MIAMI (CBSMiami) – During a stop in Miami on Monday, Governor Ron Desantis signed legislation establishing November 7th as Victims of Communism Day.
HB 395, which was signed by Desantis at the Freedom Tower, establishes the statewide holiday and requires that all high school students must learn about the “evils of communism and atrocities committed by infamous regimes under Mao Zedong, Joseph Stalin, Fidel Castro, Vladimir Lenin, Pol Pot, and Nicolas Maduro,” according to a press pamphlet handed out to media at the event.
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The governor said that while the legislation was not a necessity, he felt his office held a level of “responsibility” in informing future generations of the perils of communism.
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In addition to announcing the Victims of Communism Day, DeSantis announced $25 million in funding for the Freedom Tower which from 1962 to 1974 served as an assistance center for Cubans seeking asylum from Fidel Castro’s regime.
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DeSantis also signed SB 160, which calls for three road designations to honor Arturo Diaz Artiles, Maximino and Coralia Capdevila, and Oswaldo Paya, all Cuban exiles who fought against Castro’s regime