Florida leaders took a stand against communism — listing free child care and rent freezes among their list of concerns — during a press conference set on the state’s annual Victims of Communism Day.
“It’s important to talk about in a very clear-eyed way the destruction, the lives, 100 million dead at the hands of Marxism-Leninism. But I think it’s also important that we just recognize the whole absurdity of it all, the whole idea of communism,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said at the Miami Freedom Tower as he urged young people to learn about the history of communism.
Joining him was Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas, who used the press conference to rally against “punitive” taxes on the wealthy, free child care, rent freezes and government-run grocery stores, which he argued all push the communist agenda “in a way that people are bamboozled.”
“My grandmother tells me she saw very similar policies being put forth in Cuba before Castro took over,” said Kamoutsas, who is Greek and Cuban. “It’s important as you learn about the history of communism that you think critically, you think through these policies and think, who’s going to pay for this?”
During the DeSantis administration, the state set Nov. 7 as Victims of Communism Day, where students spend 45 minutes of their school day learning more about the history.
In 2024, the state passed legislation spearheaded by then-Sen. Jay Collins, now the state’s Lieutenant Governor, that requires schoolchildren to learn about the history of communism starting in the 2026-27 year.
Democrats argued that the new requirements were troubling since the state should be more focused on helping students succeed in core subjects.
Kamoutsas complained about critics, including the media, during his remarks Friday.
“We stand firm in what they represent and what our students are going to be able to be taught,” Kamoutsas said. “When students comprehend the horrors of communism, they are inspired to appreciate and defend our freedom.”
As part of recent legislation, the newly established Institute for Freedom in the Americas at Miami Dade College will partner with the Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom at Florida International University to promote economic and individual freedoms.
“I can’t think of a place in this country that has a more instinctive understanding of the dangers of communism than we have in our South Florida communities,” DeSantis said.