Raul always with his foot in the stirrup to defend Cuba, its Revolution and Socialism
Born on June 3, 1931 in Birán, in the then province of Oriente, Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz stands out as a great combatant by actively participating in the battle against the Batista dictatorship; and after his victory in January 1959, he also stands out for his qualities as a leader of the Revolutionary Government and the Communist Party of Cuba.
From a very young age, in 1953, he attended the International Conference for the Defense of Youth Rights, which took place in Vienna, as a delegate. He was invited to participate in the Meeting of the International Preparatory Committee of the IV World Festival of Youth and Students in Bucharest, Hungary.
In that same year he was part of the young people who, led by his brother Fidel Castro, carried out the assault on the Moncada Barracks on July 26, 1953, in Santiago de Cuba. Raúl had just turned 22 years old. In that historic action he participated in the occupation of the Palace of Justice.
When they realized that it was not possible to take the military fortress by surprise and the small group of which Raúl was a part tried to leave the building, they were intercepted by forces of the Batista dictatorship. Thanks to his firmness, those who tried to stop them were neutralized.
Several days later he was arrested, put on trial, sentenced to 13 years in prison and sent to the Model Prison on what was then the Isle of Pines.
In that prison he remained with integrity, together with Fidel and other combatants, until May 15, 1955 when the Batista dictatorship was forced to decree a general amnesty without making the imprisoned revolutionary combatants surrender their principles.
When Raúl left prison, in fact, he made clear his decision to continue the fight against the dictatorial regime, but the persecution to which he was subjected forced him to seek asylum in the Mexican embassy and then to move to that country.
In mid-July of that year he met again with Fidel who had also traveled to Mexico, after having restructured the July 26 Movement in Havana and created its National Directorate.
After a period of intense preparation, Raúl left Mexico for Cuba on November 25, 1956 aboard the yacht “Granma”.
He landed on December 2 in an area near Las Coloradas Beach, on the south coast of the then province of Oriente.
Three days later the revolutionary combatants were attacked by surprise by Batista's soldiers in the area of Alegría de Pío.
This caused a great dispersion and only a small number of expeditionaries were able to avoid the persecution of the soldiers of the dictatorship.
Precisely Raúl marched at the head of a small group of four combatants until on December 18, thanks to the collaboration of peasants from the area and members of the July 26 Movement in Oriente, he managed to meet again with Fidel in the place known as Cinco Palmas, in Purial de Vicana.
Despite being at that time an extremely small group and having very few weapons, Fidel ratified his decision to continue the fight and his conviction that he could achieve victory. And Raúl also supported him.
In the course of 1957, Raúl actively participated in the clashes between the rebel troops and the troops of the Batista tyranny in the Sierra Maestra.
Already at the beginning of 1958, Raúl had reached the rank of Captain of the Rebel Army. After having obtained an important victory in the battle of Pino del Agua, which occurred on February 16 of that year, Fidel decided to expand the radius of action of the Rebel Army.
He then promoted Raúl and Juan Almeida to the rank of Commander, respectively, and entrusted them with the opening and direction of two new fronts.
Raúl attended the so-called “Frank País” Second Eastern Front, which greatly contributed to the development of the war that finally culminated in the dismantling of the Batista dictatorship.
When the dictator Fulgencio Batista fled Cuba on January 1, 1959, Raúl, leading his men, occupied the Moncada barracks and a few hours later Fidel entered the city of Santiago de Cuba and held an emotional meeting with the village.
The revolutionary victory at the national level had not yet been consolidated because reactionary elements in Havana had made a maneuver that was defeated when Fidel, while ordering not to stop the offensive of the rebel combatants, called on the people to decree a revolutionary general strike.
Fidel then headed the Freedom Caravan to Havana and Raúl stayed in Santiago de Cuba as Military Chief of Oriente province.
Later he assumed the Headquarters of the Land, Sea and Air Forces of the Republic and on October 16, 1959, when the Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR) was created, he was appointed Minister.
Over the course of the following years, simultaneously with his functions as Minister of the FAR with responsibilities in the National Directorate of Integrated Revolutionary Organizations (ORI), and later in the United Party of the Socialist Revolution of Cuba, which in 1965 adopted the name of the Communist Party of Cuba.
Precisely in October of that year, when the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba was constituted, he was elected Second Secretary of the Party, which was ratified in the congresses of the organization.
In 1976, when the bodies of People's Power were created in the country, Raúl was elected deputy to the National Assembly of People's Power and on December 3 of that year he was elected First Vice President of the Councils of State and Ministers.
On July 31, 2006, due to health problems faced by Commander in Chief Fidel Castro, Raúl temporarily assumed the presidency of the Councils of State and Ministers, as well as the leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba.
Later on February 24, 2008 he was elected President of the Councils of State and Ministers of Cuba.
In his first speech as President, he stated: “I am aware of the responsibility that the task entrusted to me entails before the people, and at the same time I am convinced of having, as until today, the support of those who carry out management responsibilities at the different levels. and more importantly, with that of my compatriots, without whom there is no possible success in a society like ours.”
Raúl was re-elected for a second term in February 2013, a responsibility he held until April 19, 2018.
During the VI Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba, in April 2011, Raúl was elected First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party.
Since August 31, 2006, Fidel, in his Proclamation to the people of Cuba had delegated to Raúl the functions of First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party, but he maintained his status as Second Secretary, reiterating on several occasions the leadership and example of Fidel.
And in 2011, upon assuming the highest responsibility in the Party, Raúl stated:
“As far as I am concerned, I assume my last task, with the firm conviction and commitment of honor that the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba has as its main mission and meaning of its life: to defend, preserve and continue perfecting Socialism and never allow the return of the capitalist regime.”
In 2016 he was ratified as First Secretary at the VII Party Congress.
On April 16, 2021, the Eighth Party Congress begins in Havana. In the final part of the Central Report presented to the great partisan event, Raúl explained:
"As far as I am concerned, my task as First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba concludes with the satisfaction of having fulfilled a duty and confidence in the future of the Homeland, with the thoughtful conviction of not accepting proposals to keep me in the higher organs of the partisan organization, in whose ranks I will continue to militate as one more revolutionary combatant, willing to make my modest contribution until the end of my life.
"Nothing forces me to this decision, but I fervently believe in the strength and value of example and in the understanding of my compatriots and let no one doubt it, that as long as I live I will be ready, with my foot in the stirrup, to defend the Homeland , the Revolution and Socialism.”
As deputy and historical leader of the Revolution, Army General Raúl Castro, Hero of the Republic of Cuba, continues his contribution as a front-line combatant and a life dedicated to the fight for social justice, internationalism, and the liberation of the villages. Together with his brother, Fidel is the driving force behind the work that all Cubans are building today.