-DATE- 19660314 -YEAR- 1966 -DOCUMENT_TYPE- SPEECH -AUTHOR- F. CASTRO -HEADLINE- UNIVERSITY SPEECH BLASTS CPR BETRAYAL -PLACE- STEPS OF HAVANA UNIVERSITY -SOURCE- HAVANA DOMESTIC TV -REPORT_NBR- FBIS -REPORT_DATE- 19660314 -TEXT- CASTRO UNIVERSITY SPEECH BLASTS CPR BETRAYAL Havana Domestic Television and Radio Services in Spanish 0317 GMT 14 March 1966--F (Speech by Prime Minister Fidel Castro from main steps of Havana University keynoting ceremonies marking ninth anniversary of the assault on the Presidential Palace--live) (Text) Comrades of the Central Committee and of the Presidium of this event, honored guests, comrade professors, and students: (applause) Nine years have passed since 13 March 1957, but the years have not made the memory less vivid. For all the people, for all the revolutionary combatants, for all of us, particularly those who on that date were in the Sierra Maestra, the memory of that day is absolutely vivid because at that moment we were just a guerrilla patrol consisting of 12 men and in the afternoon during a hault we turned in, or better said, we turned on our small, portable radios which we carried with us with great difficulty, and we found that some stations were not on the air. A few minutes later we learned the news about the heroic attack on the Presidential Palace and the heroic and at the same time very painful death of Jose Antonio Echeverria. (applause) We were just 12 guerrillas and we could do very little at that moment to avenge the death of those comrades. But not many months transpired before our guerrilla forces grew and they waged one of the first important battles. Less than two years had passed when we were able to observe the second anniversary of that heroic death and of that heroic 13 March battle on these steps of Havana University, where year after year we have come to render a tribute to rememberance and the most sincere homage to those comrades. We were saying that two years had not passed because we fought fiercely, because every combat action, every battle, whether victorious or not, was a stimulus to keep on fighting; every sacrifice, whether or not it gave us immediate fruits, was a moral mandate for the combatants, and a fight without truce was waged, an indefatigable battle was waged. Who can say that it was that time not a day was lost, not an hour, not a minute, not even one second was lost? When one fights with tenacity, sooner or later, and perhaps sooner than later, success crowns the effort. Unfortunately, the history of our revolution is not known very well outside of our country. Nobody has written it. Perhaps in coming years, in far-off future years, writers emerging from this revolution will write that history. Perhaps it would be useful today if other countries were to learn it and thereby could encourage the revolutionary struggle of other countries. Some outside our country are not aware, aware, or know only in a sketchy manner, the basic facts of our revolution, why that revolution was victorious, why it won the victory so suddenly. It was because a hard fight was waged, because a tireless fight was waged. Our war was a brief war, yes. This fact of a brief war has served some new detractors of our revolution--who have perhaps appeared where we least expected them--and to speak clearly I am going to say that although I am not specifically going to refer to that matter, some Latin American visitors who have been in the Chinese People's Republic have heard from the lips of some of the new detractors of this revolution that it is a shame that this war of Cuba's did not last for many years, because if it had lasted for many years, revolutionary awareness would have taken deeper roots among our people. This argument is, in the first place, a great lie. It is a great lie because the revolutionary awareness of these people has never stopped taking root for a single minute (applause) since the victorious triumph of revolutionary arms. It is false because with the conclusion of the guerrilla struggle there began for this entire nation, for this even more revolutionary people, a more difficult and harder struggle than the guerrilla war for the conquest of revolutionary power. To deny this is to deny the dead of Giron; to deny it is to deny the dead who fought against the bandits in the Escambray Mountains! (applause) To deny this is to deny the blood of workers who were victims of criminal acts of sabotage, such as that barbarous act of the ship La Courbre which cost the Cuban workers and even workers of other nations much blood! (applause) To deny this is to deny, in short, the imperialist blockade! To deny it is to deny that this nation lived in the month of October 1962, the most crucial danger which any nation has faced in present times! (applause) To deny this is to deny imperialism, because in the struggle against imperialism, which is a thousand times more powerful than Batista, is where our revolutionary consciousness has been heightened, has been consolidated, and has deepened! (applause) What is more, this argument is a profoundly immoral argument because it is the same as saying: Too bad there weren't more killed so there would be more consciousness. It is an immoral argument because at heart it signifies a profound contempt for the blood of the people and the revolutionaries. We recall that each day of combat cost lives. We recall countless comrades who fell in the struggle, and each man who fell was a source of the most profound sorrow for us, and we shall never use the immoral argument that the more blood the people shed, the more revolutionary they are, because it is immoral to make such an argument with the people's blood. We can say: "Let as much of the people's blood be shed as is necessary to make the revolution. Let the blood of all the people be shed, if it is necessary, to defend the revolution." (applause) But never say: "We lament that one more drop of blood was not shed." Particularly one unnecessary drop of blood because, gentlemen detractors, of our revolutionary forces won the war quickly, it was because they fought hard. And if the mercenary army of Batista could not resist the drive of our victorious forces any longer, it is not our fault. (applause) We are aware of the valuable lives that successful battles served to save. We are aware and also satisfied of the blood that was shed, blood that the revolution has never hesitated to shed when it has been necessary. However, this is not the occasion today to rely to those new detractors. It is painful, and it is shameful at the same time, that in the midst of the battle that our people are obliged to wage against imperialism, against the principal bulwark of imperialism, we also have to divert our energies to replying to those who until a short time ago we believed to be sincere and honorable allies of the people who fight against that imperialism, to those who until a short time ago we believed to be honorable revolutionaries. (applause) It is shameful and painful to see how NCNA can now hardly be distinguished from UPI and AP. (applause) It is shameful that even the government of that country has not yet made a reply but in a (?belligerent) tone threatens like a veritable Jupiter and has limited itself to writing a brief string of insults and saying that it reserves the right to reply. What fear! What terror! What a fearsome threat! What an intimidating threat! And what it has done up to now is something truly shameful, to give instructions to some leaders in the world so that they can begin to tell a string of lies and slander our revolution, trying to show that we are some very dangerous revisionists. To apply such a cliche to this revolution is the height of absurdity, because human intelligence requires more than that pap which is not fit for consumption by the ignorant, fit only for herds who move by conditioned reflexes. (applause) Arguments must be given to human intelligence. Reasons must be given to it. And it is shameful proof of the damage that satellitism (satellismo) does and can do in the world, the fact that some agents--because they are nothing more than agents of that nation--have committed the stupidity, the historic mistake of writing slanderous articles against the Cuban revolution on Chinese orders, just as a small wicked group from Belgium did, some gentlemen theoreticians on revolutionary war. However, in recent months when European mercenaries were going to enlist in the ranks of Tshombe to fight against the Congolese patriots, not one of those wicked theoreticians on revolutionary war offered to go fight at the side of the Congolese patriots against the European mercenaries! (applause) Likewise another group of chorus leaders and rebels from Ceylon, and some others, some others. NCNA has dedicated itself to publishing each and every one of those infamous words against the Cuban revolution in which the arguments are exactly the same ones used by AP and UPI, and also those used by the worst elements of Trotskiyism. Now, what error can anyone fail to fall into who attempts to pass himself off as a revolutionary in these times and who tells such a string of lies and infamies against this revolution? One must be blind, absolutely blind, not to understand what the revolutionary fact of Cuba means in this era. We have to be blind, absolutely blind, not to understand the importance that the revolutionary fact of Cuba will have in the years to come in the present world. But if blindness is painful, more painful yet is it that there are people in the world who presume to be called revolutionaries but follow the orders of their masters and go out as vulgar leaders under the baton of the powerful to attack this revolution which is writing one of the most brilliant pages of contemporary history just 90 miles away from Yankee imperialism! (applause) At least the Chinese bosses of these leaders are blind but are acting on their own. But the leaders on the payroll of those bosses are not acting on their own but on behalf of others. Of course, opportunity--since we have to discuss other matters today--we will publish, we will publish all they have written against our revolution. (applause) And at the same time we will reply to them: We are not to blame and no one can blame us for this problem which has arisen. Because the only alternative, which perhaps may have not presented itself now but would have presented itself later, is for us to have remained silent in the faces of what constituted a veritable felony, a veritable blackmail, a vertitable treachery against proletarian internationalism, such as (applause) depriving us, in a difficult year, of almost half of the rice they had sent to us the year before and to do so on the last month of the year and in one of the years when our nation is undergoing the worst difficulties. We would have had to decide to remain silent, not to tell the people a single word, to tolerate blackmail, to put it simply. One would have to be very wrong to try to blackmail this nation, to try to blackmail this revolution; to try to blackmail the leaders of this revolution. (applause). One would have to be very mistaken to expect us to keep our mouths shut. It is an error which historically will dearly cost those responsible because of the way that they went about it, the time that they did it, the procedure that they used, because even if they were capable of writing more pages than those written by imperialism against Cuba in seven years, they cannot crush the overflowing force that this revolutionary fact and its course signify. The fact that they tried to take advantage of our special situation, of our situation under a blockade to attack us, to pressure us in the economic field, is one of the greatest felonies that may clique of revolutionary leaders has ever committed, and I do not attempt to deny the historic merits of those who did this. I do not stupidly and cretinously deny what that country has accomplished, the historic universal importance of its revolution. No, because only cretins and stupid people who believe that others are cretins or stupid resort to those procedures. We, in addition, in this problem, in this dispute, are not begging any of our many friends in the world to write some little article, to write a phrase, a speech, a statement against China. No, in the first place, because these are not our procedures, and in the second place, because we do not need them since we have a very solid position and the event that brought about this problem is a very clear one. We do not need allies to defend our truth. We especially will not need any allies to defend any lies. We help the vary movements--all of them. That is no secret, but we do not place conditions on any of them. We have friends but we do not have chorus leaders, and never will we ask any revolutionary movement that we help to pay us by defending an infamy. And who are the chorus leaders? They are shoddy revolutionaries, theoreticians of a revolutionary war they will never carry out, people who have never fired or will ever fire a shot, who have never nor will ever fire a shot. These are the chorus leaders used by the leaders of the Chinese People's Republic to denigrate the Cuban revolution and its revolutionary party which confronts th principal enemy of the people in a historic battle. Paper revolutionaries, revolutionaries in theory--I am not going to say that the Chinese people are not revolutionary. I am not going to deny that those people and their leadership organizations have fought hard to carry out their revolution. They have fought hard against the aggressions of the imperialists. At least those who truly struggle, even though at a certain time they may be adversaries, deserve some respect. Those who do not deserve any respect are the others, the salaried ones, the ones who lie for wages, who are the ones who have been used as instruments to accuse Cuba, to launch against Cuba a campaign in the imperialist style, in the Goebbels style, in the fascist style. If we are going to argue basically, we must tell some basic truths and we must unmask everything that is of fascist type hidden under Marxist emblems. (applause) Of course this story of revolutionaries, who in spite of having done good things in their lives have committed great barbarities later at the end of their lives, is not new. During the past days we have seen with sorrow the things that men are capable of doing when they degenerate. They are a result, in part, of having confused Marxism-Leninism with fascism, with absolutism. They are the result of having introduced the style of absolute monarchies into the contemporary socialist revolutions. This revolution, fortunately, is a revolution of young men and we hope that it will always be a revolution of young men. (applause) We hope that all revolutionaries, as we become biologically old, are capable of understanding that we are becoming biologically and lamentably old. We hope that the methods of absolute monarchies will never become implanted in our nation and that the Marxist truth that it is not men but people who write history will be borne out by events. (applause) Marx, Engels, and Lenin never allowed themselves to be defied and they never permitted deification. They were humble until they died, allergic to cults, allergic to mythology. Those who are true Marxist-Leninists should imitate the example of Marx, Engels, and Lenin. They should read the biography of Marx by Mehring. They should read the biography of the founders of Marxism and it will be seen that impressively humble men they were because these writers of history did not see themselves in that light. They saw the working masses and the people as the writers of history. Those who think that they are indispensable to their nations, think with the same mentality as those who think that by assassinating the leaders of the revolution that they will assassinate the revolution. (applause) The day that anyone of us thinks that we are indispensable, we would be thinking just as those terrorists think and we would no longer be Marxist-Leninists. (applause) The absolute monarchies in spite of all their disadvantages, at least had the advantage of providing an heir to power. For socialism to accept the method, the system of absolute monarchies is the worst absurdity because then the fight among the candidates to become the absolute monarch would begin. And what is the good of a party where everything revolves around one man? For a party to serve for something, a man was effaced, and effaced to such an extent that not even the names of Marx, Engles, and Lenin are again mentioned in our country. We revolutionary leaders have the honor of having established a unique precedent up to the present, that it was a law of the revolution, one of the first laws of the revolution, establishing the prohibition against putting the name of any living leader on any street, on any city, on any town, on any factory, on any farm; prohibiting even the statues of living leaders; prohibiting something more--official photographs in administrative offices. This honor goes to this revolution, and I invite the leaders of the Chinese Peoples Republic to approve a similar law in their country. (applause) Here there are no statutes of anyone; there the only statues belong to those who have given their lives for the cause. Here there are no streets bearing the name of any of us--neither towns, factories, nor farms--and, nevertheless, not even the worse enemies--except perhaps these new enemies--are capable of denying the authority which the revolutionary leaders have over the people, the confidence which the people have in their revolutionary leaders, (applause) because the revolutionary leader is necessary as an instrument of the people, is necessary as an instrument of the revolution, but in the relation between people and leader, it cannot be a reflex action; it cannot be the result of a conditioned reflex, but a problem of conscience, a problem of ideas. There is no necessary factor; there is no need to see a statue on every corner nor the name of the leader in every town, everywhere, No! That would reveal a lack of confidence in the people on the part of the leaders. It would reveal a very poor opinion of the people and the masses, incapable of believing because of a problem of awareness or of having confidence because of a problem of awareness, to create awareness or confidence artificially, through reflex action. And as for links with the people, we can say that in no other revolutionary state in the world could there easily be the very close contact which the leaders of this revolution have with the people, (applause) the opposite of the case in other places, where contact with the people is not through contact with the leaders. And going back, to conclude (pause) this section, this section, to the idea I set forth, to the hope I expressed that all us men of this revolution, when in obedience to biological law we become unable to run this country, will know enough to leave our post to other men able to do it better. It is preferable to organize a council of elders, where they are listened to, but in no way allowed to carry out their whims when dotage has seized upon them. (applause) Somebody asked me, said to me: Why do you think that man does those things, considering the good things he has done in the past? And I said to him: Have you not read Engle's dialectics of nature? Engels says that with the passing of the years even the sun will be extinguished. What does it matter for the brilliance, the lucidity, the light of a mortal to be extinguished with the years? It is regrettable, it is sad, I repeat, that with all the problems faced by the peoples in these times, with all the enemies the peoples have, it should be necessary to spend energy and time on this distasteful chore, on these new problems that have arisen. However, perhaps this obeys the laws of dialectics, development through the struggle of adversaries. And this must serve to make us develop further our knowledge of the social and historic realities of the world. This should help us develop our revolutionary awareness and our training. Preserve us from the ridiculous belief that we know it all. Preserve us from the ridiculous belief that we are infallible. Our first duty is to know that we are fallible, that we can err once and again, rather than being able to say we know it all. We can say everything; that we are unaware of almost everything. That we should study; that we should meditate; that we should think and reason; and we shall enlarge our capacity for understanding. In the midst of all, in the midst of all this that could be done as encouragement, it is encouraging that a small country like ours, with a small population like ours, is in a position to express its own opinions by itself; with the world in a convulsive state today, in the midst of a history of humanity full of the satellite system, full of hegemonies, full of subjections, there is a people capable of thinking for themselves, capable of speaking to the world with the authority with which our people can speak to it, and this was shown in the Tricontinental Conference. (applause) And the delegates of all the countries, the delegates of all the countries are witnesses to it, of the immense confidence which the revolutionary organizations have in Cuba, of the confidence placed in Cuba, that is to say, in the Cuban revolution, as they supported Cuba for the site of the conference, and it must be said in this connection that something occurred of which we have not spoken. While the conference was taking place, China published hardly a word about the conference. Then when the conference ends, (as heard) they began to write and to transmit over NCNA numerous articles talking of the great Chinese victory at the Tricontinental Conference, taking for themselves all the merit, and presenting in a lying and false manner as a victory for them the results of the conference, when all who participated in this conference--and the Chinese delegates know this very well--know that the victory of the conference was a victory for the revolutionary movements, that it was not a victory of the powerful, that it was not a victory of the great, but of the little ones, because perhaps in no other instant, in no other international event, did the voice of the peoples' interests prevail. The voice of the interests of the revolutionary movement prevailed. Cuba cannot say that the victory of the conference is its victory. It is, in art, its victory. With the effort which made, with the organization which was attained, for the objective revolutionary line which it maintained, for the confidence which was put in our delegation by the representatives of the revolutionary movements. It was a victory in which it took an important part, but it can never say with presumption that it has been its own victory. It was a victory of the revolutionary movements. It was not a victory of the satellite system, but a victory of the independent spirit, a victory of one's own opinions, of the revolutionary movements, in which we fulfilled our duty without aspiring to any hegemony. We fulfilled our duty without proclaiming ourselves the revolutionary center of the world. They who proclaim themselves such, who feel the need for proclaiming themselves, such, a need perhaps all the greater the more insignificant they are, the farther they are from being it. The peoples are marching more and more toward liberation, against imperialism. To free themselves from imperialism, the peoples will not fall into new stupidities. The peoples cannot fall and will not fall under any form of tutelage in the future, because the world of tomorrow, the world of socialism, for which the peoples struggle today, cannot be like the world of today. The world of the strong and the weak, the world of the big and the small, the world of those who have vote and veto. No, in the world of tomorrow, as long as there are frontiers, the most absolute equality must prevail among the peoples. This principle must prevail above the power of any people, or the size of any people, and we know that we are struggling for this. The price is not important. The difficulties which the country suffers because of its stand not to bow before anything or anyone are not important, because these sacrifices consciously, these difficulties consciously are being faced by us for the world of tomorrow, for the right of peoples in the world of tomorrow to full independence, to the full freedom of opinions, and after the struggle against imperialism, since the struggle in today's world against the worst (?evil) today, is an honor for our fatherland--to struggle from today on against the evils of tomorrow. This explains that problem. This explains this dispute. We did not want to permit, we could not permit aggression in silence. No one can reproach us for having used excessive language. We limited ourselves to setting forth before the people the difficulties, without calling names. We did not feel obliged to use epithets. Later now, above aggressor, (there is--ed.) the campaign of defamation, but in the same measure in which an effort is made to slander the revolution, the confession will be made before the world that the reduction of trade, the reduction of exports to Cuba by more than 41 million (?pesos), the reduction of rice exports to almost half that of the previous year, was carried out for clearly political reasons, while with the greatest pharisaism of the world, the question was asked: why has Mr. Fidel Castro said this, at this time? Why does he not argue, trying to make the charge that very serious conflicts had arisen. Those in the world who were unaware of these conflicts posed the engenious question: pharisaical, why? Why did Mr. Fidel Castro declare this instead of talking? This is perhaps what they hope for, that while they were closing hands economically toward us, we would be forced to talk, to tolerate, and to have an idea of the magnitude of the economic aggression. It is enough to say that if the trade, if the import of the country were all reduced in like proportion, the situation of the revolution would have been extraordinarily hard. It is enough to say that the measures of economic aggression taken against us originated in the domestic market--an additional difficulty, and it was that purchases of Chinese goods increased extraordinarily, and stocks were practically exhausted, of cotton, thread, needles, a tremendous number of articles, as a result of the economic aggression, because of fear that the aggression would continue. That is, they created difficulties for us not only in the case of the product they reduced in quantity, but they also created difficulties for us in the case of other products. The government of China is well aware that because of the U.S. ban on exports to Cuba, many articles--not one, but an indefinite number of articles--are bought from the former country; it knew that for us any action of theirs involved a great economic risk, the risk of great difficulties. Perhaps because of that they believed we would have to accept it in silence, we would have to knuckle under. They could not fail to know that after their economic aggression, capitalist countries that trade with us would try to impose harder conditions on us, because capitalists are like wolves lying in wait; they know that our situation has become more difficult because of China's economic aggression, and they naturally try to reap their profit by establishing harder conditions for our country. And, naturally, we knew it too. Nevertheless, we believe we have done our duty, and we will go on doing it. We know that nothing can make our country knuckle under. We know that nothing can effect the spirit of our revolution. We know nothing can make a dent in our people's awareness and determination. We know that we are interpreting the profound sentiments of honor (applause) of our fellow citizens, the rebel spirit of our revolutionary people. We know that we are interpreting that. And it is too bad that there are so many mistaken people in the world. It is regrettable that there are so many who have underrated us, beginning with the Yankee imperialists. How mistaken were those who began the course of aggressions against our country, supposing that this revolution would topple because of a few economic measures, a few aggressions. Even years have gone by; we have fought resolutely, we have worked hard, and the revolution--whether our old and our new enemies like it--becomes stronger and stronger and ever more consolidated. The people are our allies. Someday the people will impose friendship with Cuba. Someday the North American people themselves will settle accounts with their imperialist rules. (applause) And someday the Chinese people--I am not going to say they will settle accounts with their present leaders. It would be to deny what those leaders have done for this people. As we previously said, it would be stupid to deny it, but someday the Chinese people will settle accounts in connection with the errors which their leaders are committing with regardo tus. They have tried to present to the Chinese people our charge as an act directed against the Chinese people, an anti-Chinese act. There is nothing more infamous, nothing more slanderous. We have done nothing against the Chinese people. We have not taken a single pound of sugar from the Chinese people. We have not taken a single grain of produce from the Chinese people. We have simply defended ourselves against a cowardly and unmentionable aggression. We do not have a single sentiment of unfriendliness toward that people, nor can we ever be animated by it. It is not important that so many million Chinese can be deceived; it is not important that so many million Chinese can be made to believe the worst things about Cuba; it is not important historically. No lie can be lasting. Historically, no lie can last for long, and we know that one day the truth will be known. We know that one day, regardless of the fact that today that country makes a god of Mao Tse-tung, one day there will be men capable of seeing objectively, and they will know how to distinguish errors from right actions. Today we wage this battle, and we shall wage as many battles as are necessary. (applause) We shall wait with confidence, because we know that above our defamers and detractors time will show that we are right. We know that one day the Chinese people will know the real history of this country, the struggle which is waged today and will be waged tomorrow, the pages which have been written up to now and which will be written tomorrow, because we are in the center of events. We are in the midst of a continent which is in the process of revolution, where the struggle is becoming increasingly sharper, where the imperialist hatred in increasingly aggressive, where the voice demanding aggression against Cuba increases day by day. We know that our people are called to write pages of heroism. We know that our people are called to receive and face risks with calmness and with worth dignity. They will know and act with absolute wholeness, and we know that it an be said that this people disappeared from the face of the earth before it an be said that this people haltered. (applause) How could anyone hide this truth from the coming generations? How could anyone hide this truth from the world of tomorrow? How could anyone deny this truth to posterity? Those who slander and criticize us are giving pledges to history, and they will collect, as a heavy burden and not with impunity, the slanders which they write today against us. On this 13 March it has been necessary to devote this time to making these statements, because we find ourselves on this date with various problems. I have talked of a part of our foreign problems. This problem, naturally, is not a domestic problem, because despite the millions of handbills that they have distributed here, they did not succeed in making even a fraction of a fraction. As proof that there is revolutionary awareness and soundness, extraordinary unity among our people, witness the unity that has been forged in the struggle against external and internal enemies. We have had a bitter experience these past few days. I am speaking of the events that led to the trial of the man who had been FEU president and a major in the revolutionary forces. The essential points of that problem were discussed amply at the trial. Our opinion of it was set forth in the letter to the revolutionary court. (applause) It is never pleasant to judge the same thing twice. It is never pleasant to have to talk about persons who have already been condemned, not just by the judges, but by public opinion. Hence, rather than analyzing that event in itself, and the persons who had a share in it, I want first of all to talk about how the enemy has tried to delude himself with respect to this matter and explain the causes of that tendency toward delusion on the part of our enemy. As an example, I have here two dispatches demonstrating how the enemy has tried to rid himself of the tremendous moral blow he received at the trial, the crushing blow to the illusions that had been nurtured about the plot, for which they had been able to obtain individuals like the ones who were tried and who, because of their record in the revolutionary struggle, had access everywhere; the illusions they harbored about the silencer and the telescopic sight, and a shot that they could kill the man talking to you now. First, from the technical angle, I want to explain to our enemies that it is not so easy to shoot accurately over a distance of 700 meters with a telescopic sight. Many things are necessary for that, such as knowing how to handle a sight, how to adjust one, knowing all the techniques of firing under the most varied circumstances. When it comes to sights, we have some experience, since our expeditionary army, our expeditionary force that was on the Granma, had some 60 telescopic sights. And we acquired great experience, so that our shooters could hit a plate at 800 meters. And they not only could hit a plate broadside; some sharpshooters could hit a plate placed sideways. (applause) And those gentlemen think it is so easy to mount a sight! Furthermore, to hit a man at 800 meters, a really good shot does not need the sight. But never mind; we are not going to charge the CIA anything for that information. We all know we are not troubled by their plans for murder. They have spent years on that, and every time they are more (?inept), because they want to make men responsible for revolutions. We are quite unconcerned because they may kill one after the other, every leader of the revolution, one after the other, and the revolution continues, and increasingly more so. (applause) Someone doubts this? (cries of "No") No one. Who would be capable of turning back the wheel of history? (cries of "No one") Who could be capable of turning back the revolutionary process? (cries of "No one") This is a truth that we all know, but apparently the enemy does not know this. It is logical. The enemy cannot understand the revolution. The imperialist enemy has used his best resources against this country, his most qualified brains, all the gold that he has in abundance, all the means of blockade, subversion, and aggression. With the hundreth part of what they have done against our revolution, they have overthrown governments in other countries, in some case, with the first shots, and in some cases without firing a shot. Here, they have failed. When the famous mercenary invasion was launched, before they knew what had happened, there were no organized mercenaries. During the invasion, they launched a series of reports: Matanzas is occupied; they advance to Havana; the militia has rebelled; the army has revolted. The shrill sound of cockroaches (laughter) dreaming about the lions. Formerly they scorned our militia and our army. Now they shriek and they intone chants because they see or believe that the shrieks of mice can influence the ears of lions. All miraculous and marvelous! A few hours after this one dies, the other is dead. No one alive. Down with the revolution. The victorious hosts of the CIA advance with a triumphal air to the capital republic. At that hour, a deluge of revolutionary lead was raining on the mercenaries, and those who advanced, victorious and burning with enthusiasm, were our battalions of combatants, composed of men like hom who tonight received, (applause) as a vanguard student, the order of Jose Antonio Echavarria. He is a symbol of the men who that day marched to fight, but only a part, really, a very small art, of our forces soulc enter into combat because there were not enough enemies for all of them. As imperialism has used all its weapons against Cuba and cannot, cannot succeed, they try to attribute their failures perhaps to the demoniacal attributions of an individual or some individuals. There is no such miracle, messrs. imperialists. There is no such magic, messrs, imperialists. Simply and clearly it is the case of a real revolution in our country, and it is impossible to destroy the real revolution. (applause) But what do they do when their plans are uncovered, the plans on which the pinned such high hopes? Then, stunned by the blow, they begin to concoct every type of lie. In this case it has occurred to them to concoct the most ridiculous of all. One of the various dispatches, this one from the UPI on 10 March says: Cuban students staged a demonstration at the University of Havana against their country's government, threatening Prime Minister Fidel Castro with death, according to statements made today by travelers coming from the island. The informants, who arrived on the airlift from Cuba, added that after the demonstration, which took place last Friday, the students tried to march on the Presidential Palace but were dispersed by police. None of the exiles who arrived today was a witness to the incident, but all those interviewed concurred in saying that there is no doubt that it took place. One of the Cubans gave a detailed account, based on information furnished him by a nephew who was at the university . . . I wonder if the nephew is here? (laughter) (Castro continued reading): . . . who was at the university, helped organize the march, and took part in it. There is no doubt of it. This was--the UPI is already accepting it joyfully as the truth--the first demonstration against the Castro regime of which news has been received since the middle of 1962 when the shortage of food led to disorders in Cardenas and other towns in the interior. The first reports of the student demonstration were received in this town last night. As the travelers indicated today, the students were protesting against the trial and possible execution of Maj. Rolando Cubela, former president of the University Student Federation, and six other defendants who were in a plot on Castro's life. But UPI is not alone. There may have been millions of people throughout the world who read this lie and are horrified: What a situation exists in Cuba! Here we have one from AFP. I believe that is FRANCE PRESSE. FRANCE PRESSE is supposed to be an independent agency. Since France's attitude is increasingly antagonistic toward the United States, one supposed that FRANCE PRESSE has its own opinion. But no. That is not the case. In this case, at least, there is no sign that FRANCE PRESSE has an opinion of its own, but rather, if APF means France Presse--is that right? Yes. If I am mistaken, I hope I will be forgiven. It says: After the trial of the persons involved in a plot on Prime Minister Fidel Castro's life, with a sentence of 25 years passed on the principal defendants, and capital punishment commuted for former Major Rolando Cubelo, observers are awaiting for next Sunday to get a clearer idea of the reasons for Castro's benevolence. Sunday, 13 March, marks one more anniversary of the students' attack on Batista's palace. On that date the Cuban Premier usually delivers a speech to the young people, addressed chiefly to the students, in praise of the bravery and spirit of sacrifice of the student action groups that made a daylight attack on the well-guarded palace of the dictator, and a radio station. That bloody day came near to being a victorious day. Almost all the assailants met their death there, with their president, Jose Antonio Echeverria in the fore. Fidel Castro is not accustomed to sidestepping problems. Well, that is something! But it is not absolutely certain that on this occasion he will decide to take up what has been called "student unrest." That is what FRANCE PRESSE says, that it is not certain that I will decide to take up what is now being called "student unrest in Cuba." It has been said that in Havana the Cubela trial has aroused the university, currently controlled by the Communist Party. Rumors spread that demonstrations had been foreseen in case Rolando Cubela were condemned to death. It was also said leaflets had been confiscated and the police were keeping a close watch on the university. In reality, the observers on the scene have not noticed any abnormality in the daily routine of life. They say this, but so-called student unrest is being talked about. With all this, Cubela kept a certain popularity, since he was the last president elected by the students, which is an enormous lie. Everyone knows elections were held, the current president being elected. He is national director of communist youth. (applause) Also elected was the comrade vice president of the FEU (applause). The fellow says that Cubela was the last spokesman of the frustrated nationalistic students, since with regard to the political ramifications, the presence of the CIA (?is indeed true) but is only in detail. What does this from FRANCE PRESSE mean--that these are only details? (?it was said) in order to understand better the student frustration, that there was no extreme left in the university until 1960. There only remains now, all of the leaders of the revolutionary group, Faure Chomon, presently minister of transportation. I do not know why Comrade Faure is mentioned, because he has absolutely nothing to do with this problem. With Cubela has disappeared the last anticonformist capable of attempting a coup of any size. (pause) His remorse and his self-criticism do not change the fundamental part of the problem. The grave things is the idea of the assassination. It has come from the very ranks of those who were the first to revolt against the tyranny. From that comes the vacillation and perplexity of Fidel Castro, who adopted a decision of clemency. What a coincidence! It is a great perplexity and a great vacillation--so great as that of 19 April, when after a matter of hours we put out of action a whole brigade of mercenaries. We recall that on that day the last prisoners that we took did not fire a single shot. Of course, in that situation, we (?had one armed squadron on one side) and another on the coastline route, and a group of mercenaries was on the beach (word indistinct). They did not fire because they were completely demoralized. But in reality (?I know) exactly the story of the history of Giron, because these gentlemen talk of perplexity and vacillation. They are incapable of understanding this revolution, and they are incapable of understanding the conduct of the revolutionaries. They are incapable of ever seeing that this revolution has been excessively rigorous; they are incapable of seeing the gesture of the revolution in regard to the invasion of the mercenaries after the victory; they are incapable of understanding that our revolution is accustomed to winning over its enemies, (applause) and that the victorious revolution has never lost is (?confidence) and its generosity. As I explained in my letter to the courts, whenever it has been necessary the revolution has applied punishment with rigor, and as I also explained, what is customarily called punishment is not, in the concept of revolutionary justice, a punishment although it is so called, but a means of defense of the revolution, that the counterrevolutionary crime is a transitory crime because it corresponds to an epoch and is the product of the class struggle, and with the socialist revolution the classes will disappear and with the classes, their political ideas, including their crimes. We do not see revolutionary sanctions as a punishment of men but as a means of defense of the revolution against the exploiting classes and the instruments of those classes. The revolution would have to be--supposed to be--full of hatred and resentment. And the revolution, naturally hates its enemies, the social system against which it is carried, and the exploiting classes and their ideas. But it is capable of understanding to what degree men are victims of that society in which they grew up. We would have no faith in the revolution, we would have no faith in the revolution, we would have no faith in human beings, we would have no faith in education were we not capable of understanding to what degree man is a production of his ear and the society in which he is born and brought up. And because we know that this type of man will not exist among the men of tomorrow, that the socialist society will not produce this kind of man or this kind of crime, because we demonstrate by every revolutionary action that we believe this, in the tremendous amount of attention the revolution has bestowed on education--that is, because we believe in that, and we believe in tomorrow's new type of citizen; because we believe in a classless society, because we believe in human beings capable of living in a communist way, we know that the revolution itself, the new system, and education will erase from society that kind of deed along with many other kinds of deeds. When we are severe in applying penalties, it is always with the concept that the penalty is a means of defending society, that the existence of revolutionary laws, revolutionary courts, and revolutionary penalties is necessary as an instrument for defending the new society which we want to create, the new system, as an instrument for the defense of the revolution. And in this case we have acted as we have always done, and we have taken into account the attitude of the defendants during the trial. They bluntly confessed their crime and with their own words condemned their deeds. Because the principal defendant, at a certain point, served the revolution, some might think: No; it is necessary to set an example, so nobody else will do the same thing. We think: No; the men of this revolution, their commanders, soldiers, their leading cadres, do not need that kind of example, (applause) and they do not need it because of the class of men they are and the revolutionary timber out of which they are made, because, simply, we have full and absolute confidence in them. Our country does not, in that sense, need anything to set an example. Cases like this are of themselves so deserving of repudiation and make such an impression on honorable men and draw such contempt that no penalty could have the moral effect that those acts themselves produce. And one must make no mistake. Our enemies are trying to take this as an example that the revolution cannot depend upon the loyalty of its men. Let us not be confused. Let us not be mistaken. As an exception to the rule, any man, as an individual, may commit the worst fault. However, so that our enemies do not harbor illusions, they must be informed that the revolution knows what men are discharging the essential functions here. In this case, the man responsible for (?one of these) acts was a person whose traits made it practically impossible for him to occupy any key post. Key functions in the heart of the revolution are discharged by certain men, not by virtue of friendship or favortism but on the basis of (one word indistinct) ability, revolutionary firmness, loyalty to the cause of their people, and human qualities. Without these qualifications, no man will ever occupy a key post in the revolution. That system is superior to any other system because the men of the revolution--the men who lead and defend it--are not occupying these posts because they are personal friends of mine or anyone else. Each of them is occupying his post by virtue of revolutionary policies, by virtue of revolutionary principles, not because he is anyone's friend, not because of personal ties. It is logical that bonds of friendship, affection and profound friendship develop among those holding revolutionary conflictions and a revolutionary ideology. Under such circumstances we will talk to any individual in any place. We, the revolutionaries, can talk with anyone face to face without fear of contamination. However, we revolutionaries will never be able to be friends of the counterrevolutionaries (applause). We can be merciful with one mercenary, with a thousand mercenaries, but we will never become friends of mercenaries. We revolutionaries hold many persons in high regard, but we would never share our affections with anyone outside the revolution. We would never share our affections with anyone who is lukewarm towards the revolution. We are friends, we are family, to all within the revolution, but we are nothing to those outside the revolution (applause). The imperialists have not hesitated with their detestable attempts to bribe, corrupt and even recruit close relatives as they have done with us, as they have done with my own family, to utilize them later as repugnant instruments for hire. But we revolutionaries see affection and human ties not out of instance but by virtue of awareness, (applause) and we believe that the most sacred ties that can be established among men are not due to purely animal instinct but purely human reason, a truly spiritual relationship, truly honest, truly moral. All true revolutionaries are our brothers, (applause) and we revolutionaries have a bigger family than anyone else. All the exploited are our brothers, all the oppressed are our brothers, anywhere they may be in this world. All true revolutionaries are our brothers, and for a revolutionary any revolutionary will give his life; for a revolutionary, any revolutionary will sacrifice anything. And we revolutionaries do feel the strength of ties of affection between human beings, the purest, the most spontaneous, the most sincere ones. Who were our brothers in the mountains? Who were our brothers in sacrifice? Who were our brothers in the culminating moments of the revolution? At the time of Giron? Brothers like this are our brothers. (applause) We are tied to those brothers by the bonds of the revolution, truly eternal, indestructible bonds. And anybody who destroys ties with the revolution destroys all ties with our affection, our friendship, and our esteem. Those ties are the ones that unite the men of the revolution, the revolutionary cadres, that unite the men who never fired at anybody out of paltry ambition, who never shot at anybody in search of honor or material advantage, because they who have been capable of taking up arms, fighting, waging war, killing, if they have not done so, if they do not do it against the exploiters, if they do not do it to establish justice in the world, then how could a revolutionary be distinguished from a common criminal? We have fought. The blood of many comrades has been spilled. The blood of many enemies was shed, too. But it was all for something. We found ourselves obliged to kill in order to put an end to crime, murder, exploitation. We were obliged to fight to free our country from that terror. If more than 100 combatants fell in fighting the mercenaries of Giron, if mercenaries died, if revolutionaries died in that battle, to reach any settlement with the enemy is to become the accomplice of those who killed out comrades. To reach any agreement with the enemy is to become the assassins of those who fought the mercenaries. How can men take this abysmal jump? Because between the enemies and us there is an abyss. All the sacrifices that have been made, all the comrades who have fallen, all the blood shed--and this was not in vain--this was done by the revolution and for the revolution. And therefore it is not possible for any link to exist between the revolutionary and the counterrevolutionary. He who has been a revolutionary and takes this jump is simply a traitor, and those who do so without having been revolutionaries explain why they do so because those who have not seem a comrade fall, riddled by enemy bullets, those who have never felt the sorrow of so many men riddled by bullets, of so many peasants assassinated, of so much mourning sowed, do not find it strange to enter into conversations with agents of the CIA, or with friends of the CIA, or with the CIA itself, because they cannot feel the vital distances which separate them from the enemy. And there are such. Why not? There are such because many did not know the sacrifices of the revolution. There are many who did not know the risks of the struggle against tyranny. There are many who never climbed a hill, there are many who never knew the anguish of the clandestine life. There are many who did not suffer that terror for different reasons--in some cases, because they were too young and among these people--among these people--this is explainable, that they talk with the enemy, that they converse with the enemy, that they make friends with the enemy, simply because they have not known the enemy. They have not felt the claws of the enemy. Therefore, in this revolution, as every revolution is the revolution of the oppressed, of the exploited, against the powerful, the rich, who monopolize not only the wealth but also the culture, many people found the opportunity to be promoted to posts which they would never have attained without the revolution. We all know that to be named consul, consul in the capitalist society, the individual has to spend many years waiting for the opportunity. Many have studied in the university, getting a graduate degree in diplomatic law, and almost never--very rarely--found the opportunity to even being named consul. And when they succeeded in being named consul, they defended it tooth and nail. With the revolution, they often named not only as consuls but even as ambassadors, individuals who had never even dreamed of such a thing, who had never dreamed of such an honor, advanced to positions suddenly, without any merit other than having a little knowledge. Thus how many little bourgeois were promoted to important posts in the foreign service, in foreign trade, posts more than well remunerated--people who have been unable to resists bribes, people who have been unable to resist the pressures of the enemy, who, like a real plague, falls on them, because to do this, the enemy has resources. Imperialism has more than sufficient millions to maintain this plague of rascals who in all the ports of the world, in all the cities of the capitalist world, await the Cuban merchant ships and besiege the diplomatic and commercial officials in our country. Naturally they are not in these posts--it must be said with all clarity and frankness without this being a generality, much less--but we must say with all frankness that many of these individuals who let themselves be recruited, who have way to bribery and pressure, never had the least idea of what sacrifice was, of what struggle was. The fact is that the best men of the revolution stayed in our armed forces or revolutionary forces. The best of our revolution stayed in the party. The best men of our revolution have been engaged in an infinite number of vitally important tasks. And for that reason our guerrilla combatants, who were humble workers, most of our peasants and revolutionary officers had to get down to study when the war was hardly over, and they have spent seven years studying. Seven years improving themselves in order to be able to carry out the new functions which the revolution required. In order to be able to command big combat units, none of these men could serve as an ambassador, or consul, or as an attache of any kind, or chief of a commercial office. And if they had been able, it would not have been correct to send them there because we needed them here in the country, at the head of a combat unit or at the head of party work, or at the head of an important section of the administration and of the economy. I am very far from proclaiming, let it be well understood, that only those who fought were good. No, because here the struggle began something more than 10 years ago, and there have been distinct stages--an insurrectional stage. But when this revolution triumphed, tens of thousands of men and women, hundreds of thousands of men and women joined the revolution since they were in the country working and struggling. They joined our military units and struggled against the mercenaries in Giron or they fought against the bandits in Escambray, or they fought in unselfish and anonymous work in a factory or a farm or some production or administrative front. Others have given unselfish service also outside the country. For who can deny the merit of that young man, who spent three years (applause) infiltrating a CIA organization; and like him, countless others, real anonymous heroes of the revolution whose names never appear in a newspaper nor can appear there. That is to say, the merit of tens of thousands, of hundreds of thousands of citizens has been taking shape throughout this trial. Alongside the men who fight, alongside the men who work, alongside the tens of thousands of workers from the city who go to cut cane for the entire sugar season, streams of people have marched without contributing anything, without making any sacrifice, without having any revolutionary awareness. Of course they do not represent our people. Anybody who reads that captain so-and-so abandoned such-and-such a ship, or this commercial attache or the other ambassador deserted, and who judges our people by that, would be making a tremendous mistake, because he would be judging our people by that weak, vacillating, cowardly, corrupt, conscienceless, unprincipled, characterless tribe that lets itself be bought for a few paltry pesos. There were individuals who took part in the revolutionary action, of whom one wonders: when they were carrying out a revolution, what idea of revolution did they have? Perhaps when they were placing a bomb or killing somebody they did so in order to have the opportunity to earn a few paltry pesos (?from) imperialism. Or they wanted to establish a lumpenocracy here in this country, that is, a government of the lumpen, or a government of corruption. Maybe they wanted the country to go on as before. No. It was necessary to found a republic of labor, a republic of honesty, a republic of decent men and women where governing did not mean being a rascal, a crook, for even the word "politics" was corrupted, shorn of prestige; the word "government" (?was) without prestige. Everybody saw the administrators as millionaires, thieves, the worst citizens in the country. And apparently there were some who, when they were initiated into the activities of the revolutionary struggle, were planning to replace the men who were in, take the place of the men who were in, live like the men who were in the government, and do the same or worse than the men who were in the government. And of course it has not bee done that way. And all honest men, all honest women, all really hard-working citizens, really serious citizens, saw with satisfaction that the country, the system that was being introduced, was radically different from the past. And our people have been developing a feeling for what is well done and what is badly done. Let nobody think the people are unaware. The people know very well those who have been working during these seven years, and they know very well those who have been playing around during these seven years. The people know very well who have been studying and improving themselves, and who have been flitting from party to party, from one drunken stupor to another. Naturally, on the other side they could not live as well as they have lived as useless parasites. How many are they? I can assure you that they are not more than 50, and that is exaggerating a lot. Those individuals of (two words in distance) feasts, vices, and parasitism, have been charging the revolution for seven years for what they did, and while many died while many have worked to death since the victory of the revolution, there are a few dozen persons who have spent their time charging the revolution the price for the little that they did. Some did more, some did less, some did nothing. To be sure, very few of them did more than the rest. We could name them all. But why? There is no reason to name them. In this case, as we said, what must be eliminated is not the sinner but the sin. Those elements, parasites of the revolution--with those elements, we are going to settle accounts, and we are settling accounts (applause). There used to be gentlemen here who went from restaurant to restaurant and under any pretext--a labor delegation for example, which would arrive from any place--they had 2 guests and 25 table companions. They would enter a restaurant and spend 1,000 pesos during an afternoon, and they would carry away bottles of this and that. It is really a crime that when in the streets even empty containers are collected for economy's sake, there are individuals who spend thousands of pesos on the dolce vita. Naturally, if the revolution had not been patient--and I believe this has been a virtue of our revolution, so that none can accuse it of abusing power, so no one is accused of monopolizing power, of power excesses--the easiest thing in the world would have been to settle accounts with some of these corrupt charlatans, a few dozen corrupt charlatans. In addition they were quite the dandies. I cannot judge them. It is true that I am a fire-eater. They were taking advantage of the revolution at a time when the dandies took another life, and the dandies were crushed by the people, who are the only brave ones (applause). (They would say--ed.): They cannot touch me because I did this or that. Imagine, imperialism threatening and its power, and here we had such mistaken individuals who though they had the right to do whatever they wished without anyone touching them because they were to be feared. If the revolution had settled accounts with those fakes, would there be even a citizen or two, or 10 or 100 who could have said at this date that the revolution abused its power and that an injustice was being committed against the unfortunate Tom, Dick, and Harry, who had not done anything, but were handled roughly and treated hard? Here we have the case of the one at the trial, who said (?there): I am being dealt with roughly. He had a telescopic sight in his house, a silencer, an arsenal, a plan, money, everything. "I am being treated roughly." Some people even became confused with that. "They are treating poor so-and-so too roughly." As a matter of fact, nobody has been treated rough here. Here, the most that has been done is to treat gently, if you will. Let them accused the revolution of having been too tolerant, and they will be right. If they accuse the revolution of having been tough with anybody, nobody will be right. In this case, for how many months had we known--I will not speak about the pact with Airtime, but many odd things, many strange things, and the matter of the murder attempt. We had patience for months on end, first, to conduct a careful investigation, to search out every bit of proof; for us all to run all those risks during all those months; and, so as not to have to use violence, to try even to give him a chance to make things right; while the Tricontinental Conference was going on, to talk for more than three hours with a person; to name a comrade minister to deal with that persons almost daily--in what art of the world has that been done? What government in the world has used such methods? Because in this world all methods but this one have often been used, even to running a man down with an automobile because he was becoming too troublesome. And this revolution, which does not deal anybody a blow or a slap, does not have to torture anybody, even has the patience to deal with persons who are intractable for months on end. Still, we are glad that this is the method used by the revolution. Nothing is easier than to use power, and nothing easier than to abuse power. Nothing is harder than to remain calm in power, be patient in power, be tolerant in power. The people all know the strength the revolution has. In the first place it has the tremendous strength of public support. It has a formidable army, magnificent combat units. It has security organizations who integrity, ability, quality, and men have been revealed to the public at this trial. (applause) It has a united party, a united leadership. Nothing easier than to crush 1, or 10, or 100, or 1,000 troublesome individuals. The revolution has never done that. The revolution has never exceeded itself by a hair in the use of power. And this produces a feeling of security in every revolutionary, the assurance that an injustice will never be committed against him, the assurance that nobody will ever abuse power to his detriment, because nothing is worth as much as men's security, men's peace of mind, and men's confidence, and that this power--which does not belong to me, or to 10, or to 20, or to the Central Committee, or the party, but belongs to the people, (applause) power which we have the duty of administering, for we are administrators of the people's power. We can say with satisfaction that this revolution has not been true to the law of Saturn, who devoured his own children; this revolution even struggles to avoid eating anybody that has been its child. Neither its children, nor its cousins, nor its most remote kin are devoured by this revolution. It strives to have any man amend his ways, to have any erring revolutionary make amends. It strives to have the revolutionaries overcome their shortcomings. It strives to have the revolutionaries improve themselves. It is patient, it is tolerant. It tries to help comrades, not destroy them, and that has created a great atmosphere of security in the heart of the revolution, and a great atmosphere of confidence. The people know that an excessive use of power has never occurred, and this has given the people a great feeling of security, a great feeling of confidence. And our problem with these individuals must be resolved, simply. There are a few dozen of them. Of these few dozen some will have to go to prison for common crimes, simply for embezzlement, improper use of funds. Others will have to enter military service; others will have to go to UMAP--military units to help production--and others will have to go to rehabilitation centers, in accordance with the provisions of the Social Defense Code (applause). This bitter experience--this painful experience--has been necessary. As I was saying, that is important is not to execute three or four while a few other persons continue with their sweet life and while conditions that make these sins possible prevail. We have several capitalist embassies here. Some of them like to invite officials of an evident corruptible nature to soirees, parties, dances, and, gentlemen, I am not preaching puritanical or godly ideas, but it is evident that there are some crafty individuals who understand certain human weaknesses, and have taken to organizing parties to which they invite certain officials. During some of these parties jokes are told, even counterrevolutionary jokes. In one case, a French official--not the ambassador, who aside from anything else tries to do a good job and has maintained a friendly attitude toward our country--during a recent party where a few officials and their wives were present, the French official told a few counterrevolutionary stories. During these feasts the telling of off-color stories (audience laughs), pornographic or obscene stories, or whatever they are called, is a common occurrence. And we know about it. Those who think that we do not know these things must be quite foolish. To tell you the truth, unfortunately we hear everything, even if we do not want to. There is always a decent, dignified man and there are always people who cooperate with the revolution. (applause), people no one would imagine. For example, no one knew that among the infiltration team that came to Cuba 17 times we had one man, and that we have captured all the arms they brought, the entire network and everything. No one knows how we know, but we know, and we know how we know. (audience laughs) That official would tell counterrevolutionary jokes. How can any individual--an official of our Foreign Ministry--while scores of thousands of workers are cutting cane from 0600 to 1800 hours, without light, without running water, without a bath, without television, without a refrigerator or an airconditioner, be so weak as to permit a capitalist official to tell counterrevolutionary jokes and dance and drink until three or four o'clock in the morning? No. that is not tolerable. That is what we meant in our letter. We must put an end to that bland attitude, those contacts with the bourgeois world, those contacts with the capitalist world, with evident corrupting intentions. The revolution of the workers and peasants has more meaning than that. This revolution is represented by such men as the comrade who today received the Jose Antonio Echevarria meda, not by the charlatans, not by those who like the sweet life, which is paid for by the sweat and toil of the workers. On the basis of that bitter example, let us win the battle without killing a mosquito, without the blood of a mosquito being shed, without shedding the blood of a mosquito. (applause). And when there is nothing to do but to shed the blood of many mosquitoes, or many worms, then let us shed that blood, because if in defense of the revolution we are willing to have blood of revolutionaries shed, we will not hesitate to spill the blood of our enemies when circumstances require it. (applause) What happens to the people who do those things? They discourage the workers, demoralize the workers. Not long ago a delegation of ours visited Spain on a trade mission, young men, with some of the weaknesses; they spent several months of the sweet life. There in Spain, several enterprises that like to sell, with the malice of capitalist worms, invited them to parties. And in the fumes of the parties and the good brandy and good Spanish drinks, groups of artists came too, to make things still more jolly; and among the artists were some beautiful girls, talented for tempting those weak, human officials of ours. In addition, every other facility was offered them for their amusement. This is improper for officials, who go over there in the name of the republic to buy and sell and who are under the obligation to defend with utmost zeal the republic's money, the currency belonging to our workers and peasants. (applause) That is a subtle form of bribery, a subtle form of corruption, because when the time for talks comes, with what spirit will these officials argue with the company that has shown them such delicate attentions and made their lives so sweet? It is proper for the men who represent our people abroad to behave that way? No. We are not going to execute such people. No. In other countries they have been shot. But in truth, we must not execute vice, because many responsibilities are mingled in it. All of us have a share of responsibility, all of us. To take cognizance of these vices and eradicate them is what should be done. Send some of these fops into obligatory military service, (applause) or send them to work in the fields, whoever they may be and whatever their names may be. (applause) Privileges in the heart of the revolution? (voices say "no") Feudal rights in the hearts of this revolution? (crowd noise) Family names in this revolution? (crowd: no) Well then, let us fight that, and we will have picked the soundest fruit of this bitter experience. We have a few gentlemen under arrest. Nothing is going to happen to them; nobody need have any fear. We are merely investigating a few irregularities, a bit of immorality, a few faults covered by the penal code. Corrupt officials in the heart of the revolution? No! We send these cases to a hospital to be cured; if it is a madman, to an insane asylum. But let them not be a hindrance. There is much to be done, there is much work. Dandies in the street? No! This is the atmosphere of the capital. Such vices exist in the capital. It is a large city and has the characteristics of a large city. These vices are not typical of provincial capitals; they are typical of our capital. What has encouraged them? The fact that they have gone unpunished to a degree and the record of those who have been genuine representatives of these vices. And the hour has arrived--as I said, without killing a single mosquito--to put an end to all this. We will put an end to them, without violence, of course. Naturally, in some cases we will question people. conduct investigations, and carry out certain inquiries. How will these gentlemen understand this? How will the imperialists understand this? They think that the results of strength of the revolution are a product of weakness. The offensive of the imperialists is in full swing in the world. They are doing whatever they please in many places, using all resources such as corruption, subversion, and division. However, all these resources have failed against our revolution. Why? As I was saying, because here we have carried out a true revolution. The imperialist enemy changes government, interrupts the revolutionary process in Indonesia, stages coups d'etat in various countries of Asia, Africa, and everywhere. However, here with the revolution which is closest to them, the country where they had more ideological influence, they have failed outright against the Cuban revolution. Why? In the first instance, because ours is a true revolution, a radical revolution, a profound revolution and we have the arty and a truly revolutionary armed forces, a revolutionary awareness among the people (applause), a revolutionary doctrine. Where no party, no revolutionary army, no revolutionary doctrine, no revolutionary people, no revolutionary leadership exists; in sum, where there is no revolution, things are easier for imperialism. Imperialism has prospered in all revolutionary processes where division and hesitation have prevailed, in short, where no revolution has taken place. But here, a true revolution has taken place, and here rests the basic difference. The counterrevolutionaries are encouraged with a little plot like this; they dream of uprisings and they harbor illusions about what happened here--in Indonesia and other countries. Yet these are nothing more than illusions and dreams with which they console themselves about their setbacks and their misfortunes. We have a revolutionary and armed people, because our army is our armed people, because our military forces have revolutionary awareness; we have a revolutionary party, a revolutionary officers corps, and revolutionary soldiers. All this was created, not apart from the people, but as a part of the process. All this was created on the basis of policies and principles and not on friendships or favoritism. Each unit is led by the most capable, most firm, most loyal, who are the most revolutionary, the most loyal. They are loyal to the revolution and not to any individual, not to man or group of men because our combat strength rests on the force of our armed peasants, of our armed workers, of our armed students. What do our enemies think our students are? What concept do they have of our students? Traditionally the students were revolutionary, even during other times when this university was attended by the sons of the bourgeoisie and when really revolutionary awareness--that is, as a state of mind--had its ups and downs, the university was always a rebel center, a center full of dignity and civic pride. On many occasions, our students walked down those stairs--with Jose Antonio Echevarria at the lead--to face police agents. On many occasions, the angered students took to the streets. All this gradually created an awareness among the student body. Their participation in the revolutionary struggle gradually created the moral basis, their basis for awareness, which later on evolved into the student body turning into one of the most solid bulwarks of the revolution. The revolution always has had the students at its base. That which existed at the end of the first year, has increased more and more each year. Because what is a student today? The composition of our student body has changed. More and more our university students come from a humble origin--from a peasant and worker origin. Who is a student in this country? Practically everyone is a student in this country today. Students are the almost million workers who are trying to reach the sixth grade. Students are the almost 100,000 youths studying under scholarships. This group constitutes the largest number of students under scholarships in any country of the world. Thousands and thousands of university students are studying under scholarships which are granted to them so they may devote all their time to studies. Students are the 16,500 workers and youths from the workers technological institutes, workers and youths who are not only students but also part of our combat units for the defense of the school city. Students are the 4,500 workers who are a part of the defense of our capital--but not only in our capital--4,500 workers are studying in the Camilo Cienfuegos School City and they form a combat division of the Eastern Army. (applause) Students are the pupils of the military centers of technological and university instruction, such as the Arvaro Reynoso and the Hermanos Gomez. In summary, many of our auxiliary arms are operated by students. Students are the 7,000 plus students who are taking teaching courses in Tope de Collante. Students are the thousands and thousands of persons who are beginning their studies in Las Minas del Frio. The country in sown with students; the country is sown with schools. Not all of them are students. Many of them discharge important functions. Thousands and thousands of our students work as teachers while thousands and thousands of our student youths are more than young students, they are complete personalities, that is developed personalities. They are personalities with impressive responsibility, fulfillers of duty, outstanding workers. It is a pleasure to see how a generation like this develops. So many of these youths have developed in the revolution. They are the fruits of our revolution. Student demonstrations? Yes, what a great student demonstration this one is tonight! (applause) Our students are not the students of the capitalist nations, victims of injustices, of aggressions with which they pay for their youthful patriotic ardor. No. Our students are a fundamental part of the fatherland. They are a part of the armed forces of the revolution. Our students are a big part, they are members of our revolutionary fighting units. From the university come the technicians which operate our bases of anti-air rockets. (applause) The university youth is one of the pillars just like all the student youths. One of the pillars of the revolution, one of the solid and unmovable pillars of the revolution. How ridiculous, how presumptious are our enemies. What liars. How can they spread their news throughout the world? How can they invent these lies? It is because it is very hard for them to face the truth. It is hard for them to reconcile themselves to this force based on the unity of the people, based on the ideology of the people, based on the revolutionary conscience of the people, directed by its party and defended by the whole nation. How different from what happens in other nations. The imperialists have wanted to change the so-called Chilean experience into an experience to rival Cuba. Eduardo Frei, Christian Democratic President of Chile, was presented to the Latin American nations--his party and his doctrine--as an example of what they called a bloodless revolution. What reports do we get from Chile? In the first place, when a few days ago an answer from the government of Cuba was produced (?along with) the statements of the representatives of 18 Latin American nations in the United Nations against the Tricontinental Conference, among which was Chile, at the same time there was a delegation of Chilean parliamentarians visiting Cuba. The delegation was in our country. We could not but clearly answer the letter presented by the representatives of those 18 nations to the Security Council of the United Nations. We did not feel obliged to keep our mouth shut. The delegation of Chilean parliamentarians was made of up parliamentarians from the traditional parties, the bourgeoisie parties, from the Christian Democratic party, and in addition, a deputy of the leftist party--which makes up part of the FRAP, that is, the Socialist Party. They did not come to Cuba as communists or anything of the sort, neither did they come to a nation of Christian Democrats. They were visiting our country knowing that their positions were different from our and to see and discuss Cuba. In this regard they were received with all attention and courtesy and we were ready at all times to discuss our ideas and our views and to listen to their views. While the delegation was here, our letter to U Thant was produced. Some of the members of that delegation of the Radical Party--the Liberal Party, I think, and a part of the Christian Democrats--were offended. They felt that we referred to them and returned to Chile because Cuba's delegation, according to them, wounded the dignity of Chile. The socialist delegates, of course, like a socialist delegation and two Christian Democrat deputies interpreted thins as they should be interpreted and decided to remain in Cuba. The invitation to come to Cuba, the visit to Cuba, did not involve any compromise on Cuba's part to remain quiet in the face of a letter relating to the Tricontinental Conference signed, among others, by the representative of the government of Chile. Two Christian Democrat deputies remained in the nation. Does this mean that they became communists? No. But they did not try to find a convenient excuse like the others to boast with pseudo-patriotism. Rather they elected to remain in the country until the end of their tour. In this situation, the Christian Democratic Party sent a wire ordering the two deputies to return. But at the same time another Christian Democrat deputy, Hurtado, sent a wire telling them not t return and supporting the decision of these two deputies to remain in Cuba. As a result of all this, a disciplinary court expelled Deputy Hurtado. It could be that they may have to expel a few more Christian Democratic deputies. I do not know what they will do with deputies Videla and Jaramillo, who were the ones who completed their tour. All this shows that within Christian Democracy in Chile in addition to old astute politicians who are reactionary bourgeoisie to the core there are young elements that in good faith believed in the possibilities of Christian Democracy, that in good faith believed in the possibility of carrying out reforms under existing conditions. The mere visit to Cuba was changed into an excuse for the reactionaries within that party to strengthen their positions and strike at what could be considered the left within the Christian Democracy. We have not been using this, we have not been fomenting division, in other words we have not taken any opportunist position. The events which took place happened independent from anybody's will. We talked with these deputies. We explained to them that in order to make a revolution it is necessary to face imperialism in the first place. To make a revolution even though not a socialist, but a democratic bourgeois revolution, a nationalist revolution, they must face imperialism. They must face the oligarchy. I told them besides, that I did not believe that in Chile's position a revolution of this kind could be made and that under Chile's condition, if a revolution was to be made, it would necessarily have to be a socialist revolution. Why? Because an underdeveloped and deeply indebted country like Chile, a country in which great masses of the population live in the worst conditions, must necessarily strike at the interests of imperialism--the oligarchy, the great industry, the export-import business, and the bank--if it wanted to bring something, give something to the peasant and labor masses of the country. Moreover, in order to wage a struggle against the ologarchy and imperialism, it was necessary to have the support of the labor and peasant masses and these masses would not support any bourgeois revolution because they were not disposed to collaborate with the interests of an exploiting class. I told them that I was not judging the nature of the Chilean revolution because it nationalized or did not nationalize the cooper industry, that the nationalization steps could be taken sooner or later, and that what defined a revolution was really a willingness to change the social structure for the benefit of the exploited classes. I told them that this could only be done to the detriment of the exploiting classes, that the policy they were pursuing in the matter of copper was not going to determine whether or not it was a revolution, because at times there are governments that nationalize a foreign enterprise but are not waging a revolution, and that the moment in which they nationalized or did not nationalize copper was not going to be the definite one but rather that the nature of that revolution would have to be judged by all its acts, all its policy in relation to each one of the classes, and whether they were willing or not to wage a revolution to the advantage of the workers, the peasants, and the exploited. They said that they were going to carry out a land reform and set a limit of 80 hectares. I told them that if you wage a revolution of 80 hectares, you will have to fight against the oligarchy and you will not be able to fight the oligarchy without the support of the peasants and workers. He recalled that our land reform set a minimum limit of more than 300 hectares and everybody knows the resistance that the landowners gave to our land reform, how they at once began to conspire. I also asked them if they indemnified landowners, what financial means would they have to help the peasants, what financial means would they use to bring technology to the fields? Finally, all these problems of a general nature define a revolution. These problems show that in the condition of our countries, it is not possible to wage an antioligarchic and anti-imperialist revolution without the support of the workers and the peasants and without that revolution turning towards socialism whether or not copper is nationalized, because the imperialists have many interests in any country of Latin America, because the nationalization of copper could be delayed or not, because after all when a country posses wealth such as copper or imperialism, to impose its conditions on imperialism, while a country like ours only had sugar. The ownership of copper give Chile certain advantages to impose it s conditions on imperialism. We do not have to say that if we were the Chileans, the first thing that we would have done would be to nationalize copper. But we mean to say that this would not have to be a dogma and that this would not necessarily decide if the revolution in Chile would take place or not. What is really taking place in Chile? Is it true that a revolution is taking place? Is the Chilean Government ready to face imperialism, the ologarchy, the big industrial, banking, and commercial bourgeoisie for the benefit of the workers, peasants and the small bourgeosie? No. The first great falsehood which these attempts run into is the belief in the possibility of reconciling the interests of the classes, to believe that a revolution can be waged or that a revolution can be talked about with a spirit of reconciliation of classes, to believe that the interests of imperialism can be reconciled with the interests of the nation, to believe that the interests of the oligarchy and the interests of the peasants can be reconciled, to believe that the interests of the big bourgeosie and the interests of the workers can be reconciled, and this is a very old idea. These problems have been discussed for more than a century. What has happened in reality? The workers are against the Christian Democratic Government. They are against the Christian Democratic government because they will never be ready to make sacrifices to benefit the bourgeosie, for the benefit of the rich. A government an ask the workers for sacrifices when it wages a revolution for the workers, when it changes the social structure for the benefit of the workers. But no government will ever be able to tell the workers that they make sacrifices for the benefit of the bourgeoisie, for the benefit of the rich. No government can tell the workers that they must not demand increases in salaries in order to develop the industry or private property of the capitalists, or the private property of the bourgeoisie. A revolutionary socialist government can only ask the workers for a sacrifice to develop an economy for the workers and the peasants--to develop a socialist economy. The Chilean Government has met tenacious resistance from the working miners of Chile. It has met tenacious resistance from the workers in general, because the government of Chile asks for a sacrifice from the workers to develop an economy to benefit the owning classes, for the benefit of industrial capital, of commercial capital, of banking capital, and for the benefit of the imperialist interests. As a result of this, there has been a constant clash between the Chilean workers and the Chilean Government. However, as Frei becomes deflated like a balloon, as Frei faces the social contradictions, he cannot think of anything else but to blame the Tricontinental Conference for his problems. And because of a strike by Chilean workers in one of the big copper mines he hurled the troops against the workers, killing 8 of them and wounding 55. When this happens, what does Frei do? According to AP, "President Eduardo Frei tonight charged before the nation that plans were hatched at the Havana Tricontinental Conference to create the trade union and political uneasiness that has convulsed Chile during the past few weeks." Speaking with dramatic force on radio and television a few hours after a mob--the workers and people are always a "mob" to the AP and UPI--composed composed of 1,000 persons had attacked the soldiers and carabineers at the large El Salvador copper mine belonging to the Anaconda Company and a shooting occurred that resulted in the death of at least six persons, Frei said: "At the recent Havana Conference, it was stated publicly that the guerrillas in Chile had a different character and that they would act by carrying out work stoppages, strikes, occupation of rural property and estates, collective mobilization, and revolutionary violence." To tell you the truth, I always thought that Frei is a representative of Chilean bourgeoisie, that his government is a bourgeois government. I have never believed that Frei would make any kind of revolution. You will remember that we spoke about this when the Christian Democrats won in Chile. However, I thought that Frei would try to set up a different style of bourgeois government. I believed that Frei was at least a man with bourgeois morals, that he was at least a man with Christian morals, and if not a revolutionary he still would have bourgeois government of a type that differed from the bourgeois and oligarchic governments in the rest of the continent, retaining some bourgeois morals. When I see Frei trying to justify his problems in Chile and trying to justify his massacre of the workers by resorting to the vulgar expedient of blaming the Tricontinental Conference for his problems, I feel very sorry for that man, I feel very sorry when I see the bourgeois Frei become a victim of his contradictions, a victim of the social conditions, and a victim of his bourgeois illusions--a man who has to have recourse to this, the expedient of blaming the Tricontinental Conference. Frei said that he was going to wage a bloodless revolution and what he is really doing in Chile is not carrying out a bloodless revolution but shedding blood without a revolution, (light applause) killing workers, slaughtering workers. They waged a big campaign against the execution wall; they waged a big campaign against the laws and sanctions that the revolutionaries are forced to carryout, to use against the class enemies. Yet, they massacre the workers, they deprive the workers of their lives on the basis of nonexistent laws; they murder the workers; they kill the workers; they eliminate the workers without previous existing laws and without trials. This fact, and even more so than the facts, this statement of Eduardo Frei, unmasks him from head to foot. It supports, it has supported the points of view that we discussed with the Christian Democratic deputies. Frei, in defense of the interests of the bourgeoisie and imperialism, began to kill workers. He began to massacre the workers. He began to turn the weight of the law, not of the law but of repression, against the workers. We did not believe that a revolution would be waged in Chile by peaceful means. But we did not believe either that armed struggle would be the order of the day in Chile. We believed that as long as there were some rights in a country, certain constitutional institutions, certain rights, that when all the means were not closed as they are in the majority of the nations of Latin America, the revolutionary armed struggle is not the order of the day. That is shy we did not believe, we have never believed that in the conditions of the last years, this guerrilla warfare could be considered as a logical tactic. We do believe that in Chile in the long run, the controversies of classes, the struggle of the people against imperialism, against the ologarchy and the bourgeoisie will sooner or later take the rath of the armed struggle. These deeds, the policy of murdering the workers--this and not the Tricontinental Conference--the policy of murdering workers in defense of the interests of imperialism, oligarchy and the bourgeoisie is what sooner or later will lead the Chilean workers to the conviction that in Chile, like many other countries of Latin America, the only way to win revolutionary power will be by the armed struggle. It is the deeds, not the Tricontinental Conference. The Tricontinental Conference points the path, the Tricontinental Conference lays down the thesis. But it is completely false, it is absolutely slanderous, to say that in the Tricontinental Conference a concrete, determined plan was organized or agreed upon on relation to Chile. This is a lie. This is a calamity. And let it be known that we do not care if we are accused of whatever they want to accuse us of. Let it be know that we do not care if they want to blame us. I make this statement in consideration of the historical truth. We know that imperialism blames Cuba. We know that the oligarchs blame Cuba. We know that they will blame Cuba more each time and we do not care. We do not have anything to be afraid of. We do not fear. We are ready now and we will be more ready each time that, as a result of all these accusations, they want to attack our nation. We cannot be deceived. We should not be dreamers. As the revolutionary struggle develops in Latin America as a result of imperialist exploitation and controversies, our country will run more and more risks of being attacked. But nothing could be more untruthful, more false, than this declaration of Frei. This unmasks Frei. This masks the oligarchy, the reactionary elements which control the Christian Democracy. This will serve to convince all those elements, all those well-meaning elements that at one time could possibly believe that in Chile the Christian Democracy, that is the Christian Democratic Party of Eduardo Frei could produce any type of revolution in Chile. Frei is a reactionary. Frei has shown with this deed that he is not an individual with will power or with a firm hand but a coward who abuses power and who hurts the troops against the soldiers (as received--presumably "workers"). Frei has proven to be a liar. Frei has proven to be a common politician who tries to justify his bloody acts by blaming the Tricontinental Conference. Frei is unmasking himself. Frei is showing the Chilean people and the world what kind of revolution he is going to wage, and what kind of government he is going to have--not a bloodless revolution but a policy of bloodshed without revolution. Bloodshed without revolution is Frei's policy, bloodshed without revolution is Frei's government, bloodshed without revolution is the policy of the Alliance for Progress. We, here, send our message of solidarity to the brave Chilean miners who are defending their rights with their blood (applause) and to have the brave Chilean miners who are being slaughtered by the Frei government (applause) and to the Chilean Labor Confederation--the fighting Chilean Labor Confederation. We who have not been promoting strikes, we who have not been carrying out concrete plans of subversion, rebellion, or anything else of the kind, do offer in exchange the aid of the Cuban people to the windows and children of the miners murdered at the El Salvador mine. (applause) When the imperialists fire on the workers--the imperialists and their followers--they sow mourning among the families and also sow misery and hunger because the bourgeois state has never given aid to the children of its victims and it never has given help to the widows of its victims. However, the workers are not alone in their battle. The children and the wives of the murdered workers are not alone. They have first of all the support and solidarity of the other Chilean workers and they have the support and solidarity with the striking workers--not a solidarity based on words but one based on facts, our solidarity with the victims. And, from here, on this 13 March, we send the victims and the organized workers of Chile this offer of solidarity of the Cuban people in the face of the massacre and crime committed in Chile. However, this is not the only country where these incidents occur. What a difference between them and Cuba! While the Chilean revolution--strong, firm, and invincible--can be capable of acting with (?confidence) and of not abusing the use of its power even in the case of very serious crimes and of treason as in the recent trial, what is the picture in Latin America? It is a massacre, and murder. A few weeks ago, a heroic former priest, a heroic priest, who was expelled from his post by the olagarchic reaction, by the very Catholic oligarchy, was killed while fighting for the liberation of his country: the Catholic Priest Camilo Torres. (applause). He was a man loved by the Colombian people, capable of awakening faith and capable of awakening enthusiasm in the Colombian masses. He was a man loyal to his nation who takes the weapons in his hands and dies at the hands of the antiguerrilla troops trained by the Pentagon. The cables from Santo Domingo almost daily carry news of murdered students and murdered workers. The cables from Venezuela bring us news of the communist leader, Lobera, murdered by the repressive forces and whose body, like the victims of Ventura in Havana, appeared on the edge of a lake in Venezuela. And they say, the government of Leoni, the cynical government of Leoni, simply that there were disagreements between the revolutionaries, that the victim disagreed with the revolutionaries and that as a result of this (does not complete sentence--ed.) They say even more, that the victim had been in Cuba, that he had revealed his viewpoint and that after this he had been killed by the revolutionaries. This is a typical thing with the gangsters. This is a typical thing with lackey governments--to murder the revolutionaries and on top of murdering them to defame them and after defaming them to blame the revolutionaries. We have news from Venezuela, from Guatemala during the last few days reporting that several communist leaders were arrested and shot. Massacres, shootings, murders, that is what is happening in all parts as a sequel to imperialist domination. Massacres in Chile, massacres in Santo Domingo, murders in Venezuela, murders in Guatemala, a priest killed in Colombia because he jointed the guerrillas, these deeds are like a barometer. These deeds are the index of the state of revolutionary fervor and conscience which is developed more and more in Latin America. Our country knows through experience that by massacring and killing the imperialists will not become stronger. By massacring and killing they became weaker in our country. By massacring and killing they became weaker in our country. By massacring and murdering they could not stop the victory of the revolution. The fact is that simultaneously Cuba was subjected to the most savage repression. The murder of revolutionaries in five nations--in Santo Domingo, Guatemala, Venezuela, Colombia, and Chile--shows the despair of the imperialists and their lackeys, the fear of the imperialists and their lackeys. It shows that as they feel more insecure, they become more aggressive, they become more ferocious and that they will make the nations of Latin America the victims of their aggressions. And our own nation is the one which they will not be able to forgive, the one they will not be able to forgive for having become the standard-bearer of the revolution, the one to carry through the first socialist revolution in this continent 90 miles from their shores (applause). They will never be able to forgive our people their revolutionary firmness, their fortitude, their unity, they capacity for resistance against all of their plans. That is why we should work in all fields, without rest or quarters, we should never forget that we should prepare ourselves. We should also never cease being on the alert. We should develop our defense more each day. We should develop more each day our combative capacity. This is something we should tell the youths, this is something we should tell the people, that we are on the threshold of an historic era in this continent. We are on the threshold of deep revolutionary crisis in this continent. The years are approaching when the peoples of Latin America will fight their last and glorious battle for their freedom against Yankee imperialism. As this happens, the hatred of imperialism for Cuba will increase. As this happens, the voices that will advise aggression against our country will be increasing. It is our duty, our obligation to be ready. The weaker they think we are, the more the imperialists will be encouraged to attack us. The stronger they think we are the more the imperialists will meditate before attacking us. We have a revolutionary people. We have had seven years in which to form our political cadres, our military cadres. We have formidable armaments. We have one of the best-armed armies in the world. We have sufficient arms to fight as long as necessary against any kind of aggression they may hurl against us. However, one must be blind not to see how the chatter of those who advise in invasion of Cuba, of those who advise an aggression of Cuba is increasing. We cannot remain deaf to this reality. We must get ready and always more ready so that if they attack us, if they want to destroy the work of our revolution, the work we are doing in our schools, the work we are doing in our fields and cities, the imperialists will have to pay very dearly for their aggression. We are completely sure of one thing, that is, that our people cannot be defeated in any way. (applause) Only by eliminating this country from the map of the world can they destroy the revolution. (light applause) We have magnificent arms to fight in fields and cities, and to wage any type of war--conventional or not. Let us learn to use those weapons. Let us learn how to get the most out of them in combat and we shall see that there is nothing capable of destroying the revolution--neither planes, nor tanks, nor marines, nor infantry. Let us get ready to wage any type of battle and every kind of battle against imperialism, as circumstances may dictate. The possibility of their attacking us will decrease in proportion to our preparation. If they attack us, it will be too bad for the imperialists because they will have to face in the long run not Cuba alone but also an entire continent. By the law of history, this continent will become free, not by the will of anyone in particular but because of the inexorable consequence of the historical process. This has been our lot to be here, a few miles from the imperialists. We belong to the first country that has waged a revolution and they will not forgive us for it. We have resisted, we have destroyed all their plans; they have not been able to penetrate our country. They have not been able to hurt us at all. They have failed and the imperialists will not forgive us for it. The more powerless they become, the more their hatred for us and the more their aggressive spirit against Cuba grows. We are in the circumstances when we approach the decisive years, the years when we must not fail to work for a single minute and make the greatest effort in developing our economy. We must get ready to resist the greatest dangers. At the present time we are engaged in our harvest. Our workers have been making a great effort. Yesterday they reached the second million tons of sugar. We must produce the third million this month or rather, at the beginning of next month, on 3 April, and the fourth million on 25 April, and the fifth million between 15 and and 20 May--and from 14 to 20 May all that is produced over the fifth million. Notwithstanding the fact that we have undergone the greatest drought of all time, it is incredible that we will scarcely register a drop in our cane sugar production. We will not attain last year's figure this year but, counter to what our enemies thought, we will have a good harvest, we will have a high sugar production figure. And this, if possible, is an even greater victory than last year because had it not been for the splendid work, the drought would have caused a disaster. You know how despite the drought, vegetable, fruit, and legume production increased considerably. Despite the drought, the sugar harvest will have a satisfactory volume, but in order to fulfill these goals it will be necessary to continue the effort being exerted; and effort in which the university students are doing their part by the thousands. This spring 100,000 youths will work on the farms for 42 days as part of their training program; (applause) in order to increase our agricultural production, in order to attain the biggest sugar harvest in our nation's history next year, in order to increase our agricultural production even more. We can say that next year, or this year, the coffee crop will be considerably previous (corrects himself) considerably "higher" than last year's and barring any interruption we think that no later than two years from now all coffee rationing will have ceased (Castro pauses a few seconds and an indistinct conversation ensues in the background--ed.) O.K., all coffee rationing will have ceased. This year the coffee crop has been one of the smallest. Last year the crop . . . (Castro does not complete sentence--ed.) The next harvest will be almost 50 percent higher, that is, coffee production. A total of 60,000 tons of fertilizer will be applied to the coffee plantations in our country's mountains. Hence this year we will attain nearly a million quintals of coffee of which 50,000 will be used to buy fertilizer and the rest will be available to the nation's consumers. The utilization of 60,000 tons of fertilizer this year will mean an even higher increase in next year's coffee crop and it is perfect feasible that by 1970 we will have attained 2 million quintals of coffee. There is enormous enthusiasm among the Oriente peasants. They have been feverishly cleaning, pruning, fertilizing, and caring for the coffee plants; they have been replanting and planting new seedlings. As was to be expected, the peasants have responded to the plan with indescribable enthusiasm and the results of these steps will not be long in coming. We have also been considering that in view of the hydraulic construction plan in effect in Oriente Province, for example, the Paso Malo dam, the Mate dam, and the other hydraulic works under construction in Oriente--among other things to prevent floods such as caused by Hurricane Flora--will allow us to irrigate thousands upon thousands of caballerias of land. The construction of a new cane mill has been planned for this area. But besides the new sugar central, in order to fulfill our sugar goals, we can irrigate thousands upon thousands of caballerias of land. We have assigned six engineers and we are going to assign 100 students from the soil institute to turn them into expert rice cultivation technicians. Therefore, when we have that dam water available we will be able to produce most of the rice we consume in our country on the basis of two crops a year and high yields. From now on we are going to prepare the technical personnel. We are going to assign 100 youths from the soil institutes and several engineers to develop the technology. To resolve this problem right now we would practically have to abandon our sugar plans, part of our sugar plans, but within 3 or 4 years we will also be able to resolve this problem with our own agricultural (resources--ed.) This is particularly (necessary--ed.) since we have noticed that the Chinese Embassy has requested a number of permits to take out trunks, to take out luggage, to take out packages, to take out automobiles, and we assume that their plan is to provoke a break with our country. It was demonstrated by the fact that after the warning we made at the end of the year with regard to the massive propaganda they were carrying out in the style of a Yankee embassy, the completely ignored this and they continued in a provocative manner to carry out their activities with the pretext that they simply felt like doing it. In other words, in my opinion they have been trying to create a problem; to provoke a break. It's superfluous to say that should such activities continue we will do to them what we did to the American Embassy--in other words, limit the number of Chinese officials here to equal the number of Cuban officials in Peking. (applause) However, we have noted by their actions that their policy is to provoke a termination of relations and we really have no assurances that they will not continue on the path of economic aggression. We have no assurances that after this year's experience; we have no assurances that we can count on what the CPR will send us this year when we see a government striking out recklessly on the path of economic aggression. We think anything is possible. They are capable of depriving themselves of our sugar, of depriving the Chinese people of our sugar so long as they commit aggression on our country. That is why we must prepare ourselves. It isn't that we think that rice is an essential staple, it's just a custom. We believe that in the future rice consumption ought to be regulated by market prices and that a large part of the rice we consume should be produced by us. We cannot do this now but we can propose to do so within the next four years. Anyway this will not always be our country's situation. The imperialist blockade will not be eternal. Some day the imperialists will be defeated by the people; their blockades will disappear; some day the Chinese blockade will also disappear and we will be able to trade our products for more rice if we want to. But we must also take into account that since the cost of products is not determined by their nutritional value but according to the work it costs to produce them we can import almost two tons of wheat for what it costs to import one ton of rice or wheat flour. It would be suitable to increase the consumption of flour products, of foods prepared on the basis of wheat. In this way, by trading our sugar for foodstuffs we could obtain more foodstuffs per ton of exported sugar without, however, quitting our rice consumption habit. We would say (renounce our rice consumption habit--ed.) if it was possible ever to resolve the problem, but we believe that with our technology, with our agriculture, in a span of no more than four years, without quitting our vegetable, fruit, and legume-production plans for our national consumption, we will also be able, without the employment of technology, with the hydraulic projects in the works, to have available in Oriente Province an extensive area which could be cultivated mechanically, which could be fertilized and fumigated by air; great tracts of land with two crops a year to resolve our rice needs, providing that a price-control regulation could reduce the consumption of rice and increases the consumption of wheat. Therefore, we will even resolve this problem too. At present we are suffering, as I was telling you, from the consequences of the Chinese policy. Cotton and other products have run out because of the fear caused to consumers. It has created problems for us. It is true that we receive a variety of products from the CPR. It is also true that rice was not the only product involved; Chinese exports of textiles were also affected to the tune of several million square meters, as well as other products. It is true that the suppression by the CPR of all trade with us would cause problems and difficulties and we ought to be willing to face them but this is not all. Does anyone believe that if the imperialists mount a total blockade against this country, block the arrival of even a single ship, the revolution would be crushed? (crowd shouts: no!) The people would be conquered? (crowd: no!) We must even be ready to face total blockade conditions; to resist it as long as necessary; to become if need be, an agricultural-livestock raising people for however many years it takes; to cultivate the land with teams of oxen; but to resist! (applause) When a people know they are capable of such resistance they feel secure. When a people know they are capable of this they feel worthy of independence; they feel worthy of aspiring to freedom as a people, no matter the size of their enemies; no matter the felonies of those who ought to have been their friends. They have the right to aspire; to hold their head high; to be free. A people not already to do so should not have the right to aspire to be a free people. We know that in such circumstances (a total blockade of Cuba--ed.) the people's valor would increase as in all difficult times; as in all decisive times. We are reminded of the October crisis. What valor! What firmness! What a calm decision by the people! We know the people rise to the occasion of difficulties. We know the people rise to the occasion of critical times. And we know that no matter how hard the trial we will not be defeated. That no blockade, no matter how large, could defeat us. That in such a case, the fuel (as heard) for tanks and artillery guns, and the savings in ammunition for our enemies and the solution of our problems will come from what we have available in our country. It is certain that under no circumstances will we starve to death. It is certain that under no circumstances can they defeat us. The nation will face the coming years calmly, valiantly, no matter the risk; no matter how difficult they are as a result of our enemies' action! We will resist firmly; we will resist victoriously! Just as the heroic people of Vietnam are resisting imperialist aggression! (applause) They are facing up to the criminal imperialist war and they are facing up to the modern air forces of the Yankees. They are fighting and dying every day. It should not be so. It should not be possible for a small socialist nation to be bombed with impunity by mass formations of imperialist aircraft. You know what our thinking is. You know that Vietnam should have become a cemetery for Yankee planes. That in a conventional fight, the forces of the socialist camp are absolutely superior to that of the imperialist camp in the correlation of forces. We believe that when the attack against Vietnam began, a halt should have been called to the schism within the socialist camp. We believe the position should have been: we have our differences, we have many things to discuss, but in the face of the fierce aggression against our brother Vietnamese people, let us call a halt; let us give them all the support of our antiaircraft weapons, of our air forces--the only argument which the peoples of the world can understand. In the face of this problem, in the face of the certain fact of the criminal and merciless attack by Yankee imperialism against the people of Vietnam, the position should have been: let us halt this verbal war and let us leave it for later, if you like, but when it comes to real war, to the bombing of our Vietnamese brothers, let us join forces and in a defensive war over the skies of Vietnam, defending the sovereignty of Vietnam, let us destroy all the Yankee planes. The socialist camp has sufficient mans to turn North Vietnam into a cemetery for Yankee planes! (applause) It is not necessary to perform an offensive act. It is not necessary to carry out any aggressive act. It is enough to give Vietnam all the conventional armament necessary for the antiaircraft struggle, all the aircraft necessary, and with all this technology, all the personnel necessary. The socialist camp possesses means to sweep the Yankee pirate aircraft from the skies of North Vietnam (applause). We admire the heroism of the Vietnamese people, how they confront the aggressor aircraft with their weapons, their rifles, their men and women. However, we can never be in agreement, and we will never understand why it is possible, there in southeast Asia, to carry out that type of barbarous warfare against a small country of the socialist camp such as Vietnam. And if the imperialist air offensive is defeated in North Vietnam, the people of South Vietnam will not be long in expelling the imperialist soldiers from their fatherland! The imperialist tactic is clear: the massive use of aircraft against North Vietnam, the massive use of troops and conventional fighting means and in addition inhuman means such as chemical warfare against the South Vietnamese movement. And that theory that if this generation does not win the succeeding one will is not understood by anyone. No, that is saying to fight in Vietnam to the last Vietnamese. In any case we believe that the correct thing would be to say: "Fight in any country of the socialist camp to the last socialist soldier." (applause) The imperialists attack Vietnam. I do not hide that they threaten to attack China. Now the truth is that the imperialists fear a clash with China. They know that the Chinese people can mobilize tens of millions of soldiers and they fear a clash with masses of Chinese troops. The imperialists fear conventional warfare with China and they fear an atomic war with the USSR. The case of the imperialists with Cuba is different. they know that we cannot mobilize millions of soldiers, that we do not have atomic weapons. That is why there is always some shameless person in the United States advising an invasion of Cuba. Nobody advises an invasion of China, nobody. Nobody advises the invasion of the USSR. All advise an invasion of Cuba. That is why, that is why (repeats for empahsis) I say that all the imperialists fear a class with China, they fear a clash with the USSR. They feint, they threaten, but basically what they want is to continue to bomb North Vietnam freely. We understand that regardless of which country is attacked, if Vietnam is attacked, if China is attacked, whatever our differences may be with the government and leaders of that country, our opinion is that in case of an aggression all the socialist camp must give China its support if it is attacked. (applause) That is our position of principles. The same thing goes if any European socialist country is attacked. The same if the Soviet Union is attacked. We believe that the true policy of principles is the policy of support of an attacked socialist country faced with imperialist aggressions and that the theory that if this generation does not win the war, the coming one will, is a defeatist theory. It is an inhuman theory and it is a cowardly theory. The Marxist-Lenninist, internationalist principle is to be prepared to fight, not to the last citizen of the attacked country, but to the last citizen of the socialist camp. We who are so far away here, and so alone, who do not have any borders with a socialist country, to show they will not be able to send anything across any border in case of an attack, who will be attacked if any great conflict in any country of the world takes place, do not facilitate in proclaiming that this is our position and that this is our policy of principles. And it is not that we want that everybody fight for us if we are attacked because we, if the time comes to defend this land, will not go around asking who is going to help us. We will not go around asking how many are going to fight with us. Even if we were to be left absolutely alone in that struggle, we will fight to the last breath, to the last drop of our blood! (applause) When we began this struggle we did not ask for anybody's permission. When we began this struggle we had nothing but our own forces! We have carried out our revolution at a decisive point in history. We have carried out our revolution at a point when internationalist sentiments and bonds among peoples have reached their highest levels. However, in spite of that, if we have to fight by ourselves, we will fight. When the time comes to defend the sovereignty of this country (applause, cheering), the soil of this country, the flag of this country, as on the first day when we began the struggle, we will not ask how many will fight with us, we will not count the number of our soldiers nor will we count the number of the enemy soldiers. We will only know that our duty is to fight, that our duty is to die if necessary to the last revolutionary! (continuous applause) And that comrade students, on a day like today, which is a day of homage to heroism, is what I wish to express here so that we can say on a day like today that we speak very sincerely and very seriously when we say: Fatherland or Death, We will Win! (shouting applause). CORRECTIONS TO CASTRO UNIVERSITY SPEECH In the article entitled "Castro University Speech Blasts CPR Betrayal" published in the 14 March DAILY REPORT, page HHHH 5, paragraph 5, line 1, beginning "for a . . ." should read: What does a party serve for if one man is worshiped and worshiped to such an extent that ... P*ge HHHH 6, paragraph 6, line 4, . . . could be done as encouragement . . . should read: could be discouraging . . . -END-