DeSantis highlights Victims of Communism Day, new Miami Dade institute and curriculum changes

Gov. Ron DeSantis, speaking at the Freedom Tower in Miami, said Florida has moved to enshrine education and commemoration about the harms of communism into state policy and higher education partnerships.

DeSantis said the state "we have officially established November 7 as the Victims of Communism Day in the state of Florida, which is the first in the nation," and described bills he said the administration signed into law to expand instruction on communist movements and their effects.

The governor told the audience that Senate Bill 1254 "authorizes the newly established Institute for Freedom in the Americas at Miami Dade College to partner with our Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom at Florida International University" to promote "economic and individual freedoms" and study how those policies could affect the Western Hemisphere. He said the institute will focus on educating students about the history and consequences of communist regimes and their influence abroad.

DeSantis said the curriculum additions will include instruction on international examples such as Mao Zedong and the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, Fidel Castro and Cuba, Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, and on more recent episodes in Venezuela under Hugo Che1vez and Nicole1s Maduro. He also said schools will cover "the history of communist communism within The United States, the domestic communist movements, including tactics that were used." (Quote trimmed for clarity from remarks.)

The governor framed the policy as informed by South Florida's communities, noting Cuban Americans, Eastern European immigrants and Taiwanese Americans among those with firsthand experience of communist rule. He related an anecdote about Ronald Reagan and a crowd in Cuba to amplify his argument that people have sought to leave communist countries for the United States.

DeSantis described additional symbolic actions tied to the initiative, including a program to relocate and display statues of U.S. founding figures in Florida counties and the state capital. He said acquisitions sometimes came at a discount and used acquisition-cost examples in his remarks.

Education Commissioner Stasi Kamutsis was introduced to conclude the presentation. DeSantis thanked local officials and said the effort had bipartisan support.

No formal motions or votes were recorded in these remarks. DeSantis addressed policy, curriculum and commemorative actions rather than proposing an on-site vote or formal board action.