Miami will hold an “anti-Communist” concert in April in response to Democratic presidential front-runner Sen. Bernie Sanders’ defense of Fidel Castro’s authoritarian regime in Cuba, according to a report.
“Our city represents the stories of countless individuals who have risked their lives to flee communism,” Mayor Francis Suarez said, mentioning Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, the Miami Herald reported on Monday.
“Each and every life that has fled communism has proven how the will to pursue democracy and freedom, even in the face of oppression, can never be suppressed or silenced.”
In an interview Sunday on CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” Sanders praised Castro’s literacy efforts when he took over Cuba in 1959.
“When Fidel Castro came to office, you know what he did? He had a massive literacy program,” Sanders said. “Is that a bad thing, even though Fidel Castro did it?”
In a CNN town hall Monday night, Sanders stood by his remarks. “(Castro) went out and they helped people learn to read and write,” he said. “The truth is the truth, and that’s what happened in the first years of the Castro regime.”
‘Sanders’ comments immediately sparked controversy in South Florida, where many who escaped Cuba under Castro now live.
Suarez said the Vermont independent left out the evils of Castro’s rule.
“What Sen. Sanders conveniently omitted from his colorful characterization of Communist Cuba was Castro’s forceful and violent imposition of power, attacking human rights and freedom of speech, thereby minimizing the sacrifice of those who fought to break free from his suffocating hand,” Suarez said.
Among the artists scheduled to perform at the April 11 concert in downtown Miami are Cuban American trumpet player Arturo Sandoval and singers Willy Chirino and Amaury Gutierrez.
Emilio Estefan will attend the concert but is not expected to perform, the newspaper said.