Daniel Di Martino speaks on Socialism for the Republican National Hispanic Assembly – Kansas
Article - 3 minute read
Socialism has ravaged the country of Venezuela, causing many people to flee the country. Freedom activist and economist Daniel Di Martino was one of these people back in 2016 when he escaped the socialist country to come to the U.S.
Now a national speaker, over 30 people gathered in person and on zoom Monday, December 12 to hear Martino share his story at the Kansas Aviation Museum in Wichita, Kansas as part of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly – Kansas meeting. This was the last event of 2022 for the group. A social started at 6:30 p.m. before Park City Councilman Ben Sauceda introduced Martino to speak.
Many elected officials were present at the meeting including Representative Patrick Penn (R), Sedgwick County Commissioner Ryan Baty (R), Representative Leah Howell (R), Representative Carl Maughan (R), Judge Eric Williams, Judge Francisco Williams, Representative Susan Estes (R), Sedgwick County Commissioner Sarah Lopez (D), Sedgwick County Commissioner Jim Howell (R), and Representative Sandy Pickert (R).
Before Martino spoke, Sauceda mentioned the work of One Small Step, which is through the nonprofit organization StoryCorps based in New York. One Small Step is currently focusing on Wichita as one of its three main cities to record conversations about anything and everything between those of differing ideologies and backgrounds as part of their mission to remind people of their humanity.
Martino began his speech explaining that he was in the area to speak at Rose Hill Middle School as part of the nonprofit Dissident Project, which was created earlier this year to connect those who lived in socialist countries and now live in the U.S. with middle and high school students all over the U.S. at no cost to the schools or teachers.
“We are at a point in this nation where, fortunately, things are really well, I think in general for economically, for the population, despite any hardship we have temporarily,” Martino said. “As a result, people have taken for granted the prosperity and the rights that we enjoy in America. And the consequence of us taking for granted our rights—the consequence of us taking for granted everything we have is that we forget that those things are not automatic. Those things are the consequence of a lot of work and a lot of policies that have to be right for them to work.”
He talked about how, despite being warned about socialism from Cubans, Venezuelans believed their country would not be destroyed by socialism due to how well the country was doing. He also pointed out that Americans are saying the same thing that Venezuelans were saying when they were warned.
Martino also spoke on how the economic system was implemented over time, convincing the masses with things that sounded good such as healthcare for all. He also talked about why these ended up being problematic.
Toward the end, Martino answered questions and was publicly thanked for his work educating others on socialism from a Cuban woman.