Global Learning
  • Home
  • Defenders of Cuban Socialism
    • UN Charter
    • Declaration of Human Rights
    • Bandung
    • New International Economic Order
    • Non-Aligned Movement
  • Substack editorial column
  • New Cold War articles
  • Friends of Socialist China articles
  • Global Research articles
  • Counterpunch articles
  • Cuba and the world-system
    • Table of Contents and chapter summaries
    • About the author
    • Endorsements
    • Obtaining your copy
  • Blog ¨The View from the South¨
    • Blog Index
    • Posts in reverse chronological order
  • The Voice of Third World Leaders
    • Asia >
      • Ho Chi Minh
      • Xi Jinping, President of China
    • Africa >
      • Kwame Nkrumah
      • Julius Nyerere
    • Latin America >
      • Fidel Castro
      • Hugo Chávez
      • Raúl Castro >
        • 55th anniversary speech, January 1, 1914
        • Opening Speech, CELAC
        • Address at G-77, June 15, 2014
        • Address to National Assembly, July 5, 2014
        • Address to National Assembly, December 20, 2014
        • Speech on Venezuela at ALBA, 3-17-2015
        • Declaration of December 18, 2015 on USA-Cuba relations
        • Speech at ALBA, March 5, 2018
      • Miguel Díaz-Canel >
        • UN address, September 26, 2018
        • 100th annivesary, CP of China
      • Evo Morales >
        • About Evo Morales
        • Address to G-77 plus China, January 8, 2014
        • Address to UN General Assembly, September 24, 2014
      • Rafael Correa >
        • About Rafael Correa
        • Speech at CELAC 1/29/2015
        • Speech at Summit of the Americas 2015
      • Nicolás Maduro
      • Cristina Fernández
      • Cuban Ministry of Foreign Relations >
        • Statement at re-opening of Cuban Embassy in USA, June 20, 2015
        • The visit of Barack Obama to Cuba
        • Declaration on parliamentary coup in Brazil, August 31, 2016
        • Declaration of the Revolutionary Government of Cuba on Venezuela, April 13, 2019
      • ALBA >
        • Declaration of ALBA Political Council, May 21, 2019
        • Declaration on Venezuela, March 17, 2015
        • Declaration on Venezuela, April 10, 2017
      • Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) >
        • Havana Declaration 2014
        • Declaration on Venezuela, March 26
    • Martin Luther King, Jr.
    • International >
      • Peoples’ Summit 2015
      • The Group of 77 >
        • Declaration on a New World Order 2014
        • Declaration on Venezuela 3/26/2015
      • BRICS
      • Non-Aligned Movement
  • Readings
    • Charles McKelvey, Cuba in Global Context
    • Piero Gleijeses, Cuba and Africa
    • Charles McKelvey, Chávez and the Revolution in Venezuela
    • Charles McKelvey, The unfinished agenda of race in USA
    • Charles McKelvey, Marxist-Leninist-Fidelist-Chavist Revolutionary
  • Recommended Books
  • Contact

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Recommended books on Amazon.com; click on image of book to connect

Fidel celebrates 89th birthday

8/14/2015

0 Comments

 
     On August 13, 2015, at 1:23 in the morning, Fidel Castro marked his 89th birthday by writing a message to the Cuban people, published in the newspaper Granma on that date.  The message referred to important developments of the twentieth century, including the emergence of the United States as the hegemonic power of the world-system in the post-World War II era, during which time the United States held in reserve nearly all the gold in the world.  But the United States was not able to continue backing the US dollar with gold, which resulted in President Nixon announcing the removal of the gold standard for the dollar.  Fidel noted that this unilateral decree by the United States violated the Bretton Woods agreement, and it undermined the economy of the United States.  In his retrospective reflective on the Vietnam War, former US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara explained that the source of the problem was the increasing amount of US dollars circulating abroad, as a result of the considerable number of military bases throughout the world (McNamara 1996).

       While the United States was ruining its economy through a policy of military domination of the world, Cuba was on an alternative journey, described by Fidel as involving a commitment to good will and peace among all the countries of the world, in order to assure the survival of the human species.  Cuba, Fidel affirmed in his message, will never cease in struggling for peace and wellbeing among all human beings of the planet, regardless of color or country of origin.  He concluded the message by thanking all those who have been committed to the dream of justice and equality for all the inhabitants of the planet, ideals that were proclaimed when the revolutionary struggle in Cuba was initiated.  Such ideals have included the concept of the equal right of all citizens with respect to health, education, work, nutrition, security, culture, science and wellbeing.

      The Cuban daily television news program, The Roundtable, celebrated Fidel’s birthday with a discussion on “Fidel and Cuban Science,” with a panel formed by the President of the Cuban Academy of Science and directors of Cuban centers of scientific research.  The panelists described the vision of Fidel in 1960 for the institutionalization of science in Cuba, in which Cuban scientific development would contribute to the well-being of the peoples of Cuba and the world, particularly in the underdeveloped countries of the Third World.  This vision, the panelists noted, was formulated at a time in which Cuba was still a country with a high rate of illiteracy, and state support for the institutionalization of science was a relatively new phenomenon in the world, completely unimagined with respect to a Third World country.  The panelists further described the active participation of Fidel in the implementation of the vision, including visits to research centers that would last for hours at a time.

      Fidel Castro is one of the most important figures of the twentieth century, who illustrates the central and necessary role of charismatic leaders in the unfolding of popular revolutions committed to a more just social order.  See various posts in the section on Charismatic Leaders.

Reference

McNamara, Robert S., with Brian VanDeMark.  1996.  In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam.  New York: Random House, Vintage Books.
 

Key words:  Fidel, Cuba, science, dollar, gold standard

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author: Charles McKelvey

    Retired professor, writer,  and Marxist-Leninist-Fidelist-Chavist revolutionary

    Categories

    All
    American Revolution
    Blog Index
    Bolivia
    Charismatic Leaders
    China
    Critique Of The Left
    Cuban History
    Cuba Today
    Ecuador
    Environment
    French Revolution
    Gay Rights
    Haitian Revolution
    Knowledge
    Latin American History
    Latin American Right
    Latin American Unity
    Marx
    Marxism-Leninism
    Mexican Revolution
    Miscellaneous
    Neocolonialism
    Neoliberalism
    Nicaragua
    North-South Cooperation
    Presidential Elections 2016
    Press
    Public Debate In USA
    Race
    Religion And Revolution
    Revolution
    Russian Revolution
    South-South Cooperation
    Third World
    Trump
    US Ascent
    US Imperialism
    Vanguard
    Venezuela
    Vietnam
    Wallerstein
    Women And Revolution
    World History
    World-System
    World-System Crisis

    Archives

    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    December 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    January 2013

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

More Ads


website by Sierra Creation