PUNTA GORDA, Fla.–Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on May 9 that he supports $25 million in his proposed budget for the renovation and restoration of Miami’s historic Freedom Tower, seen as a beacon of hope for those escaping “Castro’s tyranny” to live in a free society.
The last time he visited the Mediterranean-style structure in downtown Miami, the governor said he noticed that it “needs some love.”
“We have not fully signed the [2023] budget; we’re still going through things, but the legislature provided, and I have approved, a full $25 million to be able to support the Freedom Tower. We know it needs some love, we know it needs some repairs, so this funding will be used to complete urgent structural repairs,” DeSantis said. “It will conserve and restore historical architectural components, it will make the building more accessible for people with disabilities, and we’ll install museum-quality climate control and security systems to safeguard the Cuban-American history that is stored here and will reimagine and redesign the exhibits displaying that history to make it more engaging for all ages.”
He also signed SB 160 to approve road designations across the state, including three designations to honor brave Cuban freedom fighters and the Floridians who “fought against Castro before leaving Cuba to come to Florida.”
“The Freedom Tower represented a turning point not only in their lives but also a turning point for human liberty,” DeSantis told those in attendance at the press briefing in Miami. “I think this tower is a reminder that freedom is not free, that you have to fight for your rights, and there are a lot of people that are out there that would love nothing more than to put you under some form of oppression.”
It is estimated that from 1959 until 1974, approximately 650,000 Cubans came to the U.S., he said.
“Many of them came to south Florida either by plane or by boat, and once they landed, they would be taken right here to the Freedom Tower, where they would receive assistance to begin their new life in the United States,” he continued.
Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez, the daughter of Cuban immigrants, said she remembers what President Ronald Reagan said of oppressive governments like the one her parents fled.
“He said that freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction,” Nuñez said, quoting former President Reagan. “Truer words have never been spoken.”
