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“No amount of money can buy the dignity of a campesino,” was the definite response which led to the murder of Sabino Pupo Milián, 68 years ago in this Camalote, Camagüey, by henchmen working for U.S. company Manatí Sugar Company.
As happens every October 20, residents of the area with a strong agricultural tradition, came together to march to the cemetery where the campesino leader is buried, in order to pay tribute to the man who chose honor and dignity over betraying the interests of the dispossessed and exploited.
“This is why we can never forget history,” warned 83 year old Gustavo Pupo Pupo, one of Sabino’s 11 children, also noting that “After living in misery only with the Revolution did we become people, we are the masters of our lives and destinies.” In clear reference to the intentions of the U.S. government to intervene in the internal affairs of the country, and as such provoke changes to their benefit, the veteran campesino emphasized that “All that glitters is not gold. No patriotic campesino allows himself to be bought or duped with proposals which divide us.”
Yudelmi Peña Díaz, a young campesina from Camalote, noted that such actions, “Far from dividing us, further strengthen us”; a sentiment shared by Wilmer Saute Sánchez, from the Juan Pantoja Cooperative, who stated that the best response to such threats is daily commitment and patriotic resolve.
“If they (the United States) really want to help Cuban campesinos, they must immediately lift the blockade, but completely, not with measures of limited scope which don’t get to the core of the bigger problem,” commented Ernesto Cancino Labrada, president of the Raúl Hernández Cooperative.
Following the tribute to Sabino Pupo Milián on the 68th anniversary of his vile murder, Hayda Díaz Figueredo, provincial president of the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP), noted that campesinos were given the opportunity to study thanks to the Revolution, and are fully aware of the true intentions of the U.S.
“Cuba belongs to Cubans, and we are constructing a model based on the ideas of Martí and Fidel. Despite limitations, we remain committed to the struggle for the country’s development, without ever negotiating our most sacred principles or values,” she stated. (Taken from en.granma.cu)
