BEING ANTI-IMPERIALIST: THERE WOULD BE NO NATION IF WE WERE NOT ANTI-IMPERIALIST

“Being anti-imperialist today and stand for Cuba, and root for Cuba, and show solidarity with Cuba, prove that Cuba is a symbol of anti-imperialism. We could even say that Cuba — geopolitically — is the first bulwark against Imperialism in Latin America. Not by chance José Martí warned that “we must prevent on time that the U.S. could expand over the Antilles and fall with that additional force…,” noted Katiuska Blanco, a Cuban journalist and writer.

Especially for CubaSí, the expert on the life and work of Commander in Chief Fidel Castro shared with us her definition on anti-imperialism:

From a cultural approach, as a nation, being anti-imperialist is bound up with our very own existence. That is to say, there would be no Cuban nation if we were not anti-imperialist. All the efforts of the Empire have focused on erasing our culture and identity by trying to subjugate us, as the U.S. has done with the resilient people of Puerto Rico. The history of Puerto Rico is a dramatic statement of what the Yankee Empire is actually capable of, against Cuba, the world, Our America.

Hence, being anti-imperialist is also about having the will to live on as a people with the right to have our own identity, and not being subjugated by anyone. This is as old as the right of people to defend their land. That is a fact in history: people under attack have the right to defend their land, space, and their rights, their rights to exist, to enjoy their culture, religion, traditions, and language. The people of Puerto Rico, for instance, have been subjugated for years. Nonetheless, they still speak Spanish. Why? Well, they have found ways to endure and survive imperialism.

It also means being in favor of the defense of our people, championing the culture of people in Our America, but also the cultural diversity in the world. It means not being subjected to the supremacy of a dominant pseudo-culture. I always say that we need to praise the best of America’s culture. But we do not accept the pseudo-culture of large oligopolies aiming to dominate the world with a expression that cannot be labeled as art nor culture, as it harms all of us — we could say — as human beings. It is certainly a pseudo-culture that humiliates human beings, women, natives, and people of different ethnic background. This pseudo-culture despises peace, the rights of people, and this is not culture at all. The best of America sympathizes with our struggle, the respect for our identity.

But being anti-imperialist also refers to defending planet Earth, the struggle of people to enjoy their rights to sovereignty and justice and live their lives their own way. And this is not only limited to our country, but also — in a wider scope — to Our America as it is, firstly, our natural environment. And everything converges today: on one hand, most of the world’s population believes the Earth must be preserved and there have been taking place large demonstrations worldwide. For example, those who actively participate in such demonstrations are for sure anti-imperialists and anti-capitalists. Capitalism has brought poverty, desertification, and acid rains to mankind. And everything is linked to the misleading of the human civilization in planet Earth, which may be understood as global capitalism.

Therefore, being anti-imperialist is above all, being resilient to the aforementioned stuff. It is about backing noble causes and being in favor of people, justice, and sovereignty; it means to defend splendid and genuine relations among people. It is to respect each other’s religions, languages, music, and even economy.

Cuba supports all of them. Cuba is the bulwark of these and others causes. Cuba is a symbol of solidarity to the world as we share what we have, not what we have in excess. Cuba is an icon and its historical leaders, with extraordinary men like Fidel and Raul Castro, Che Guevara, Camilo (Cienfuegos) and so many others, would be also great leaders in other revolutionary processes around the world.

Cuba has been the perfect converging point for people defending mankind and other noble causes in the region.

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz/CubaSí Translation Staff