Fidel Castro was a fierce Cuban revolutionary whose principle and dedication to revolutionary ideals of international socialism was like no other. Fidel passed away on 26 November 2019 at the age of 90 years. The following interview was conducted in February 1961 in Cuba.

Vivid accounts of Castro’s brave encounters with the forces of oppression enabled people of diverse cultures and backgrounds to envisage waging similar struggles in their own terrain. Suddenly, revolution was seen as a possible and viable alternative to corrupt dictatorship in many developing countries.

Nobody should be under the illusion that the conditions of poverty and hopelessness that crush the masses of the people in Africa are one day going to end without a bitter struggle. The time is ripe for a Socialist revolution in Africa that will overthrow elite misrule and put the continent on the path to true transformation. That is the urgent task for Africa’s teeming masses of young people.

No other political figure outside of Africa symbolized global solidarity with the aspirations of the people than Comandante President Fidel Castro Ruz of the Republic of Cuba.

Despite enormous difficulties arising from a US economic blockade, Cuba under Castro made tremendous strides forward in education, medicine, science, sport, international exchange relations and sustainable development. The Cuban revolution served as a promising source of hope not only to the impoverished people of Latin America but also to the rest of the Tricontinental World - the exploited and colonized populations of Latin America, Asia and Africa.