“Our Revolution emerged where it was least expected by the empire, in a hemisphere where it was used to acting like an all-powerful master.”
- August 13, 1926 – November 25, 2016
- Cuban
- Revolutionary, Prime Minister and President of Cuba, Communist Leader
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Quote
“Our Revolution emerged where it was least expected by the empire, in a hemisphere where it was used to acting like an all-powerful master.”
Explanation
This quote highlights Fidel Castro’s framing of the Cuban Revolution as a historical and geopolitical shock, particularly to the United States, which he refers to as “the empire.” The revolution’s success in Latin America—a region long seen as a U.S. sphere of influence—was, in Castro’s view, a direct challenge to imperial dominance. By stating that the revolution emerged “where it was least expected,” he underscores the surprise and defiance of a small Caribbean nation successfully resisting and overturning a U.S.-backed dictatorship, thereby disrupting Washington’s assumptions of control over the Western Hemisphere.
Historically, the U.S. had long treated Latin America as its backyard, often intervening militarily and economically to protect its interests. The 1959 Cuban Revolution broke this pattern, becoming the first sustained socialist revolution in the region, and setting a precedent for resistance against foreign domination. Castro’s reference to the U.S. acting as “an all-powerful master” calls attention to the colonial and neocolonial structures Cuba sought to reject and replace through national independence and socialism.
In today’s context, the quote continues to resonate as a symbol of sovereignty, defiance, and the unpredictability of revolutionary change. It serves as a reminder that global power structures can be disrupted by unexpected actors, and that movements rooted in popular will and national dignity can challenge even the most entrenched empires. Castro’s words reaffirm the revolutionary belief that history is not written solely by the powerful, but also by those who dare to resist them.
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