The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) salutes the Government and people of Cuba on the occasion of the historic victory of the 26th July Movement led by Fidel Castro and his brother Raul which overthrew the Fulgencio Batista regime on January 1, 1959.
The overthrow of the Batista regime marked a new chapter in the life of the Cuban people who were relegated to second class citizens by the Batista regime which agonized the Cuban people by forging lucrative links with organized crime and allowed American companies to dominate the Cuban economy which at that time was plagued by high unemployment rates and poor social infrastructure. Batista suppressed any opposition to his dictatorial rule by developing a powerful security infrastructure to silence political opponents.
It was against such a background that Fidel Castro, then a young lawyer, petitioned for the overthrow of the Batista regime whom he accused of corruption and tyranny. Having failed in his attempt to remove the regime by constitutional means, Fidel and his brother Raul along with several others resorted to armed struggle to overthrow the dictatorship. Several attempts to topple the regime were made which included the now popular Moncada Attack which resulted in the arrest of Fidel and his brother Raul both of whom were imprisoned but released under strong political and popular pressure. In June 1955, Fidel met with the Argentine revolutionary “Che” Guevara who joined the cause. The revolutionaries named themselves the “26 of July Movement” in reference to the date on the Moncada attack.
The victory of the Cuban Revolution reshaped relations not only with the United States but with several other developing states in particular those that were under colonial domination and dictatorial rule. Immediately on the attainment of political power, the new Cuban government under the leadership of Fidel Castro introduced wide ranging reforms to address the economic and social problems of the Cuban masses. Laws were enacted to provide equality for all Cubans and greater rights for women and much emphasis was placed on improving the quality of education and health care delivery to Cubans. One of the first policies of the Castro government was the elimination of illiteracy and implementing land reforms which significantly enhanced the quality of life of the Cuban people.
The PPP has been following closely developments in Cuba and calls on the United States government to end its embargo against the Cuban people which is stifling economic growth and social progress. The Party also calls on the United States administration to pay heed to international human rights bodies including the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and Amnesty International and free the Miami Five (Gerardo Hernandez, Antonio Guerrero, Ramon Labanino, Fernando Gonzalez and Rene Gonzalez) who were detained in the United States since September 12, 1998.
It is noteworthy that despite the embargo, Cuba continues to render assistance to other developing countries especially in the field of health and education by way of the training of doctors and other professionals. Guyana is a major beneficiary for which the Party would like to convey its gratitude to the Cuban government.
On the occasion of the 55th anniversary of the victory of the Cuban Revolution, the PPP wishes to convey its best wishes to the Government and people of Cuba on this significant milestone.
People’s Progressive Party
January 2, 2014
