Life in Cuba has turned around 180 degrees once again. And to face it requires an extraordinary dose of courage and heroism. We already experienced this when, in 1990, we entered the Special Period and the option of zero fuel threatened to paralyze society. We resisted, innovated, and managed to overcome what seemed to be the worst energy crisis to date.
There is no magic to survive and overcome this new scarcity of oil, mainly due to the measures approved by the United States government. It is a sacrifice that hurts, is uncomfortable, and makes life more difficult and bitter, especially when we were still dealing with internal problems such as the economy, inflation, and electrical energy.
Some understand this new call for firmness better, to resist without wavering on principles. Others understand it less, but in the end, there is only one question to answer: will surrendering to those who block us bring back electricity and fuel? History teaches us, through cardinal examples, what always awaits the bowed, the weak, the ignorant of the past.
Cuba is an uncompromising neighbor when it comes to trampling on its sovereignty and independence, but it has the capacity and fortitude to sit down and talk with anyone, as long as there is respect and it is a discussion between equals, without the powerful empire crushing or lying about what our nation must do. We already experienced this in 1898 and under every government of the neocolonial republic. We know the American lessons and the consequences by heart for those who surrender on a silver platter and end up in iron molds.
Fidel foresaw this like no one else, and returning to his thoughts is as necessary as the hope that we will overcome this tightening of the blockade once again through hard work. “To be a revolutionary today implies a much greater merit, a much higher consciousness. To be a revolutionary today constitutes an act of trust, conviction, honor, courage, and heroism much higher than ever required in the history of our Revolution.”
