“For each of us individually, the slogan is: Homeland or Death!” But for the people, who will ultimately emerge victorious, the slogan is: We Shall Win! This is how the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, expressed it on June 7, 1960.
The phrase, which still remains relevant today, was uttered by Fidel at the closing of the First Congress of the National Federation of Barber and Hairdressing Workers.
Just one year and a few months after the triumph of January 1, 1959, the then Prime Minister asserted: “You have the task of constantly maintaining the struggle in the streets, because the only thing you cannot do in a revolution, as in a war, is to let go.” to return fire from the enemy.”
The Commander in Chief asserted: “This generation will not be the soft generation that lets the harvest be snatched from its hands! This generation will not be the generation that lets the triumphant flags be snatched from its hands! This generation will not be a generation that surrenders possession of its land and sovereignty to foreign ambition!”
Earlier, on March 5, 1960, Fidel enunciated the first part of the historic slogan during the mourning farewell to the victims of the sabotage of the French steamship La Coubre, moored in the port of Havana.
Before an impassioned and combative demonstration, the revolutionary leader stated:
“And we will not only know how to resist any aggression, but we will know how to defeat any aggression, and once again we will have no alternative but the one with which we began the revolutionary struggle: that of freedom or death.”
Only now, freedom means something else; freedom means Homeland, and our choice will be: Homeland or Death!
In those days, the Inter-American Peace Commission opened a case against the dictatorship of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo in the Dominican Republic and proposed applying the same procedure against Cuba under the pretext of human rights violations.
Faced with the possibility of a military invasion, Fidel warned: “The country will defend itself, and not only will it defend itself, but the country will defeat any armed aggression!”
In his memorable speech, he added: “This trench will remain firm and invincible! Because those of us who are in it, those of us who have the privilege of being in that trench, will not lose it; those of us who have the privilege of playing the role that Cuba is playing in the history of this continent will know how to rise to the occasion, with the certainty that we will win, our people will win!
Whatever the cost, our people will win! Because its children are determined to defend it, because its children have the courage, patriotism, and unity that are needed at a time like this.”
And he concluded his speech with the phrase “We will overcome!”, convinced that the people were willing to defend the revolutionary work to the bitter end and would fight until they forced the enemy to bite the dust of defeat.
Today, as never before, the slogan is renewed in the face of the greatest threat in the history of the Cuban Revolution, with a US government determined to the utmost to reimpose values in the country that are alien to its patriotic and sovereign nature.
Donald Trump’s White House intensified the blockade and added Cuba to the list of state sponsors of terrorism and even terrorists.
These measures prevent the Cuban state from accessing sources of financing and credit to invest in the energy, food, and transportation sectors, among others, hindering an improvement in the lives of the population.
Faced with this difficult situation, there is no choice but to resort to the slogan “Homeland or Death! We Shall Win!, along with the contributions of intelligence, talent, and initiative, on which the Cuban Revolution has triumphed in previous times.
