Raúl in Chávez’
homeland
•
Before leaving for Venezuela the
Cuban President gave a statement to the Cuban press
Leticia Martínez
Hernández & Yaima Puig Meneses
CARACAS, Venezuela.—President Raúl
Castro Ruz arrived here at 2:00 pm, March 7 to give
his last farewell to Comandante Hugo Chávez
Frías, brother in struggle, the man of vast stature
who Cuba accepted like a son.
The Cuban President, visibly moved, was received at the airport
by Foreign Minister Elías Jaua.
Also present at Simón Bolívar Airport were Foreign Minister
Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla and the Cuban ambassador to Venezuela, Rogelio Polanco.
At the end of the afternoon, the Cuban President arrived at the
Military Academy where the casket containing the remains of Comandante
Chávez has been placed. He greeted Chávez’ family members and, in particular,
embraced and consoled Elena Frías, his mother. He then approached the casket and
made a military salute, loudly applauded.
Today, Raúl is participating, in the name of all Cubans, in
state funeral honors for the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela,
who lived to struggle and will continue leading all the coming battles.
CHÁVEZ HAS ENTERED INTO HISTORY
Chávez has left, undefeated, victorious, and invincible, stated
President Raúl Castro in Santiago de Cuba, shortly before leaving for Venezuela.
Commenting on his emotions upon arriving at Antonio Maceo Plaza
de la Revolución with Communist Party and government leaders in the province, he
highlighted the sadness among the people. "Listening to comments from men and
women here, it was perceptible that everyone was feeling these same sentiments."
He recalled his initial memories, related to December 2007, when
the streets of Santiago de Cuba were filled with people cheering Venezuelan
President Hugo Chávez. "Then, the people were brimming with affection and joy,
in contrast with the sadness that can be observed today, and with images of the
early hours of the morning in the capital, and other provincial capitals, which
I saw briefly on television."
"And that is not just taking place in our country, we saw the
same situation in Caracas, during the enormous march accompanying Chávez’
remains to the Military Academy in Tiuna Fort. But the people of Caracas were
also combative, chanting maxims, and even songs of revolutionary steadfastness.
This is logical because of what Chávez represented.
"We could spend hours, even days, talking about Chávez, and that
is doubtless how it will be in the future," Raúl affirmed.
Referring to the legacy the Bolivarian leader left to our
peoples, the Cuban President emphasized the importance of not receding in all
the advances made with Chávez’ influence in these recent years. "It is vital to
continue fighting for the unity of the Cuban and Venezuelan people, but also
that of all the Latin American and Caribbean peoples."
As an emotional seal to his historic words, Raúl affirmed,
"Chávez has entered through the great door of history and nobody can close that
door, nor forget what has happened. The Venezuelan people know how to defend
their achievements, and we, as we always have been, will be together with them,
our knees on the earth."
......................................................................................................................................................................................
Cubans honor Hugo
Rafael Chávez Frías
THE Cuban people are paying
heartfelt and patriotic tribute today to Venezuelan
President Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías, in the midst of
their pain and grief at the death of the much loved
leader of the Bolivarian Revolution.
The tribute is taking place at the José Martí Memorial in Havana’s
Plaza de la Revolución, from 8:00am to 8:00pm, while Cubans resident outside of
the capital are honoring the unforgettable Comandante in the country’s
provincial capitals and on the Isle of Youth.
......................................................................................................................................................................................
Statement from the
Revolutionary government
HASTA siempre,
Comandante
With deep and lacerating pain, our
people and the Revolutionary government learned of
the death of President Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías and
are preparing to pay him a heartfelt and patriotic
tribute on his entry into history as an independence
leader of Our America.
We offer our sincere condolences to his parents, brothers,
daughters and son and all his family members, who are already ours, just as
Chávez is also a son of Cuba, of Latin America and the Caribbean, and of the
world.
In this moment of profound sadness, we share the closet
sentiments of solidarity with the sister Venezuelan people, who we will
accompany in all circumstances.
The Bolivarian Revolution will have our resolute and
unrestricted support during these difficult days.
We reiterate our support, encouragement and faith in victory to
our compañeros in the Bolivarian political-military leadership and the
Venezuelan government.
President Chávez has led an extraordinary battle throughout his
youthful and fertile life. We will always remember him as a patriotic soldier in
the service of Venezuela and the Patria Grande [Greater Homeland]; as an
honest, lucid, daring and courageous revolutionary fighter; as a leader and
supreme comandante who reincarnated Bolívar in order to do what Bolívar
was unable to complete; founder of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of
Our America and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.
His heroic and indefatigable fight against death is an
unsurpassable example of fortitude. The admirable commitment of his doctors and
nurses has been a feat of humanism and dedication.
The President’s return to the Venezuelan homeland, which he
loved so much, changed history. "We have a homeland," Chávez exclaimed with
emotion last December 8, and he returned there to confront the greatest risks
imposed by his illness. Nothing and nobody can seize the restored homeland from
the Venezuelan people.
All of Chávez’ work appears undefeated before us. The
attainments of the revolutionary people who saved him from the coup in April
2002 and have unhesitatingly followed him, are now irreversible.
The Cuban people feel him as one of their most outstanding sons
and have admired him, followed him and loved him as their own. Chávez is also
Cuban! He experienced as his own our difficulties and problems and did as much
as he could, with extraordinary generosity, especially in the hardest years of
the Special Period. He accompanied Fidel as a true son and his friendship with
Raúl was extremely close.
He excelled in international battles in the face of imperialism,
always in defense of the poor, of the workers, of our peoples. Impassioned,
persuasive, eloquent, ingenious and moving, he spoke from the hearts of the
peoples, sang of our joys, and declaimed our impassioned poems with perennial
optimism.
The tens of thousands of Cubans working in Venezuela will honor
him with their impassioned fulfillment of revolutionary internationalism and
will continue accompanying the epic feat of the Bolivarian people with honor and
altruism.
Cuba will sustain eternal loyalty to the memory and legacy of
Comandante President Chávez and will resolutely continue his ideals of the
unity of the revolutionary forces and of the integration and independence of Our
America.
His example will lead us in coming battles.
¡Hasta la victoria siempre!
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Death of President Hugo Chávez
CARACAS, March 5 (AVN).—Hugo Rafael Chávez,
President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela,
died in the hours of this Tuesday afternoon. The
announcement was made by Vice President Nicolás
Maduro.
Maduro called on the
Venezuelan people to confront the lamentable death of the President of the
Republic “with much strength, courage and integrity.”
“We have to be more
united than ever, the greatest discipline, the greatest collaboration, the
greatest brotherhood and sisterhood. We are going to grow, we are going to be
the worthy sons and daughters of the giant of a man that he was and how
Comandante Hugo Chávez will always be in our memory. The victory of today is
the unity of the people and peace,” Maduro affirmed on national radio and
television.
The Vice President
stated that a special deployment of the entire Bolivarian National Armed Forces
is to be activated in order to guarantee peace, together with the Venezuelan
people. “Respect and peace have to go hand in hand in the immense pain of this
historic tragedy which has today touched our country,” he added.
Maduro urged
Venezuelans to gather outside the Caracas Military Hospital and Bolívar plazas
in every town in the country to chant songs in tribute to Hugo Chávez Frías.
“Let us take cantos of
tribute, of honor, the song of Ali Primera: ‘Those who die for life cannot be
called dead,’” Maduro stated in a communiqué broadcast on the national network
shortly after 5:00pm.
The Vice President
asked opponents of the Bolivarian Revolution to respect this difficult moment.
“To those factors who never supported him: respect the pain of the people, and
we call you to peace, as Venezuelan men and women.”
Maduro also called for
fortitude and prayer. “From this moment on, it is forbidden to weep. With Ali’s
song and the spirit of Hugo Chávez let us raise the greatest forces of this
homeland to confront the difficulties it befalls us to confront. Our people can
be assured that they have a government of men and women committed to protect
them,” he affirmed.
Maduro was accompanied
by Foreign Minister Elías Jaua, Attorney General of the Republic Cilia Flores,
Communication and Information Minister Ernesto Villegas, Science and Technology
Minister Jorge Arreaza, and high-ranking military officers.
“It is a moment to
think about our families, our country (…) We say, respect, respect,” he added
from the Military Hospital. “Much fortitude and prayer,” Maduro affirmed,
visibly stricken.
The Vice President
emphasized that plans for posthumous tributes to the Venezuelan leader will be
announced in the next few hours, including the place where he will be laid in
state and the programming until he is finally laid to rest.
“Honor and glory to
Hugo Chávez. May he live for ever.” (AVN)
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General state of
Venezuelan President delicate
CARACAS (PL).—The general state of
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez remains delicate,
with a worsening of his respiratory functions,
Communications and Information Minister Ernesto
Villegas affirmed March 4.
Speaking on national radio and
television from the Dr. Carlos Arvelo Military
Hospital, and acting on the instructions of Vice
President Nicolás Maduro, Villegas read a communiqué
on the President’s health.
Prensa Latina reproduces the
complete text of the communiqué below:
The Bolivarian government informs
the people of Venezuela and other sister peoples on
the evolution of the health of President Hugo
Chávez.
Two weeks have passed since the
Comandante President returned of his own accord
to the Venezuelan homeland after undergoing surgery
in Havana, Cuba, last December 11.
Today, there has been a worsening of
his respiratory function related to the immune-depressed
state typical of his clinical situation. He is
currently presenting a new and severe infection.
The President has been receiving
heavy-impact chemotherapy, among other complementary
treatments with adjustments derived from the
evolution of his clinical condition. His general
state remains very delicate.
Our Comandante President
remains firmly attached to Christ and life, aware of
the difficulties he is confronting and strictly
fulfilling the program designed by his medical team.
The Bolivarian government continues
accompanying the children and other family members
of the Comandante President in this battle of
love and spirituality, and calls on all our people
to remain on a war footing, unscathed by the psychological warfare
unleashed by foreign laboratories with spokespersons
on the corrupt Venezuelan right, aimed at generating
scenarios of violence as the pretext for foreign
intervention in the homeland of Bolívar.
At the same time, the Bolivarian
government repudiates the hypocritical attitude of
the historic enemies of Hugo Chávez, who have always
lavished hatred, insults and scorn upon him, and are
now trying to utilize his health situation as an
excuse to destabilize the Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela.
Fortunately, this people awoke with
Comandante Chávez and these corrupt right-wing
factors will never return.
At this time, unity and discipline
are the bases for guaranteeing the political
stability of the homeland.
¡Que viva Chávez!
Caracas, March 4, 2013
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ALBA is a
consolidated reality
CARACAS, Feb 28.—ALBA is a
consolidated reality in the political and economic
context, because it is composed of revolutionary,
valiant and courageous governments, affirmed
Venezuelan Vice President Nicolás Maduro today,
speaking at the 10th Political Council of this
regional alliance.
In relation to the advance of the Single Regional Payment
Compensation System (SUCRE) – a virtual currency utilized for trading purposes
among members of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – Trade
Treaty with the Peoples (ALBA-TCP), Maduro noted, "It is viable, necessary and
possible to have one’s own monetary system."
The progressive and anti-imperialist forces of the region united
within ALBA reaffirmed that in the face of destruction, war and the economic,
social and political crisis generated by capitalism, an alternative of salvation
and preservation of humanity is arising from the heart of the Americas, PL
reported.
CUBA REAFFIRMS SOLIDARITY WITH VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT
In the context of the 10th ALBA Political Council, Cuba
reaffirmed its solidarity with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
"I come with a revolutionary embrace from the leader of the
Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro, from President Raúl Castro and the government and
people of the island to President Hugo Chávez, who is fighting to recover his
health with courage and determination," Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez
stated to Prensa Latina.
Rodríguez reaffirmed Cuban support for the President, the
Revolution he is leading, and the Venezuelan people who, aware of the
achievements won, have made the gains of the Bolivarian process irreversible,
despite threats of external and internal threats of destabilization and
aggression.
He also expressed thanks for the regional bloc’s positive
response to the ratification of Raúl Castro as President of Cuba.
Such actions reveal acceptance of diversity and the sovereign
manner in which the Cuban people have spoken in the context of Raúl Castro’s
reelection during the constitution of a new National Assembly, Rodríguez noted.
.........................................................................................................................................................
Statement from
Josefina Vidal, U.S. director at the Cuban Foreign
Ministry
IN the context of the publication of the February 27 MINREX
statement, referring to a new outrage against one of the Five, a State
Department official, who asked not to be named, gave a statement to the EFE news
agency.
A cable from EFE, datelined February 28, noted that the U.S.
admitted that it has denied consular visits to René González, due to "reciprocal
travel restrictions." In the report, headlined "U.S: Consular visits to Cuban
René González denied for reasons of reciprocity," the agency quotes a non-identified
State Department official who stated, "Both the U.S. Interests Section in Havana
and the Cuban Interests Section in Washington are subject to reciprocal travel
restrictions."
"The Cubans are not letting us travel outside of Havana without
previous authorization and so we are responding with the same restriction here."
"The problem is that the (Cuban) Interests Section cannot travel
outside of Washington, and González is in Florida," he added. "If they let us
travel outside of Havana, their officials can travel to see him."
The Spanish agency also added that, according to the State
Department, González can travel to Washington to meet with Cuban officials, if
those responsible for his supervised release allow him to travel there.
Responding to these statements from the State Department, the
director of the United States Department at the Cuban Foreign Ministry stated:
"The United States Interests Section (USIS) in Havana invariably
receives travel permits for outside of the capital in order to visit American
prisoners and Cubans naturalized in the United States who are serving prison
terms in any part of Cuba. In recent months, United States officials, including
the USIS director himself, have had consular access in the provinces of
Matanzas, Camagüey, Ciego de Avila, Artemisa and Mayabeque. We do not know what
reciprocity he is talking about, as all travel permits for USIS consular visits
have been authorized without exception. However, beginning September 2012, the
State Department has denied all applications to visit René González presented by
consular officials at the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, in open
violation of its obligations to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. The
United States authorities have also denied René’s recent applications for
permits to travel outside of the area in which he is serving his additional
sentence of supervised release, which is keeping him unjustly distanced from his
wife, who is not permitted to visit him."
Havana, February 28, 2013
.........................................................................................................................................................
Statement from the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs
● New outrage against one of the Five
State Department repeatedly denying consular access to René González
RENÉ González Sehwerert, Hero of the Republic of
Cuba, has been subjected to a new arbitrary act on
the part of the government of the United States,
which has further limited the conditions of his
supervised release, making them increasingly similar
to incarceration. The U.S. government’s apparent
purpose is to continue punishing him despite the
many years of unjust and cruel treatment he has
faced.
Since September 2012, the State Department has denied all applications made
by the Cuban Interests Section in Washington for consular visits to René, which
consistently took place during the 13 years he was imprisoned and the initial
months of his supervised release. Our diplomatic mission in the United States
has fruitlessly presented the State Department with various alternatives to
continue consular visits to René, which have been rejected.
This act constitutes a flagrant violation of United States government
obligations under the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, which
protects René González’ right to freely communicate with Cuban Interests Section
officials in Washington and the right of these officials to do the same and to
visit him.
This deliberate and cruel decision represents an additional punishment, given
the already strict conditions of René’s supervised release, which obliged him to
remain a further three years in the United States, separated from his family,
after having completed his long and unjust sentence to the last day.
Cuba strongly condemns this arbitrary decision on the part of U.S.
authorities, which violates René’s rights, while it holds the United States
responsible for the security and physical integrity of the anti-terrorist
fighter.
Cuba will continue to denounce before the world these abuses and will not
cease its efforts to achieve the return to the homeland of René and Gerardo
Hernández Nordelo, Ramón Labañino Salazar, Antonio Guerrero Rodríguez and
Fernando González Llort, unjustly imprisoned in the United States for close to
15 years.
Havana, February 27, 2013
.........................................................................................................................................................
The historical
importance of a definitive process to guarantee the
country’s future leadership
• Raúl reelected Council of
State President • Miguel Díaz-Canel elected First
Vice President and approved as First Vice President
of the Council of Ministers • Esteban Lazo
Hernández, new President of the National Assembly
Pedro de la Hoz &
Susana Lee
THE symbolism linking the February
24 constitution of the National Assembly of People's
Power with this date in 1895, when the struggle for
independence was resumed by the fusion of
experienced Mambises of the first war with the new
generation of fighters, under the leadership of the
Cuban Revolutionary Party and Martí, was highlighted
by President Raúl Castro in his speech closing the
session, during which Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez was
elected as First Vice President of the Council of
State and approved as First Vice President of the
Council of Ministers.
This decision is of particular
historical importance because it represents a
definitive step in structuring the future leadership
of the country, through a gradual and ordered
transfer of the main positions to a new generation,
a process that must be implemented over the next
five years. President Raúl Castro emphasized the
need to act consistently in the future with
intention and foresight.
Beginning at 10am, with the
historical leader of the Revolution, Comandante
en Jefe Fidel Castro in attendance, occupying
his parliamentary seat, the deputies, voting on the
membership of the Council of State, reelected as
Vice Presidents José Ramón Machado Ventura, Gladys
Bejerano Portela and Ramiro Valdés Menéndez, and two
new Vice Presidents were elected: Mercedes López
Acea and Salvador Valdés Mesa. Regarding the
composition, there are 31 members, 17 of whom were
re-elected, 13 are women, 12 black and mixed-race,
with an average age of 57.
In the first part of the day after
fulfilling the legal procedures to inaugurate the
8th Legislature, the deputies approved candidates
for senior positions in the National Assembly, the
highest body of state power, electing Esteban Lazo
Hernández, as National Assembly President, and
reelecting Ana María Mari Machado as Vice President,
and Miriam Brito Sarroca, as Secretary.
Afterwards, Fidel expressed a few
words of greeting in which, among other comments, he
paid tribute to Cuba's national hero, Jose Marti, "to
the revolutionary, anti-imperialist and Bolivarian,
who sowed the first seeds of duty in our young
people."
Raúl also recognized the work done
by Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada as President of the
National Assembly in four previous legislatures, and
especially in defense of the Cuban Five, stating
that in the future he will continue to be involved
in this important activity.
...................................................................................................................................................................
Our greatest
satisfaction is the tranquility and calm confidence
we feel handing over the responsibility of
continuing to build socialism to new generations
• Speech given by Army General
Raúl Castro Ruz, first secretary of the Communist
Party Central Committee and President of the
Councils of State and Ministers, closing the
Constitutional Session of the 8th Legislature of the
National Assembly of People's Power, Havana’s
International Convention Center, February 24, 2013
COMPAÑERAS and compañeros:
On a day like today, February 24,
1895, the struggle for independence was reinitiated
with the fusion of the experienced Mambises
of the first war and the nuevos pinos (new
guard), under the leadership of the Cuban
Revolutionary Party and [José] Martí.
It
is once again incumbent upon me to assume before you
and all our people the honor of presiding over the
Council of State and the government.
In this context, I think it is worth
reiterating what I have affirmed twice in this
Parliament, and I quote, "I was not elected
President to restore capitalism in Cuba, not to
surrender the Revolution. I was elected to defend,
maintain and continue perfecting socialism, not to
destroy it."
In accordance with the agreements of
the 6th Congress it will be necessary to reconcile
the postulates of the Constitution of the Republic
with the changes associated with the gradual
implementation of the Economic and Social Policy
Guidelines of the Party and the Revolution.
Included in modifications we propose
to introduce into the Constitution is one limiting
to a maximum of two consecutive five-year terms the
principal positions of state and government, and to
establish maximum ages for occupying these positions.
At the same time, it is not healthy to be
continually reformulating the nation’s Magna Carta
and, given that effecting a constitutional reform
necessarily takes a reasonable time since, while
some questions can be modified by the Parliament
itself, more important ones require ratification
through the favorable vote of the majority of
citizens in a referendum; I wish to clarify that, in
my case, independently of the date of improving the
Constitution, this will be my last mandate.
In this session the National
Assembly elected Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez First
Vice President of the Council of State and
subsequently approved his appointment as First Vice
President of the Council of Ministers.
We consider, given the circumstances
being experienced by the country, circumstances we
have been obliged to live with over the last 50
years of Revolution, that executive unity in the
face of any contingency resulting from the loss of
the maximum leader must be guaranteed in such a way
that the continuity and stability of the nation is
preserved without interruptions of any kind.
This decision is of particular historical
significance because it represents a definitive step
in the configuration of the country’s future
leadership, via the gradual and orderly transfer of
the principal positions to the new generations, a
process that must be implemented over the next five
years, acting from now on in a deliberate and
farsighted manner, in order to avoid repeating the
situation of not having sufficient reserves of
cadres prepared to occupy higher positions in the
country, and to ensure that the relief of the
leaders proceeds in a natural and systematic process.
Compañero Díaz Canel is not a newcomer or an
impromptu. He has a work record of almost 30 years,
beginning at the base, in the profession which he
studied. After completing his military service in
the FAR (Revolutionary Armed Forces) anti-aircraft
missile units, he taught in the Central University
of Las Villas Faculty of Electrical Engineering,
where he was proposed as a professional cadre of the
Union of Communist Youth. Later, taking into
consideration his results, he was promoted to the
Party, gradually taking on greater responsibilities,
among them first secretary of the Villa Clara
Provincial Committee for close to 10 years, and then
in Holguín for six years.
He has been a member of the Party
Central Committee since 1991 and of the Political
Bureau since 2003. He completed an internationalist
mission in Nicaragua. He is a graduate of the
National Defense College.
In 2009, he moved on to undertake
governmental functions, first as Minister of Higher
Education and, from 2012, as Vice President of the
Council of Ministers responsible for attending to
various bodies linked to education, science, sports
and culture. On the other hand, he participates on a
weekly basis in the government’s Financial Economic
Commission, and in the Political Bureau Commission
supervising the implementation of 6th Congress
agreements.
The conduct of compañeros
Machado Ventura and Colomé Ibarra, who took the
initiative of offering their positions within the
Council of State to promote younger generations,
merits special mention.
In the case of Machado Ventura, a
man with exceptional qualities as a leader and human
being, modesty and dedication to his work, and an
outstanding revolutionary for close to 60 years, a
combatant in the Sierra Maestra and a founder member
of the Frank País Eastern Second Front, from which
he created and developed 20 field hospitals and 11
dispensaries distributed across mountainous areas
throughout Guantánamo province and in parts of
Santiago de Cuba and Holguín, the area covered by
this guerrilla front. He took part in multiple
combat actions, being wounded in one of them. On the
basis of these qualities, and the prestige,
training, experience and vitality which he has
conserved, as well as his genuine capacity to
continue contributing to the direction of decisive
activities, the National Assembly has elected him to
occupy one of the vice presidencies of the Council
of State.
Similarly remaining a member of the
Council of State is compañero Abelardo Colomé
Ibarra who, from an early age, joined the
revolutionary struggle in his native Santiago de
Cuba, taking part in the November 30, 1956 uprising
under the orders of Frank País, who selected him to
enter the first reinforcement of the nascent Rebel
Army in the Sierra Maestra.
Like Machado Ventura, he is a
founding member of the Frank País Eastern Second
Front, wounded on two occasions in combat against
the dictatorship troops, and outstanding for his
courage, for which he was promoted from the rank of
solider to that of Comandante.
Since the triumph of the Revolution
he has undertaken – with success, humility and
loyalty – the tasks assigned to him, among which I
must highlight the fulfillment of delicate
internationalist missions. He undertook the
development of the always-competent Military
Intelligence; made a decisive contribution to the
first victory over the invading forces in Angola, at
the head of the Cuban Military Mission, from
1975-1977; and has served as First Deputy Minister
of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, and Minister of
the Interior, among other positions.
The attitude of Machado Ventura and
Colomé Ibarra is not fortuitous, nor should it
surprise anybody, it is a concrete demonstration of
their genuine revolutionary fiber, with no room for
vanity or personal interest, and far less for
clinging to any position. This is the essence of the
founding generation of this Revolution. That is how
Fidel acted five years ago, providing a praiseworthy
example.
Speaking in this context, it is
appropriate to recall what Fidel stated, exactly 15
years ago, addressing the National Assembly on
February 24, 1998, in relation to the first rule or
trait which must characterize a revolutionary cadre.
I quote, "No ambitions to occupy any position,
people should reach the positions they hold on the
basis of their merits, their work, their virtues and
their patriotism…"
The Council of State elected in this
session of our Parliament is a reflection of how we
are beginning to make real the agreements of the 6th
Party Congress in relation to the cadre policy. Of
its 31 members, 41.9% are women and 38.6% are Black
or mixed race. The average age is 57 and 61.3% were
born after the triumph of the Revolution.
We already have two women vice
presidents of the Council of State and we will
persevere with the will to continually increase the
number of women representatives in this body and in
all the country’s institutions.
Similarly, the National Assembly was
renewed by 67.26%, women’s participation has risen
to 48.86% and that of Black and mixed race Cubans to
37.9%. Of our deputies, 82.68% completed higher
education and the average age is 48 years.
In the country’s 15 provinces, women
were elected as presidents of the Provincial
Assemblies of People's Power in 10; the average age
in these positions is 47 years and all are
university graduates.
This data corroborates the quality
of the Cuban electoral process and the potential of
the People's Power bodies and this Assembly as the
highest body of state power, executing the important
powers established in the Constitution.
Fruitful and intense legislative
work on the strengthening of our institutionality is
precisely the responsibility of this legislature,
particularly in the face of the implementation of
the Economic and Social Policy Guidelines of the
Revolution and the Party, a process which has first
priority and in which, as I explained in the last
session of the National Assembly, we are beginning
to advance toward questions of greater scope,
complexity and profundity.
It fills us with healthy pride and
satisfaction that the Cuban Parliament is headed, as
of today, by compañero Esteban Lazo
Hernández, member of the Political Bureau, a Black
man of humble origins, from a very early age a cane
cutter, worker in the mill and rice dryer in
Jovellanos, where he was a member of the Municipal
Committee of the Party. With enormous effort and
without neglecting his Party responsibilities, he
obtained a degree in Economics.
He subsequently occupied the
position of first secretary of the Communist Party
of Cuba in Matanzas and then in Santiago de Cuba and
City of Havana.
The same can be said in the cases of
the new vice presidents of the Council of State,
Díaz-Canel; Mercedes López Acea, the efficient first
secretary of the Party in the capital; and Salvador
Valdés Mesa, direct representative of the working
class who, as a member of the Political Bureau, will
move on to attending to the Cuban Workers Federation
(CTC), in addition to other functions to be assigned
by the Party.
All of them came from the people and,
like the rest of the members of the Council of State,
they constitute an irrefutable example of the
putting into practice of Fidel’s words on April 16,
1961, on the eve of the mercenary Bay of Pigs
invasion, when he said, "This is the socialist and
democratic Revolution of the humble, by the humble
and for the humble." Today, we are demonstrating
that this is how it will continue to be for ever.
At the same time, having youth who
identify with the ethical values and principles of
social justice, who are prepared in all senses,
including militarily, to defend and maintain on high
the flags of the Revolution and socialism, is a
motive for legitimate joy.
It is a fact that those of us who
had the honor of accompanying Fidel in the early
stages of the revolutionary undertaking and in the
insurrectional struggle against the dictatorship,
have had the privilege, together with the heroic
people, of seeing with our own eyes the
consolidation of the Revolution; however, the
greatest satisfaction is the tranquility and calm
confidence we feel upon gradually handing over the
responsibility of continuing to build socialism to
younger generations and with that, ensuring
independence and national sovereignty.
We do so having defined in the Party
Congress the direction to be taken in updating the
Cuban economic model and attaining a prosperous and
sustainable socialist society, a less egalitarian
society, but a more just one, these being principles
which will serve as a foundation for drafting the
development program through 2030, currently being
prepared.
This will be possible because the
Economic and Social Policy Guidelines are, in the
first place, the fruit of wide-ranging and
democratic discussion with the people, which made
them theirs, reformulating 68% of the initial
proposals as a result of popular consultation.
In the same way, these were
supported by Parliament, in its twice yearly
sessions, used to report on the progress of the
economic plan and the implementation of the
aforementioned guidelines.
A similar analysis is undertaken in
the plenary sessions of the Central Committee and
the provincial and municipal committees of the
Party, with the participation of local
administrative leaders.
These methods of direct consultation
with the population, which have developed over more
than 50 years of the revolutionary process and which
will continue to be perfected before, during and
after adopting more highly significant decisions for
the country’s future, constitute an additional
factor contributing to the tranquility and hopes for
the future which we experienced as members of the
historic leadership of the Revolution, given that,
in addition to constantly strengthening the unity
and support of the people, they will guarantee the
timely rectification of errors which we might commit.
In Cuba, nobody will ever be
permitted to sidestep what is clearly expressed in
Article No. 3 of the Constitution, and I quote, "Sovereignty
resides in the people, from whom all state power is
derived."
To those within or outside of the
country who, with good or bad intentions, are
encouraging us to move faster, we say that we will
continue without haste, but in a measured way, with
our feet planted firmly on the ground, without shock
therapies against the people and without leaving any
citizen unprotected, overcoming the barrier of
immobility and obsolete mentality in favor of
untying the knots holding back the development of
the productive forces; in other words, economic
advances, as the essential cement for ensuring,
among other spheres, the social gains of the
Revolution in education, public health, culture and
sports, which should be fundamental human rights and
not private businesses.
At the same time, we propose to
continue confronting indiscipline and illegalities
of every kind, including combating manifestations of
corruption which attack the very bases of our social
system, on the principle that, without establishing
an environment of order, discipline and rigor in
society, any result will be ephemeral. In the
meeting of this Parliament in the first half of July,
we shall deal in depth with this shameful matter of
indiscipline and illegalities.
Moving on to issues of an
international nature, I cannot fail to mention that,
on January 28, the 160th anniversary of the birth of
José Martí, Cuba assumed the presidency of the
Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC)
and will have the responsibility of organizing its
next summit in our country in 2014.
This is an event of particular
relevance which vindicates the struggle of the Cuban
people for their sovereignty and self-determination.
It demonstrates how much Latin America and the
Caribbean have advanced toward their definitive
independence and exposes the isolation and failure
of the policy of the United States’ economic and
media blockade of our nation.
The Cuban presidency of CELAC will
act with prudence and determination to promote what
unites us on the shared road to peace, development,
social justice, democracy with the genuine
participation of the people, the guaranteed exercise
of all human rights for all the people, sovereignty
over natural resources and the reduction of social
inequality and poverty.
We must nurture our unity within
diversity and prevent attempts to divide us. We know
that the consolidation of this organization will
confront difficult obstacles derived from the unjust
and unsustainable international order, the global
economic crisis, aggressive NATO policies, the
threats and consequences of its non-conventional
wars and the attempt at a new division of the world;
the existence of enormous nuclear arsenals and
ingenious weapons, as well as climate change.
Inequality in the distribution of
wealth on the continent is the principal weakness
and, at the same time, the greatest challenge that
we face. In a Latin America with more unity,
integration and social justice, nothing will be able
to hold us back.
I take advantage of this occasion to
reiterate, in the name of this Assembly and the
Cuban people, congratulations to President Rafael
Correa and the Citizens’ Revolution which he leads
on their resounding electoral victory last Sunday
(Feb 17).
We send President Hugo Chávez Frías
a fraternal embrace and best wishes for his recovery.
We confirm the solidarity of this National Assembly
and that of our compatriots with the Bolivarian
Revolution, the Venezuelan people and their leaders.
More than a month after they went
into effect, the new migratory and travel
regulations have been fully implemented without
setbacks, with a favorable reception on the part of
the population and the overwhelming majority of the
Cuban émigré community.
We shall continue demanding the
liberation and return to the homeland of our Five
Heroes, to whom we convey fraternal greetings, the
recognition and commitment of this Parliament and
all of the people.
To end my words, and above all
thinking about the future of the homeland, I believe
that the best way of doing so is with the brilliant
definition of the concept of Revolution formulated
by its Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro Ruz, on May
1, 2000, in Plaza de la Revolución. I quote:
Revolution is a sense of the historic moment; it is
changing everything that must be changed; it is full
equality and freedom; it is being treated and
treating others like human beings; it is attaining
emancipation by ourselves and through our own
efforts; it is defying powerful dominant forces
within and outside of the social and national sphere;
it is defending values in which we believe at the
cost of any sacrifice; it is modesty, selflessness,
altruism, solidarity and heroism; it is fighting
with courage, intelligence and realism; it is never
lying or violating ethic principles; it is a
profound conviction that there is no force in the
world able to crush the force of truth and ideas.
Revolution is unity; it is
independence, it is fighting for our dreams of
justice for Cuba and for the world, which is the
foundation of our patriotism, our socialism and our
internationalism." (End of quote) (Applause)
May this masterly definition forever
serve as the guide for all generations of Cuban
patriots and revolutionaries!
