Havana, January 1 (RHC) Cuban President Raul Castro paid tribute in eastern Santiago de Cuba to the resistance and struggle of the Cuban people, which he noted, made it possible for the Revolution to celebrate its 55th anniversary.

“Not even the best of all those dreamers, who accompanied Fidel Castro in a rally that this one back in January 1959, could have thought that we would be here today, said Raul Castro in his speech at the national ceremony marking the date in Santiago.

He said that the long path was not easy to cover by noting that “it has been possible thanks to the immense capacity to resist and the struggle of many generations of Cubans, who are the real protagonists of this revolution.”

Raul recalled that the revolutionary process was forced to face, since very early, US destabilization plans which counted on criminals, torturers and embezzlers of the Fulgencio Batista dictatorship. “Cuba had to face state terrorism, sabotages and armed gangs. The island was expelled from the Organization of American States, then came the invasion of Bay of Pigs, the economic, commercial and financial blockade, the campaign to defame the revolutionary process and particularly Fidel Castro, who was the target of hundreds of life attempts,” he said.

He also denounced the murder of teachers, literacy campaign activists, workers, farmers, students and diplomats, which amounted to 3 thousand 478 victims and 2 thousand 99 disabled citizens.

“It’s been 55 years of constant struggle against the actions of 11 US administrations, which have tried to topple the revolution.”

Speaking to commanders, veterans and peoples for all walks of life in Santiago, Raul Castro said that the Cuban Revolution put an end to several myths like those saying that it was not possible to build socialism in a small island nation just 90 miles from the United States.