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<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://resumen-english.org/2025/07/tell-no-lies-claim-no-easy-victories-the-cuban-revolution-social-vulnerability-and-revolutionary-ethics/">resumen-english.org</a>
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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">\u201cTell No Lies, Claim No Easy Victories\u201d: The Cuban Revolution, Social Vulnerability, and Revolutionary Ethics</h1>
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<p><span>By <a href="https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Ar6b7gVHY/">Isaac Saney</a> on July 17, 2025</span></p>
<div id="gmail-attachment_31075" class="gmail-wp-caption"><p><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31075" src="https://i0.wp.com/resumen-english.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/7-18-isaac.jpg?resize=300%2C154&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="154" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img"></p><p id="gmail-caption-attachment-31075" class="gmail-wp-caption-text"><font size="1">Amilcar Cabral with Fidel.</font></p></div>
<p><span>In one of the most enduring axioms of revolutionary integrity,
Amílcar Cabral\u2014African liberation theorist, freedom fighter, and
martyr\u2014urged those engaged in the struggle for liberation and justice to
\u201cTell no lies, claim no easy victories.\u201d This precept demands
truth-telling, humility, and a relentless confrontation with reality. It
stands in opposition to demagoguery, denial, and the temptation to
obscure difficult truths for the sake of appearances.<span> </span></span><span id="gmail-more-31074"></span></p>
<p><span>In today\u2019s Cuba, as the country grapples with the profound
effects of the U.S. economic war and internal social challenges,
President Miguel Díaz-Canel\u2019s recent statements, countering previous
incongruous (to say the least) remarks of a now-resigned government
minister on inequality and social vulnerability, reaffirm the Cuban
Revolution\u2019s commitment to Cabral\u2019s principle. Far from concealing its
difficulties, the Revolution has chosen the path of honesty, ethics, and
humanism\u2014a path that is difficult but principled.</span></p><p><span>The U.S. economic siege against Cuba is not
merely an attempt to destabilize the country\u2019s economy; it is a
deliberate strategy of suffocation. It aims to incite internal
discontent, distort the image of the Cuban government, and ultimately
dismantle the gains of the Cuban Revolution. This is a war of attrition,
conducted not only with financial sanctions and trade restrictions but
also with a barrage of misinformation and psychological warfare. In this
climate, any misstep by the Cuban government or deficiency within Cuban
society is exaggerated and weaponized. As a result, flaws that are
inherent to every political and economic system\u2014especially under
duress\u2014are made to appear as unique failures of socialism. Yet these are
not signs of ideological collapse, but rather indicators of how
relentlessly the Revolution is attacked.<span> </span></span></p>
<p><span>Despite this unrelenting pressure, the Cuban
revolutionary leadership continues to engage in a critical
self-assessment. In his remarks to the National Assembly\u2019s Commission on
Youth, Children, and Women\u2019s Equality, President Díaz-Canel does not
shy away from acknowledging that the country faces serious challenges:
from economic distortions and worsening inequality to social behaviours
that reflect a breakdown in social, communal and familial bonds.
However, instead of denial or scapegoating, he calls for solutions
rooted in ethics and justice. \u201cThe Revolution does not hide its
problems,\u201d he declared. \u201cIt faces them with ethics and social justice,
even in the midst of extreme circumstances.\u201d</span></p>
<div id="gmail-attachment_31076" class="gmail-wp-caption"><p><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31076" src="https://i0.wp.com/resumen-english.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/7-16-dias-canel.jpg?resize=300%2C180&ssl=1" alt="" width="300" height="180" class="gmail-moz-reader-block-img"></p><p id="gmail-caption-attachment-31076" class="gmail-wp-caption-text">\u201cThese are our problems\u2014our homeless, our vulnerable communities, our social inequalities,\u201d <span>President Díaz-Canel </span></p></div>
<p><span>This frankness is not weakness\u2014it is revolutionary strength. It
is precisely what Cabral called for: an unflinching honesty that does
not minimize hardship but also does not abandon hope. Díaz-Canel\u2019s
insistence that these are \u201cour problems\u201d\u2014our homeless, our vulnerable
communities, our social inequalities\u2014is a testament to the Revolution\u2019s
enduring humanistic vocation. This is not a government that disowns the
marginalized; it embraces its duty to them. There is a recognition that
vulnerability is not an aberration in a revolutionary society but a
consequence of both internal and external pressures, and therefore
demands coordinated, compassionate, and persistent action.</span></p>
<p><span>The Cuban president\u2019s ethical framing of
politics echoes another foundational insight of Cabral: that
revolutionary struggle is not merely about material gains, but about
dignity, truth, and values. Díaz-Canel invoked Cuban revolutionary
intellectual Armando Hart to emphasize that \u201claw as an expression of
social justice\u201d and \u201cethics as an expression of truth\u201d must guide the
Revolution. In doing so, he rebukes superficial or callous analyses of
Cuba\u2019s social difficulties. He cautions against arrogance and
detachment, calling instead for \u201csensitivity,\u201d \u201chuman warmth,\u201d and
\u201cdecent conduct\u201d in addressing the country\u2019s deepest social wounds.</span></p>
<p><span>To that end, the Revolution has launched
more than thirty targeted social programs, aimed at alleviating the
conditions of vulnerable populations. These are not symbolic gestures
but material commitments, funded despite the crushing weight of a
blockade that seeks to deny Cuba even the basic resources required for
governance. The existence of these programs\u2014backed by political will,
ethical clarity, and popular participation\u2014demonstrates that the
Revolution has not given up on its foundational promises. It continues
to strive, in extremely difficult conditions, towards a society where no
one is left behind.</span></p>
<p><span>What makes Cuba\u2019s stance particularly
powerful is its refusal to claim easy victories. It would be tempting,
especially under siege, to project an image of success unmarred by
crisis. But the Revolution refuses such self-congratulatory illusions.
As Díaz-Canel states, \u201cWe know our problems have worsened\u2026 But the
Revolution recognizes that there are causes that have led to these types
of problems, and so the Revolution has to\u2026 project how we are going to
solve it, knowing that it\u2019s a long struggle.\u201d The acknowledgment that
progress will be slow and uneven, that not all problems can be solved at
once, is a testament to revolutionary maturity\u2014not defeatism.</span></p>
<p><span>This political and moral clarity is all
the more significant given the dehumanizing narratives promoted by
imperialist and monopoly media, which seek to portray Cuba as a failed
state. Against this chorus of cynicism, the Cuban Revolution asserts a
different truth: that a people who are honest about their difficulties,
who remain committed to justice in the face of adversity, and who
maintain solidarity as a guiding principle, are not defeated.<span> </span></span></p>
<p><span>To persevere and continue to develop
under siege, to continue building a society rooted in dignity, equality,
and ethics despite scarcity and external aggression, is not a failure.
It is a revolutionary achievement. Thus, the Cuban Revolution remains
faithful to Cabral\u2019s injunction\u2014not only in its refusal to lie or claim
easy victories, but in its continuing effort to struggle, to confront,
and to care.</span></p>
<p><span>As Cuba endures an ongoing economic war
designed to destroy the capacity of the Cuban government to fulfill its
promises and commitments to the Cuban people and erode the island
nation\u2019s social fabric, it has chosen the harder but more principled
path. It faces its problems squarely, acknowledges its shortcomings, and
seeks solutions through collective action and moral responsibility.
This commitment to revolutionary ethics and humanism is perhaps the most
powerful proof that the Cuban Revolution, despite what some might
consider insurmountable odds, remains alive, dignified, and
revolutionary. </span></p>
<p><span>Honouring Amílcar Cabral\u2019s timeless words, shows the world
what it means to fight for justice and genuine emancipation with
honesty, courage, and resolve.</span></p>
<p><strong><em>Isaac Saney</em></strong> is a Cuba and Black studies professor and historian at Dalhousie University</p>
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