[Marxism] One Hundred Hours with Fidel

["Walter Lippmann" <walterlx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

While we try to wait patiently for the complete book to come out
in English, snippets are slowly coming out. Thanks to our friend
Mike Lebowitz, this one, nearly seven thousand words, I learned
of this selection. But we really neet the full book in English!

CubaNews prepared a small selection last summer:
http://www.walterlippmann.com/fc-100-hours.html
===================================================================

GRANMA INTERNATIONAL
Havana. Januery 9, 2007

http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2007/enero07/mar9/52fidel.html

One Hundred Hours with Fidel by Ignacio Ramonet

There could be more than one revolution in Latin America

In addition, there are now several governments, in Venezuela, Brazil,
Argentina, Uruguay and other countries, where progressive measures
are being taken. How do you see what Lula is doing in Brazil, for
example?

Obviously, I see what Lula is doing with the greatest sympathy. He
does not have a sufficient majority in Parliament; he has had to base
himself on other forces, even conservative ones, to be able to go
through with certain reforms. The media has given a lot of publicity
to a corruption scandal of parliamentarians, but they have not been
able to involve him. Lula is a popular leader. I have known him for
many years; we have followed his itinerary, we have spoken a lot with
him, a man of conviction, intelligent, patriotic, and progressive, of
very humble origins and who does not forget his roots or the people
who always supported him. I believe that everyone sees him like that.
Because it is not a matter of making a revolution; it is a matter of
meeting a challenge: doing away with hunger. He can do it. It is a
matter of doing away with illiteracy. And he can do that, too. And 
I think that we should all support him. (11)



Comandante, do you think that the era of revolutions and armed
struggles is over in Latin America?

Listen, nobody can ensure that revolutionary changes are going to
occur in Latin America now. But neither can anybody ensure that they
could not happen at any time in one or more countries. If you
objectively analyze the economic and social situation in certain
countries, you cannot be in the slightest doubt that it is a matter
of an explosive situation. The rate of infant mortality is, for
example, 65 per 1,000 live births in several of those countries; ours
is less than 6.5; 10 times more children die in Latin American
countries, on average, than in Cuba. Malnutrition sometimes affects
more than 40 percent of the population; illiteracy and semi-literacy
continue to be too high; unemployment is affecting tens of millions
of adult citizens in Our America, and there is also the problem of
abandoned children, which total in the millions. The president of
UNICEF once told me that if Latin America had the same level of
medical attention and health that Cuba has, 700,000 children would be
saved every year.

If no urgent solution is found to those problems - and the FTAA is
not a solution, nor is neoliberal globalization - more than one
revolution could happen in Latin America when the United States least
expects it. And it will not be able to blame anyone for promoting
those revolutions.


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