealEndsCountryAchieveSecurityMilitarySouthInternationalContributionSouth AfricaModestApartheidCubanReal FreedomMilitary PresenceNamibia Author:Alejandro Castro Espin
“There is no one more talkative than Cubans, Cubans express their feelings, there's nobody more rebellious and revolutionary than a Cuban and I say that without chauvinism.” FeelingsRevolutionaryRebelliousCubanTalkativeChauvinism Author:Alejandro Castro Espin
“In building up a democratic model I think that Cuba's contribution, little by little, has contributed to getting closer to the ideals of those philosophers, of those Greeks who thought about how a society could be fairer, how a society could really represent the interests of the people. We have tried to get closer to that from a Latin-American perspective and from the Cuban perspective.” PeopleThinkingLittlesInterestBuildingPerspectiveModelsIdealsDemocraticPhilosopherGreekContributionLatinCubaCubanBuilding UpLatin American Author:Alejandro Castro Espin
