Sixty-nine years after the events of March 13th, 1957, which shook Havana and the entire nation, the image of the protagonists of the assault on the Presidential Palace and Operation Radio Reloj looms large in the eyes of the entire people, as an example of boundless heroism, unwavering courage, and absolute dedication to the fulfillment of duty.
"If we fall, may our blood mark the path to freedom. Because whether or not our action is as successful as we hope, the commotion it will cause will move us forward on the path to victory. But it is the action of the people that will be decisive in achieving it."
These words, captured in the Political Testament of the unforgettable José Antonio Echeverría, express the revolutionary spirit, selflessness, and greatness of ideals of those who attacked the Presidential Palace, whose immortal example is inscribed in golden letters, cast with bullets and blood, in the tradition of rebellion, intransigence, and dignity that our students have inherited. and constitutes a stimulus and a banner for the gigantic task that still lies ahead, as Fidel said, that of preserving the Revolution and building socialism.
The combatants of March 13th went into battle and action with the commitment made in the Letter of Mexico between the Revolutionary Directorate and the July 26 Movement—which was already developing its vital energy in the Sierra Maestra—with the commitment made to their revolutionary convictions, and with the commitment made to the people.
These commitments represented anti-imperialist militancy, a following of the purest traditions of struggle of the Cuban student body, and an identification with the popular masses and their aspirations. They represented confronting the executioners of the people and defying the quicklime of tyranny, turning ideas into forge, will into marble, and revolutionary principles into steel. They represented challenging death and being willing to perform the supreme act of patriotism: giving one's life for the homeland.
The combatants of March 13th —it must be said loudly, in the tone that they gave to life in death— fulfilled their commitments. The mark of the martyrs is among our students, in our university campuses.
On this date, we could repeat what Fidel said at the memorial ceremony held on the steps of the University of Havana on March 13th, 1961: "There are many dates we could commemorate, but there are some that are like symbols; and this date, March 13, is one of those symbolic dates that the homeland must always remember."
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