A close friend of Cuba

LAURA BÉCQUER PASEIRO

Remembered in his homeland as the man who restored hope to the rural people and workers in the cities, in a Mexico which, after the Revolution, seemed stalled, that is how General Lazaro Cardenas (May 21, 1895 - October 19, 1970), soldier and politician, President of Mexico. December 1^st, 1934 to November 30, 1940.

This humble man from Michoacan, with a very simple and friendly manner, had more friends in life than enemies. He received in his home anyone from peasants to senior officials. He left behind social welfare projects that fulfilled the dream of many who fought in the Mexican Revolution of 1910, which finally saw the effort to materialize them during the war years.

He stressed, among other actions of his government, agrarian reform, the long-awaited dream of Emiliano Zapata, and the expropriation of oil in 1938, creating the Petroleos Mexicanos Company (PEMEX).

He tried to advance the working classes, increasing productivity and fighting the capitalist mode of distribution.

"Tata Cárdenas", as he was known, won the sympathy of many countries by receiving 456 children orphaned by the Spanish Civil War and later, more than 40,000 Spanish refugees who fled the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco.

Our people have always felt very close to his friendship and unconditional support for the defense of the Cuban Revolution. His strong anti-imperialist position, formed in the process of confrontation with the mechanisms of domination and subordination imposed on Mexico and the rest of Latin America, led to his Martí vision of the phenomenon of imperialism in the region.

Cárdenas gave his unconditional support to the July 26 Movement and its leader Fidel Castro Ruz, as the expedition of the yacht Granma was organized in Mexico.

On August 2, 1956 the two leaders held their first meeting. From this quote, former Mexican president said: "Fidel is a young intellectual with a passionate temperament, with the blood of fighter." Three years later, speaking at a ceremony in Havana, he said that "the Cuban revolution has aroused a deep sense of solidarity across the continent, as the cause of the Revolution is indivisible and is the cause of all our people so much affected by economic oppression."