Culture

Francis Suarez, Miami mayor, slams Bernie Sanders as city votes to co-sponsor 'anti-communist' event


The Miami City Commission voted unanimously Monday to co-sponsor an “anti-communist concert” this spring in a direct rebuke against communist Cuba after Democratic presidential candidate Bernard Sanders declared it’s “unfair” to say everything is bad about Fidel Castro’s Cuban revolution.

The commission agreed to co-sponsor the April 11 event at the city-owned James L. Knight Center and said the city would waive up to $21,500 in costs and services, the Miami Herald reported. The event, which will benefit political prisoners in Cuba and their families, is meant to be “a statement by Cuban musicians who are not permitted to perform in Cuba,” according to Commissioner Manolo Reyes, who co-sponsored the resolution, the Herald reported.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who also co-sponsored the resolution, praised what he said would be the “first anti-communism concert in the history of the city of Miami,” the Herald reported. During a press conference Monday, he slammed Mr. Sanders for downplaying the horrors of Castro’s regime.

“Sadly, even now, we see individuals defend and even promote communism and socialism,” the mayor said, according to the Herald. “Just yesterday, presidential candidate Bernie Sanders glorified socialism in a ‘60 Minutes’ interview by defending elements of Castro’s regime.

“What Senator 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,” he added.



Mr. Sanders, a democratic socialist, came under heavy fire from Republicans, Cuban-Americans and some Democrats over the weekend after he said, “It’s unfair to simply say everything is bad” in Cuba.

The senator doubled down on the comment during a CNN town hall Monday night, praising Castro for his education reforms.

“I think teaching people to read and write is a good thing,” he said.

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