On August 13, 1926 a 'real unstoppable force and an immovable object' who would bring imperialism, the highest stage of capitalism, to its knees was born in Birán, Cuba named Fidel Castro. There have only been a few true revolutionaries in history. Fidel Castro towers them all.

His young age would witness unspeakable horror & atrocities of U.S. backed authoritarian dictator Fulgencio Batista on common people of Cuba. (Hilarious that Western liberal media would then paint Castro in Batista's light but story for some other day) https://twitter.com/SierraMayday/status/1284328978363215872?s=19

In early 50's, Fidel Castro had enough of the brutal regime and he, along with other rebels/revolutionaries, would start the insurrection against Batista and his army. They failed. Some revolutionaries died, others would be tortured, and sent to jail. Castro was also arrested.

By then, a little revolutionary flame had been lit. Batista knew that. He would deny Castro the right to his lawyer, when he was imprisoned, and the public hearing. Fidel Castro decided to represent himself. This was the beginning of legendary journey spanning over next 60 years.

As mentioned, "trial" of Fidel Castro was held away from public eyes; not in courts, but in a fucking hospital room! That is why his defense that he himself put forward, because he was denied the lawyer, would reflect the absurd situation and circus he was part of. Like this:

"It is not convenient, I warn you, to bestow justice from a hospital room surrounded by guards with bayonets because the citizens might think our justice is sick... () and imprisoned. ()"
Castro would still use this trial to enlist atrocities committed by Batista & his army.

Along with listing atrocities and horrific crimes committed by Batista, he would also use this opportunity to throw light on how the resources were being plundered, how he defined "the people", and also tried to talk about revolution and most of his lines were just unforgettable.

"What we understand by "the people", is the great unredeemed mass, who get cheated and betrayed, who long for a better, more dignified, more just homeland... who are moved by an ancestral thirst for justice because they have suffered injustice and have been mocked repeatedly."

Fidel Castro would also talk about unequal distribution of land & resources. "There are 200,000 Campesino families that do not have a yard of land to plant food for their hungry children, yet vast amounts of productive land remain uncultivated in the hands of powerful interests."

Gave a lot for people to think about: "One can only be freed of so much misery through death; and state does help with that: with death!"
Fidel got 15yrs in sentence but within 2 yrs, all revolutionaries would get amnesty because of outcry and pressure that had built by then.

In 1955, Fidel Castro would go into exile. A year or so later, he would return with another push for revolution but this time with Raúl Castro, Che, Vilma, Cienfuegos, and more. This time they were organised, they were guerrilla, they were unpredictable, they were determined!

And in 1959, the "Cuba Libre" became a reality and since then, Cuba would usher on to so many revolutionary reforms, be it land, economic or social, amidst all the sanctions, all the embargoes, all the counter-revolutionary activities, and all the mass-propaganda of Global North.

Also, no one would judge you or your parents for "fleeing" because of "uncertain future" and turmoil in aftermath of revolution. But if your parents were plain gusanos then you should read more than to just parrot the propaganda. Read is least you can do. https://twitter.com/historic_ly/status/1216064297257906176?s=19

In just over half a century, Cuba would emerge as more democratic, more progressive than the most western states but you wouldn't hear about it. At least you can hear about how they sent doctors to help and their response to Covid-19.
Thread on Cuba: https://twitter.com/HugoShahvez/status/1282760344272883714?s=19

The most comical, absurd, and bizarre fun-fact I found while reading about Fidel Castro is that CIA tried to assassinate him +600 different times with different ways involving cigar-bomb, spy, and crazy stories; he survived them all. Fidel Castro died peacefully at the age of 90.

An excerpt from his rousing speech at UN in 1960:
"Do away with the philosophy of plunder and you will have done away, forever, the philosophy of war. Do away with colonies, and exploitation of countries by monopolies, and mankind will have reached true era of progress."

Sources:
- History Will Absolve Me by Fidel Castro
- My Life: Spoken Biography by Castro and Ramonet
- Telesur archives
- @SierraMayday
- @historic_ly
Ending this thread with his quote from that trial where it all began.
"Condemn me, it does not matter, history will absolve me."