Nelson Mandela

Fidel Castro

Speaking together in Cuba in 1991, Mandela and Castro discuss the place in the history of Africa of Cuba and Angola's victory over the invading U.S.-backed South African army, and the resulting acceleration of the fight to bring down the racist apartheid system.

South Africa and Cuba in Today's World

How Far We Slaves Have Come!

Brenda Lopez

Responding to Mandela's tribute, Castro explained that revolutionary Cuba had staked everything-including the existence of the revolution itself-in committing such ma- jor military forces to the battle at Cuito Cuanavale. In doing so, said Castro-repeating a theme that has run through many of his speeches in recent years — the Cuban government and people once again showed in practice why internationalism is blood and bone of the revolution, and why any retreat from aiding those fighting for national liberation or socialism elsewhere in the world would be the death knell of the Cuban revolution itself.

Today those in the West are trying to ingratiate themselves with Africa, trying to ingratiate themselves with those who hate apartheid. But the fact is that apartheid was created by the West, by the capitalist and imperialist West. The real truth is that the West supported apartheid; they supplied it with technology, countless billions in investments, and vast quantities of arms; and they also gave it political support. No, imperialism did not break ties with apartheid, it did not blockade apartheid; imperialism maintained and continues to maintain excellent relations with apartheid. It was Cuba that had to be blockaded,"l Cuba, where the vestiges of apartheid-that is, racial discrimination-- disappeared a long time ago. Cuba had to be blockaded as punishment for its revolution, as punishment for its social justice but never apartheid.

Ideological battles have to be waged, great ideological battles, because it seems that imperialism may have no enemy in this world now other than little Cuba, this green Caribbean alligator, as Che once called it. []

There are some who believe in neoliberalism, and there are others who have no other choice than to believe in it, because if they don't they will not get one cent. So there is a wave of privatization. What is in fashion is privatization, private enterprise, and market economies. This is a strange new way of terming things; it cannot be easily understood, and you don't know if those who mention them and repeat them understand what they mean. But mar- ket economy, private enterprise, and private property actually have only one name: capitalism, and nothing else.

To want to resolve these problems through capitalism, in a world that has been divided between extremely rich capitalist countries and the majority of extremely poor countries-precisely as a consequence of capitalism, colonialism, neocolonialism, and imperialism is an incredible illusion. To think that neoliberal formulas are going to promote the miracle of economic development in our countries is an incredible illusion. It's like trying to put out a fire with gasoline.

But now internationalism means defending and preserving the Cuban revolution; that is our greatest internationalist duty. Because when there is a flag like ours, which represents ideas as just as ours, then to defend this trench, this bastion of socialism, is the greatest service we can offer to humanity. 

On July 26, 1991, Nelson Mandela and Fidel Castro spoke together at a rally of tens of thousands in Matanzas, Cuba. This book contains their speeches at that historic event.

So inspirational and still fitting for our times. The Cuban people deserve their autonomy and sovereignty. venceremos! 

How Far We Slaves Have Come! South Africa and Cuba in Today's World

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