Che Guevara's Legacy: A Revolutionary Path for the 21st Century
By Ali Yerevani
It was a warm spring evening on
the 14th of May 2005, seventy-seven
years after the birth of Ernesto Che
Guevara. On this day Vancouver
Communities in Solidarity with
Cuba (VCSC) brought over 150
people together for a hot Havana
night at Britannia Community
Centre to celebrate Che’s life with
a forum entitled, “Che Guevara’s
Legacy: A Revolutionary Path for
the 21st Century”.
Che was an internationalist and a
revolutionary fighter. The panel of
speakers refl ected this, with Tim
Louis, Vancouver City Councillor;
Dr. Luis Dominguez-Nieto, Cuban
doctor and union organizer; Dr.
Tayseth Fuentes, Cuban doctor and
member of the Partido Comunista
de Cuba (PCC); Carlos Lopez,
member of La Surda Latin American
Collective, organizer with Vancouver
Communities in Solidarity with
Cuba and Mexican political and
social justice activist; and Ivan
Drury, from the Editorial Board of
the Fire This Time Newspaper and
an organizer of Youth-Third World
Alliance (Y3WA). Translation was
provided by Nino Pagliccia a well-
known and long-time pro-Cuba
activist.
The presentations brought forth
the life of Che, his impact on the
revolutionary process in Cuba and
his role in Latin America as both a
symbol of resistance and teacher of
struggle and humanity. Tim Louis
opened the event discussing the
long lasting impact of Che’s ideas.
He said, “The CIA thought they’d
finished Che off in 1967 when they
murdered him. But in fact Che lives
on today in the hearts and minds of
every Cuban child, Cuba which has
the highest infant morality rate of
any nation in Latin America. That’s
a result of Che’s inspiration.”
Tim Louis was followed by Dr.
Luis Dominguez-Nieto who gave a
short biography on Che and talked
especially well about Che’s impact
on the work of doctors in Cuba.
After Luis, Dr. Tayseth Fuentes gave
a slide show and talk about Che’s
ideas and the implementation of his
revolutionary ideas into his life.
Carlos Lopez followed Tayseth
opening with statistics on the
poverty and misery faced by the
people of Latin America today in
the face of neo-liberal globalization
and imperialism. Carlos outlined
how Che inspires people to struggle
and fight for change in all Latin
American countries.
“Che represents the future,”
explained Ivan Drury, who spoke
following Carlos. “He represents
the future because he represents the
interests of oppressed people around
the world against imperialism and
against capitalism.” Ivan went on
to explain the changes that need to
be made here in Canada in fighting
against both imperialism and
capitalism and how the ideas of Che
are relevant to that struggle.
The forum was attended by a diverse
crowd with many young people,
people of colour, women, students,
immigrants and refugees coming
to learn more about the ideas of
this popular icon. Through the
presentations on Che’s experiences
people learned more about the
Cuban revolution and the fight for
social justice and human dignity
being fought for today in Cuba.
While wrapping up the speakers
Tamara Hansen co-ordinator
of Vancouver Communities in
Solidarity with Cuba (VCSC)
introduced the group’s newest
campaign, a petition against Luis
Posada Carriles an anti-Cuban
terrorist. The petition was read
out loud and through clapping
and cheering the forum passed a
resolution demanding: No asylum
for Luis Posada Carriles in the
US! Defend Cuba against terrorist
attacks! Honour the extradition
demand of Venezuela!
(For More information see the “Who is anti-
Cuban Terrorist Luis Posada
Carriles?” article in this issue of
Fire This Time.)
After the speakers spoke there was
only time for one question which
was, “What will happen in Cuba
after Fidel Castro dies?” Cuban
doctor Tayseth Fuentes responded
saying that people around the world
seem to be very concerned about
this question, but most Cubans are
not. She said, “After Fidel dies the
Cuban revolution and the people of
Cuba will continue on, much like
after the death of Che, with Fidel’s
legacy in their minds and hearts.”
Venceremos!
Hasta la Victoria Siempre!
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