When we speak of Fidel and Student Day, we must inevitably refer to November 17, 2005, that historic day which became a crucial warning about the future of the Cuban Revolution and a reflection on the dangers threatening humanity.
But that encounter was not by chance; it was a return to his roots, the return of a revolutionary to his origins. The Aula Magna of the University of Havana, a symbolic place for him. It was the return of a man of integrity who, on the 60th anniversary of his time in those same classrooms, reaffirmed his unwavering principles and his humanist vocation. That the audience was precisely young people was also no coincidence; they were the university students in whom he had always placed his trust.
Those who experienced that emotion recount that Fidel began his speech with a reflective and personal tone, recalling his self in 1945: a young man "with a mind eager for ideas, a perhaps rebellious spirit, full of dreams and energy." This intimate tone then gave way to one of the most critical and cautionary speeches about the fate of the Cuban Revolution.
That speech was not a triumphalist harangue, but a call for severe criticism and self-criticism. Fidel was emphatic: "Among the many mistakes that had been made, the most important was believing that anyone knew about Socialism, or that anyone knew how to build socialism." This brutal honesty, which some received with shock, had a mobilizing purpose.
For many analysts, that day in the Aula Magna was like "another assault on the Moncada Barracks," but this time against the dogmas, corruption, bureaucracy, and vices that threatened from within to destroy the Revolution.
Ten years later, in 2015, Fidel himself would affirm that his words from that November 17th were "more relevant than ever." The enduring relevance of his warning against selfishness, crime, and illegal activities was reiterated in his call to confront "illegals, vagrants, and the corrupt," demonstrating that the legacy of that speech remained unresolved.
His appeal to young people to study, debate, and play a leading role in preserving and perfecting Socialism was one of the challenges he issued to the new generations, while also warning of the danger of extinction facing humanity due to selfishness, wars, and the abuse of resources. This message remains entirely relevant today.
