Fidel re-proclaims the socialist nature of the Revolution and commentson the summit in Quebec

[Les Schaffer <schaffer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

[ Part II ]

Cuba is one of the few countries in the world that is not a member,
and does not want to be a member, of the International Monetary Fund,
which has become the zealous guardian of the empire's
interests. Nothing I have described here would have been possible if
our hands and feet were tied to this sinister institution spawned at
Bretton Woods, which politically crushes those who must turn to it,
destabilizing and destroying governments. There is no escape for those
tied to the double yoke of the IMF and neoliberalism, both
manifestations of the unfair and irrational economic order imposed on
the world.


Without socialism, each and every person in our country would not have
the same right to receive educational or health care services free of
charge, regardless of the cost, and without anyone ever questioning
him or her on their religious or political beliefs.


Without socialism, we would not have a country free of drugs,
brothels, gambling casinos, organized crime, vanished people, death
squads, lynching and out of court executions.


Without socialism, Cuban families could not watch their children grow
up healthy, educated and skilled, with no fear of them being lured
into drugs or crime, or killed at school by their own classmates.


Without socialism, Cuba would not be, as it is today, the most solid
barrier in the hemisphere against drug trafficking, something that
benefits even American society.


Without socialism, Cuba would not be a country in which, for 42 years,
no one has suffered the repression and police brutality so commonly
practiced in Europe and other parts of the world, where anti-riot
vehicles and men dressed up in strange gear, like visitors from outer
space, attack the population with clubs, shields, rubber bullets, tear
gas, pepper gas and other means.


It is difficult for the West to understand why such things do not
happen in Cuba. They do not have the slightest notion of the way human
society can be enriched by the unity, political consciousness,
solidarity, selflessness and generosity, patriotism, moral values and
commitment built through education, culture and all the justice
offered by a true revolution.


Without socialism, hundreds of thousands of Cubans would not have
discharged internationalist missions; nor would our country have
contributed even a grain of sand to the struggle against colonialism
in Africa; nor would its people have shed a single drop of blood
fighting against the seemingly invincible forces of the hateful system
of apartheid, racism and fascism.


Not one of the countries that traded and invested back then and still
now possess enormous wealth in South Africa and other countries on the
African continent -where Cuba neither sought, nor has, nor wants to
have a single square inch of land- contributed the least share of
sacrifice. Not even the enormous distance separating us from Africa
could be an insurmountable obstacle for the spirit of solidarity of
this small, blockaded and besieged island.


Without socialism, over 40,000 Cuban health care workers would not
have provided their noble internationalist cooperation in more than 90
countries, nor would they be helping to develop comprehensive health
care programs today in 16 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean
and Africa, thanks to the immense human capital created by the
Revolution.


Without socialism, it would not have been possible for 15,600 students
from the Third World to graduate in Cuban universities, nor would
there be 11,000 students from those countries currently enrolled in
higher studies in Cuba.


Without socialism, we would not have the prestigious Latin American
School of Medical Sciences, where there are currently young people
from 24 countries and 63 indigenous ethnic groups studying, and 2000
new students will enroll every year.


Without socialism, we would not have been able to establish the
International School of Sports and Physical Education that can
accommodate a total of 1500 students, and where 588 youths from 50
countries are currently enrolled in the first year of studies.


Without socialism, we would not have been able to provide medical
treatment in Cuba for 19,000 children and adults from the three
republics affected by the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986, the
majority of whom were treated in the midst of the special period, and
for 53 people harmed by the radiation leak in the state of Goiás, in
Brazil.


What we have shared with other peoples has not prevented a single one
of our compatriots from having the opportunity to be a part of the
millions of mid-level technicians and university-educated
professionals in Cuba today. This shows that much can be done with
very little, and that everything could be done with much less
resources than those spent today on commercial advertising, weapons,
narcotics and luxury.


Without socialism, Cuba would not have become, without actually
trying, an example for many people in the world, and the loyal and
constant voice for the most deserving causes; a small country that
enjoys the enviable privilege of being almost the only one that can
speak out at any international forum and freely denounce, with no fear
of reprisals or aggression, the unfair economic order and the
insatiable, rapacious, hypocritical and immoral policies of the
hegemonic superpower's government.


Without socialism, Cuba would not have been able to endure the
hostility of nine U.S. presidents, all of whom, with the exception of
Carter -I must say this, in all honesty- were either hostile or
extremely aggressive and hostile towards our country. I would have to
add the one who has just assumed the presidential throne, since
judging from his first steps in the international arena and the
language of his advisors and allies in the Miami terrorist mob, there
are signs that we could be facing a particularly aggressive and
utterly unethical administration.


On a day like today, it is worth recalling that immortal quote from
Maceo, the Bronze Titan: "Those who attempt to take over Cuba will
reap nothing but the dust of its blood-drenched soil, if they do not
perish in the fight!" (Shouts and Applause).


The Cuban people today, heirs of the thinking of Maceo, and of Martí,
and of the whole legion of heroes who pioneered the long path we have
followed to get to where we are now, are in a position to declare
that: "Those who attempt to take over Cuba today will not reap even
the dust of our blood-drenched soil, because they will have no other
choice but to perish in the fight!" (Applause and Shouts of "Fidel!
Fidel! Fidel!").


As I said earlier, at this very moment in history, the nations of
Latin America are about to be devoured by the United States, the
hegemonic superpower of today's world. Within a few days, from April
20 to 22, a hemispheric summit meeting will be held in Quebec. There,
the hegemonic superpower will attempt to dictate the terms of
surrender to the governments of Latin America.


The documents for a free trade agreement among the countries of the
hemisphere have been hastily drawn up. The United States wants to
speed things up, in order to feast upon the privileges it hopes will
block the path for commercial competition and investment from Europe
and the industrialized countries of Asia. The strategy is to get the
agreement adopted at any cost before there is time for MERCOSUR to
consolidate and for the integration of the countries of South America
to develop to the point where they can negotiate with the United
States from a much stronger position.


The U.S. government would prefer to negotiate with each of these
countries individually, exploiting their economic weakness, their
unequal levels of development, and the conflicts among them, as well
as the desperation created by the enormous foreign debt that
suffocates them.


Given their total dependence on the United States and the
International Financial Institutions, some of these countries are in
no position to put up resistance; others are unaware of the danger
they face of being swallowed up, or do not want to put up any
resistance. But, not all of them are willing to be simply devoured,
and there will be resistance.


For their part, the peoples represented there, many of them mired in
ignorance, extreme poverty and desperation, will have no participation
whatsoever in the decisions made, and will look on from afar at
negotiations whose objectives, content and consequences they are not
in a position to know about, much less understand. Building awareness,
denouncing the voracity of imperialism and the danger facing the
peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean is perhaps the most urgent
task today for political and social leaders, progressive economists
and intellectuals, and all the forces of the left.


Those of us aware of the social realities, of the gravity of the
daunting problems facing us, and of the fact that they can never be
solved in this way and will only grow ever more critical, we do know
that Latin America can be devoured, but it cannot be digested. Sooner
or later, like the biblical character, in one way or another they will
escape from the whale's belly. And the Cuban people will be waiting
outside, for they learned a long time ago how to swim in troubled
waters, and they know that until there is a radical change in their
living conditions, the peoples of the Third World will become
increasingly unrulable and force the needed solutions to be adopted.


On a day like today, as we look back over the accomplishments of the
Revolution, it is amazing to discover that we are far from having
achieved all the necessary and possible justice.


The years that have passed have come to enrich our experience and
knowledge tremendously. Four decades of struggle in the face of
enormous difficulties have strengthened our convictions, and our
confidence in human beings and their infinite potential.


The socialism we conceive of today is far superior to our dreams back
then. The special period forced us to walk back on a stretch of the
road we had traveled. Painful inequalities emerged. Those who were
willing to patiently endure, those most dedicated to the revolutionary
cause above all else, our most loyal manual and intellectual workers,
the most humble and faithful of the people, the most conscientious
revolutionaries understood this inevitable circumstance. And as has
always happened and always will happen in difficult times, they
shouldered the bulk of the burden in the efforts to save the country
and socialism at any cost. (Shouts from the audience)


In the future we will not only achieve much higher goals than those we
achieved in the past but we will even surpass them. Today, we are
advancing towards objectives we would not have even dreamed of 40
years ago, and much less in the extremely difficult stage that began
10 years ago, from which we are emerging victorious. A new dawn is
beginning to shine on our future, a future that will shine brighter on
a more accomplished socialism, a more promising and profound
revolutionary work.


We did not come here today to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the
proclamation of the socialist nature of the Revolution, but rather we
came here to ratify it, to swear on it once again.


Using the exact same words as on that unforgettable day 40 years ago,
I will ask you, "Workers and peasants, humble men and women of the
homeland, do you swear to defend to your last drop of blood this
Revolution of the humble, by the humble and for the humble?"
(Exclamations of "We do!")


"Here, before the tomb of our fallen comrades; here, near the remains
of those heroic young men, sons of workers and sons of humble
families," -and today I will add two more things: in memory of all
those who have died for the homeland and for justice in the last 133
years, and in the name of all those who have given their lives for
humanity in heroic internationalist missions-- "we reaffirm our
determination that like those who stood up to the bullets, like those
who gave their lives, no matter when the mercenaries come, all of us,
proud of our Revolution, proud to defend this Revolution of the
humble, by the humble and for the humble, will not waver, in the face
of whoever they may be, in defending our Revolution to our last drop
of blood."


Ever onward to victory!

Patria o Muerte!

Venceremos!


(Ovation)