AT LAST the loyalists came by the thousands, massing up in a march proudly waving flags and placards for their beloved leader being laid to his rest, and putting doubters to shame…. No, I’m not talking about Ferdinand Marcos. It’s about Fidel Castro.
Incoming United States President Donald Trump gave a statement on the dead leader, saying his “legacy is one of firing squads, theft, unimaginable suffering, poverty and the denial of fundamental human rights.” He must be talking about Ferdinand, not Fidel.
The massive funeral march for Castro proved the world how Cubanos loved Fidel and dispelled the media’s portrait of him as a “dictator”. Marcos loyalists wanted to prove their beloved leader was no dictator by massing up 50,000 posts online.
But to give justice to Marcos loyalists, their second rally on November 30 had a better attendance from their first rally during Black Friday, from nine people to 10.
Marcos loyalists wanted to prove he’s a great leader by citing the many lists of accomplishments: Nine bridges, 58 state colleges and universities, 20 power plants, and 3,000 pairs of shoes for Imelda.
Not to mention 22 crates of cash worth $717 million, and gems and jewelry worth $11 million the Marcoses carted away on a plane they took fleeing the country in February 25, 1986.
Or not to mention also the 3,200 people killed, 35,000 tortured and 70,000 others jailed.
It’s not even a comparison to Fidel Castro who left a better legacy.
So Marcos built the San Juanico Bridge? Fidel Castro created a bigger bridge, not a literally one, but 80,000 doctors deployed for humanitarian support worldwide. That’s a bridge from a small country connecting to serve the whole humanity.
So Marcos built many schools in his time, but why is literacy rate still low? Cuba however has one of the highest literacy rates in the world.
Marcos may have built public health centers, but until now, common ailments like pneumonia, TB, diabetes, heart diseases still ail us. And dengue is prevalent. Cuba has mastered public health services and developed a vaccine for meningitis.
There may be cultural centers built in Marcos’ time, but progressive artists and directors and journalists were jailed and censored.
The thing with Marcos and his loyalists is that they define infrastructure as the legacy. But that’s not legacy, that’s trademark trapo politics that we so much despise, the credit grabbing when it is taxpayers’ money or international loans that built these infrastructure.
Cuba and underdeveloped countries like us have to thank Castro for leaving a better legacy, an example of a nation that provides health care and education without relying on financial aid from capitalist countries. Even Duterte recognizes that feat when he sent health officials to study Cuba’s health care system.
And one more thing. Duterte said did Martial Law under Marcos did anything good for us? He said that in the wake of “terror threats” in some areas in Mindanao this week. So Duterte may have buried Marcos, but he didn’t forget his sins.
So we learn that legacies are not just about infrastructure. The legacy is in the people.
And here, the legacy is still about never forgetting, and moving forward for our struggle for freedom. We need that now in these challenging times of “terror threats” and war on drugs. Struggle on.
tyvelez@gmail.com