Revolution did not fail, but hard times ahead - Raul Castro

CUBA: President Raul Castro, on the eve of the 50th anniversary of Cuba’s revolution, said it has not failed like Washington believes, but forecast more hard times ahead for his people.

“We’ve had no peace, we’ve had no calm,” Castro, 77, said on television Wednesday. “The enemy says socialism has failed, why don’t they leave us alone so we can fight on equal terms?”

Cuba has been economically crippled by a 47-year-long US economic embargo and the situation got even worse after the demise of the Soviet Union, its chief ally, in 1991.

Despite the hardships, Raul Castro said, “this hasn’t been a failure, not even under these conditions. It has been a constant fight.”

He said the Cuban people should feel proud of having endured the US embargo.

“If any people are prepared to handle situations like this, it’s us,” he said.

The 50-year communist revolution, he said, “has brought many positive things, but at the same time it poses problems that we must deal with.”

Havana, Thirsday, AFP