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De Omnibus Dubitandum - Lux Veritas

Thursday, January 19, 2023

Maybe it's time to say a good word about Fulgencio Batista

By Silvio Canto, Jr. January 19, 2023

A lot of things happened in January in Cuban history.   Jose Marti, the leader of independence against Spain, was born in January 28, 1853. In 1959, the so-called "revolution” happened.  The U.S. broke diplomatic relations with Cuba in January 1961.  And we remember that Fulgencio Batista was born in January 1901, one year before Cuba became an independent nation in 1902.  His name is all over 20th-century Cuban history. It’s also difficult to mention his name without getting a strong reaction. He died in exile in 1973........... I make no excuses for Batista's mistakes.  My parents were not "Batistianos" and were super critical of that coup.  As my late father would tell me, yes we had some problems but the coup was not necessary.  To be fair, it was not the first coup in Cuban history.

What about the rest of Batista's story? Cuba was a young and vibrant country with hope and a future.  In other words, the island of Cuba attracted people rather than driving its citizens away looking for a future.  It is really sad to watch Cuba today. The young escape and look for a better life, preferably in the U.S. The old get stuck behind. 

There were no Cubans packed on rafts arriving in Florida during Batista’s regime. One way or another, Cuba had room for all Cubans. There were disagreements and lots of shouting, but Cubans stayed on the island.  Instinctively, everyone knew that there was a future in Cuba, no matter how passionate the disagreements were............It is even more painful when you realize that pre-Castro Cuba attracted thousands of immigrants from all over the world..................To Read More

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