Freedom Fighters

49. National Revolution Day

26 July 1960
Havana, Cuba

A scene of unbridled joy took place on the streets beneath Dario as he gazed out of the window of his office. A sense of dread took hold within him as he witnessed people waving the national flag of Cuba, singing patriotic songs in an act of camaraderie. And no wonder, today marked the country's national revolution day. It was an anniversary of the day Fidel Castro started his revolution 7 years ago.

Dario, the General of the Havana Garrison, was scheduled later to appear at Revolution Square to witness the marching through of the Cuban Armed Forces, together with the other top brasses. 

He sighed, not looking forward to the event. This national revolution day seemed not to be a celebration of the country's independence as much as the glorification of the persona of one man, Fidel Castro. 

It had been barely even a week since citywide protests essentially forced the resignation of the ex-President, Manuel Urrutia. Fidel Castro, remaining as Prime Minister, grabbed the reins of power, appointing a known Marxist, Osvaldo Dorticós, as the new President. But everyone in the country knew, by now, that real power lay in Fidel's hands.

Manuel Urrutia left the country, along with his allies, and thus the agricultural reforms on the socialists' agenda were signed into law. An agency, the National Institute for Agrarian Reform, was formed to oversee the land reform policies, with Che Guevara appointed as its leader. 

Rumours had it that Che would be forming a new militia force directly under him to enact the new law. This essentially meant that he would have the power to seize expropriated land in the name of the "public good", and distribute it, for better or for worse.

As much as Dario knew Che meant good and genuinely had the interests of the peasant masses, he could not help but grimace at the lengths the man would go to bring his vision into reality. Such redistribution on a nationwide scale would inevitably lead to thousands of deaths, not to mention the fact that much of the agricultural land was owned by U.S. corporations, thus risking the ire of their powerful neighbour, a very unwise move in Dario's estimation. Already, the American media had started to demonise Fidel and his regime. The American President, Dwight Eisenhower, had also issued a harsh statement, denouncing the nationalisation of agricultural land owned by external corporations, saying it was "pure theft".

And Dario could not help but agree with Eisenhower's statement. It was theft, sanctioned by government. But he knew that just uttering his opposition to anything the Castro brothers put forward would make him a target for the socialists to destroy. For the past week, amongst the undergoing turmoils, he remained silent, only speaking freely in the confines of his home, to the ears of his lover, Juanita.

"General," a voice spoke behind him. "It's time to head to the square."

Dario took one last look at the Cuban people, waving flags, singing and dancing their way to the city's Revolution Square. He felt a cold chill of disgust as he saw the star and blue stripes of Cuba's national flag. Was this what the flag had come to mean? Tyranny disguised as benevolence? He turned around to face his aide who had been patiently waiting for him at his door.

"Let's go."

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Dario emerged from his car only to face the blinding lights from the reporters' cameras. He gave a thin smile, as would have been expected of him. His well polished boots clacked upon the concrete stairs as he walked up to the stands where Cuba's new royalty gathered. 

"My, my," a homely voice greeted him upon his entrance. "Look at you, in your military suit. You draw the eyes of all the women here. 

He smiled, holding the hand of of his lover. "You look great, Juanita."