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The National Bureau of the Union of Young Communists of Cuba (UJC) published an official call addressed to "children, adolescents, and young people of Cuba" to celebrate the 95th birthday of Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, scheduled for June 3.
The call, signed by the youth organization of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), invites pioneers, students, and workers to express their "love" for the former dictator through short videos, poems, songs, and personal stories under the hashtags #95DeRaúl and #RaúlEsRaúl.
The call is not limited to traditional symbolic acts, but asks children and adolescents to explain "what Raúl means in our daily lives," in an attempt to foster an emotional and political identification with the figure of the former leader.
The text combines affectionate language with military rhetoric and ideological loyalty. One of the central phrases defines Raúl Castro as "the steadfast patriot who teaches us to defend the Revolution, with tenderness and with a rifle, with study and with intelligence."
The message portrays the former leader as a moral and political role model for new generations, blending emotional references with concepts associated with discipline, sacrifice, and the defense of the Revolution.
The text calls for the mobilization of society: "Let us add love and respect from the neighborhood to the school, from the university to the front line."
The UJC also insists on presenting Fidel and Raúl Castro as an ideological continuity meant to be passed on to new generations. "Greatness is not inherited; it is cultivated through example," states the text, which also urges young people to demonstrate that "loyalty is action."
The campaign is launched when the regime's already extensive propaganda machinery surrounding the centennial of Fidel Castro, scheduled for August 13, 2026, is not enough.
Since mid-2025, the UJC and the José Martí Pioneer Organization (OPJM) have been at the forefront of a series of mobilizations that engage new generations, including the "Youth Anti-Imperialist Parade Here, with Fidel" on April 2 in Havana, where children paraded on bicycles, rollerblades, and scooters with slogans such as "TumbaElBloqueo" and "Anti-Imperialist Centennial Torch."
The UJC explicitly presents both figures as an ideological continuum: "On the centenary of Fidel, his brother in soul and struggle, we understand that greatness is not inherited; it is sown through example."
The regime is also preparing nine volumes of Selected Works by Raúl, featuring over 500 texts and more than 5,000 pages, in connection with the 95th birthday.
The timing of the announcement adds a layer of political contrast that is hard to ignore: it is published on the same day that Cuban-American congressmen demand formal charges against Raúl Castro in the United States for his role in the downing of two civilian aircraft belonging to Brothers to the Rescue on February 24, 1996, during which four Cuban-Americans died, and whose bodies were never recovered.
An audio recording from June 1996 shows Raúl Castro himself giving the order: "Well, throw them into the sea when they show up."
While the U.S. justice system holds him responsible for that crime, the regime's propaganda machine portrays him to Cuban children as "a dear friend and an unwavering leader."
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