48th Anniversary of the Storming of the Moncada Barracks
July 26th marks the 48th Revolution Day, also called Moncada Day, in Cuba. On this day in 1953, a group of 134 revolutionaries, led by Fidel Castro, stormed the Moncada Barracks in Santiago de Cuba on the southeast coast, a bold move to strike a blow against the dictatorial regime of Fulgencio Batista and to advance the cause of national liberation of the Cuban people.
Batista had seized power 17 months earlier, after two decades of wielding power behind the scenes on behalf of U.S. imperialism. The Cuban revolutionaries knew they had to inspire the people, to show them that they were not afraid and to point the way to victory through armed struggle. The surprise attack on the Moncada Barracks succeeded in doing that, but not without sacrifice. Many of the rebels were killed and Castro and others were arrested.
Castro acted as his own defence at his trial three months later. It was there he delivered a speech, that outlined the entire social, economic and political situation in Cuba, cited the crimes of the Batista regime, showed the way forward for the Cuban revolution and envisioned a society free of corruption and degradation. Castro explained who were the social forces who would carry out the Cuban Revolution: the unemployed, the farm labourers, the industrial labourers and stevedores, the small farmers, the teachers and professors, the small businessmen and the young professionals. He called on these masses of the people to liberate themselves, saying: "These are the people, the ones who know misfortune and, therefore, are capable of fighting with limitless courage! To the people whose desperate roads through life have been paved with the brick of betrayals and false promises, we were not going to say, 'We will eventually give you what you need', but rather, 'Here you have it! Fight for it with all your might so that liberty and happiness may be yours!' "
His defence ended with the famous words 'History will absolve me' and indeed this has proved to be true. After Moncada, the revolutionary forces named themselves The July 26 Movement and the Cuban people were inspired to take up the cause of their own liberation, culminating with the success of their revolution on January 1, 1959.
The spirit of Moncada, of revolution, lives on in Cuba to this day. It is this spirit which has led the Cuban people to continue their struggle to build their socialist society, to stand up to U.S. imperialism and to strengthen their strong internationalist ties.