The 26th of July Movement: Still Inspires in Cuba

Richard S Dunn – July 26, 2024

This 26th of July 2024 (National Rebellion Day) Cuba will celebrate the 71st anniversary of the attack on the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Cespedes army barracks in Cuba. On that early July morning in 1953, a group of courageous revolutionaries led by Fidel Castro, his brother Raul Castro and Abel Santamaria, launched a military attack on the army barracks of the oppressive regime of Fulgencio Battista. Despite the failure of the initial attack, that event would later develop into the victorious Cuban Revolution that is responsible for creating and maintaining the socialist society in Cuba today.

The celebration this year takes place under critical international conditions: The genocidal slaughter of Palestinians especially in Gaza by the colonial occupying State of Israel; the upcoming Presidential Elections in the United States in November; and worsening Climate Change events, which threatens the existence of the planet as we know it. Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the pending US elections especially, have significant impact on international relations and also the threat to bourgeois parliamentary democracy in the United States.

Despite Challenges, Cuba Continues to Live

The 64-year criminal embargo imposed by the United States against The Republic of Cuba was intent on “killing” the victorious Cuban Revolution in its infancy; US imperialism wanted to bring Cuba to its knees thereby returning the island to the multinationals and a local oligarchy. This has not happened; the world is aware that this has not happened; and as long as the Cuban people remain steadfast in protecting the gains of their revolutionary sacrifice, it will not happen.

As reported in Granma, the official publication of the Communist Party of Cuba, the 5th International Convention and Exposition of Cuban Industry (Cubaindustria 2024) that was held June 17 to 24, 2024, will encourage and strengthen technical partnerships between Cuban and foreign industries; promote exportable products and consolidate national productivity. The most poignant aim of the exposition is that it aims to establish links between all the economic sectors of the Cuban economy, so that they can meet the needs of the Cuban people and most importantly, what can be produced in Cuba will not be imported.

The Center for Molecular Immunology of Cuba has produced the world’s first therapeutic vaccine against lung cancer; the drug CIMAvax-EGF, was registered in Belarus earlier this month. Belarus was also the first country in Europe to register the COVID-19 vaccine Soberna, also developed in Cuba through their biotechnological and pharmaceutical sector. The drug Biomodulin T also developed in Cuba, has been recorded with much success for the treatment of immune dysfunction and recurring infections in elderly people. “After a clinical trial on almost 9,000 patients in nursing homes, the frequency of acute respiratory infections (ARI) was reduced by a little more than five times” reports Granma.

These are just a few of the achievements Cuba has made in improving the lives of its citizens and improving the country’s socio-economic development. It is no secret that the unilateral embargo against Cuba, has impacted all aspects of the Cuban society: food and fuel shortages; electrical blackouts; reduced farm production including machinery and chemicals; shortages of medicines or material resources to manufacture their own medicines; parts for medical and industrial equipment and other supplies. The Cuban Foreign Ministry had reported in 2022 that the embargo has deprived the Cuban people of $15M daily and since the start of the embargo Cuba has lost approximately $1.4 trillion. The embargo is tantamount to collective punishment against a sovereign people because the United States is hell-bent on regime change in Cuba. The Israeli Zionists have learnt well from their benefactor.

In the face of continued pressure from United States Imperialism, Cuba has continued to solve its problems or develop solutions to solving its problems with great and focused creativity: economic and political administration has been decentralized; central government spending has been cut back; importation tariffs which favors local production and resources and encouraging tourism are among other measures. Cuba’s inflation rate has also seen a significant reduction from the rate it was two years ago.

Long Live the Cuban Revolution!

The Cuban Revolution, which is the birth-child of the 26th of July Movement, has survived severe retaliation from United States imperialism for 65 years: embargo; assassination attempts against its leaders; CIA sponsored invasion by reactionary forces residing in Florida; bombing of a Cuban airliner; fomenting internal disorder and disruption; and listing Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism.

If the United States is really concerned and supportive of working people’s democracy, it will  end the relatively crippling sanctions and remove Cuba from the List of State Sponsors of Terrorism; both Policies have been condemned by the international community and there have been no empirical evidence provided by the United States to support their claim that Cuba sponsors or have ever been involved in any act of terrorism.  

The successes of Cuba today in the almost complete eradication of illiteracy; free education from basic school to university; comprehensive free and quality health care; affordable housing; the lowest infant mortality rate in the region and Latin America; developing and producing its own vaccines; the expansion of its technological and biopharmaceutical sectors; international achievements in the arts and sports, is a testament to the righteousness of the actions taken on that early July morning in 1953. After release from prison and later reorganization of the group of revolutionaries, the seeds for complete socio-economic transformation spread and yielded the victory of the revolution on January 1st 1959. Long Live the 26th of July Movement, Long Live the Cuban Revolution. Venceremous!!!!

 Richard Dunn can be contacted at: contact@makingitplain.net