-DATE- 19711129 -YEAR- 1971 -DOCUMENT_TYPE- SPEECH -AUTHOR- F. CASTRO -HEADLINE- RALLY HELD AT SAN MIGUEL COMMUNE -PLACE- SANTIAGO, CHILE -SOURCE- PRENSA LATINA -REPORT_NBR- FBIS -REPORT_DATE- 19711130 -TEXT- San Miguel Speech Santiago Chile PRENSA LATINA in Spanish to PRENSA LATINA Havana 1612 GMT 29 Nov 71 C-- FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY [Text] Santiago, Chile, 29 Nov--Following is a test of a speech delivered by Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro at a rally held at San Miguel commune, Pedro Aguirre Department, on 28 November 1971: Officials and residents of the Pedro Aguirre Cerda Department and the three communes, especially the San Miguel commune, several days ago when we visited the Jose Marti monument we said that we would come a few days later to visit Che's monument along with the residents of this community. I thank you today for having honored me with this title of illustrious son of this commune. My purpose is to give you my impressions, recollections on the outstanding characteristics of the life and personality of Che. When we arrived here and placed flowers at the base of this monument many memories came to our minds. In the first place we remembered our comrade in arms and brother of the Cuban people and fighters. It is impressive to see here the man whom we had the privilege of knowing one day, of fighting at his side, turned into bronze. It is really the first time in our lives that we have seen the monument of someone whom we knew alive. Generally speaking statues are carved by sculptors in memory of men who distinguished themselves because of their feats in the field of battle for humanity and these statues symbolize persons who have lived many years ago--hundreds of years and some times thousand of years. It is a very special occasion that one can see the statute of persons known by one because generally history takes care of raising such monuments with the passing of time. However, in this case the proletarian and revolutionary commune of San Miguel erected a monument to Che 3 years after his death, a monument which this community unveiled in October 1970. We knew Che in 1955, an Argentine by birth, a Latin American in soul and heart, Che arrived from Guatemala. Many stories have been written about Che as is generally the case with all revolutionaries. They tried to depict him as conspirator, a subversive, a horrid character who dedicated his life to forging conspiracies and revolutions. Che, a young man, like many other students, graduated from his country's university--in this case he was a medical graduate--special curiosity and interest in the affairs of the continent, with a special interest in studying and gaining knowledge, with a special calling which attracted him to our countries. He began a trip through various countries. With nothing else but his degree at times he walked or traveled on a motorcycle from country to country. When we visited Chuquicamata we were shown a place where at one time, during his first trip outside his country, he had stopped one day. He had no money and was no tourist. He visited work centers, hospitals, and historic sites. He crossed the cordillera, took a boat or raft, and arrived at a leper hospital in the Amazonas. He worked there as a doctor for some time. He continued his pilgrimage. He arrived in Guatemala, if my memory does not fail me-- after travelling through Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia. He arrived in Guatemala when a progressive group headed by Jacobo Arbenz [words indistinct] was ruling the country and when survivors of the attack on the Moncada barracks, in 1953 had arrived. There they became friends to Che. If I remember correctly Che was doing medical work in this country. Interested in the process, a studious man, thirsty for knowledge, a restless soul, with a revolutionary spirit and vocation, with a good mind, Che had naturally read the books and theories of Karl Marx, Engels, and Lenin. Although he did not belong to any party, at that time Che was a Marxist in his thoughts. However, he lived through a bitter experience and while he was in this country the imperialist intervention against Guatemala occurred, an invasion led by the U.S. CIA. The CIA led the invasion against Guatemala from neighboring countries with weapons, aircraft, and all the equipment just as they tried to do in Giron later. However, on this occasion they attacked with planes at random, advanced, and ousted the revolutionary government. The Cubans and other Latin Americans there at the time supported the government. They were involved in practical projects--nothing to do with politics--but because of the situation were forced to leave the country. Then they went to Mexico. In 1955 the first fighters who had just been released from prison were also forced to leave Cuba. Raul was one of the first comrades to be harassed and persecuted and he went to Mexico. We arrived a few weeks later. Raul had already made contact with the other comrades who had not been in prison and had met Che. A few days after arriving in Mexico Che stopped at a place where a group of Cubans--I cannot remember how many were in the group--had stopped. There we met Che. Che was not Che. He was Ernesto Guevara. As it is an Argentine customer to call others Che, the Cubans began to call him Che, and thus he made this name famous, a symbol. It was there that we became acquainted. As Che tells it in one of his writings, he immediately joined the Cuban movement after a few hours of conversation. Considering his spirits when he left Guatemala--the bitter experience he had been through, the cowardly aggression against the country, the interruption of this process which had further awakened the people's hopes, with such a revolutionary commitment and spirit of struggle--one cannot speak of hours, but in a matter of minutes Che joined the small band of Cubans which was working to organize a new phrase in the struggle for our country. We spent a little over a year in Mexico, working under difficult conditions, with very limited resources, but this really made no difference; this was implicit in our struggle, like any struggle. Finally on 25 November, we headed for Cuba. Our movement had made a commitment despite the skeptics, those who doubted we would continue our struggle--the ones who were fighting against our evaluation of the situation which had no other solution. We had said that by 1956 we would be either free or martyrs. The statement, then, had the simple purpose of reaffirming to the Cuban nation our determination to fight and our conviction that the struggle would come very soon. It is true that many persons discussed it, but not from among our ranks, for they knew full well the implications of our commitment: to return to Cuba within an almost fixed span of time. So, too, it was that many people in our country had turned skeptical as a result of the talk, of the deceit of the traditional politicians, and the fact that those with vested interests were making great efforts in their political maneuvering in order to reach a political agreement with the Batista tyranny, and to destroy the faith of the people in the revolutionary struggle. So, under the circumstances, we were forced to make this commitment. Whether this was good or bad is not for us to argue here. It could be a topic for theoretical discussion. Men are not always closely guided by an agenda. Men contribute to future history, but future history also makes men. In other words, whether rightly or wrongly, we made the commitment and, rightly or wrongly, we decided to honor it. We were prepared for complications--and, in fact, some very serious complications did arise just as we were about to leave. So we had a small cache of arms well hidden. We used to say: If all of us cannot go, some of us will be able to go anyway. But as it was, we were all able to go--82 fighters--in a small craft called Granma, sail (? 195) miles, and land on the Cuban coast on 2 December 1956. In exactly 2 or 3 days, our country will be celebrating the 15th anniversary of that landing, which marked the emergence of our small army, which our armed forces celebrate nowadays as their founding day. Thus began our struggle. I do not intend to tell you the whole history or anything of the sort. I merely want you to visualize the moment in which we began our struggle. What was Che? He was our doctor. He was not an officer and, therefore, did not yet have a troop command. He was simply the doctor, but one day, because of his seriousness, intelligence, and character, he was placed in charge of a house in Mexico where there was a group of Cubans, and a small, unpleasant incident occurred there. Some of the Cubans who were staying there--the group consisted of 20 or 30, and there were only two or three, but that is all that is needed sometimes to create an unpleasant incident--where against Che's being put in charge because he was Argentine and not Cuban. We, of course, criticized the attitude which rejected human values and was unmindful of the fact that, despite his not having been born on our soil, he was willing to spill his blood for it. So I remember that we were very much hurt by this, and I think he, too, was hurt by it. Furthermore, he had no ambition to be a commander. He had no ambitions whatsoever, or cult of self. He was, instead, someone who withdrew into himself if anyone rejected him. When we left for our country, he went as the doctor and a member of the general staff. An interesting story is how Che became a soldier, how he stood out, and what his characteristics were. Here are some incidents: On 5 December, our small detachment, through a tactical error, was attacked by surprise and completely scattered. A few of the men were able to come together again after great difficulties, in the middle of the circle, and a rough chase. There were three groups: one with Raul; another that Che belonged to but was not commanding, since he was not yet a commander, and in which Comrade Almeida also participated; and another group. Some days later, we were able to start our struggle again. In our first clash, which took place on 17 January 1957, we had 17 men to begin with. At first we had only seven of the weapons we had brought with us. This was, so to speak, a baptism of fire for Che and for many of our comrades, that was on 5 December. The first small successful clash was on 17 November. In the second battle Che stood out for the first time; he began to show that he was Che. We were being pursued, and during the clash he performed a personal feat. In an almost individual struggle with an enemy soldier, in the midst of the general fighting, Che overcame the soldier, dragged him under the hale of bullets, and seized his weapon. On his own initiative, he carried out that courageous, outstanding, special act which earned him everyone's sympathy. Six or 7 days later as a result of treason at the end of January the same year, our small group which had reached some 30 men, out of which five or six peasants had requested permission to visit their families-- discipline was not solidly established in that small group--and had left their weapons with the group, was attacked during the early morning by a squadron of fighters and bombers. They attacked the exact location of the small group in a very serious bombing effort--at least that it what we thought at that time. We had some similar experiences before, but that was the worst one. I am saying this because at the time of the bombing, the combatants were trying to get away from the area being bombed by climbing a hill. At that time, we remembered the weapons of the five or six peasants visiting their families. We needed to pick up those weapons, so I asked for volunteers and immediately the first man said without hesitation: "I will go." Quickly, he approached the area being bombed with another comrade, pickup up the weapons, put them in a safe place, joined the rest of the group. Other experiences occurred. Che was still a medic; he had no command. But on 28 May the same year, something happened in our country. By then our column consisted of some 100 men, if I remember correctly, and a group of revolutionaries had landed north of the province. We, who remembered our landing experience and the difficult moments we had experienced, wanted to help that group with some action. As a result, we went to the coast where a company of infantry had its positions with bunkers and trenches. At dawn, the attack was very quickly organized on the basis of available information. When combat was to begin at dawn, a complicated situation arose because the information was not accurate; the positions were not located where we thought they were and the outlook became really complicated; however, it was impossible to forget about the plan. Around us, in a 1.5-km perimeter, there were small units, platoons and squads; they could not even withdraw. We simply had to attack. At that time, Che was on the general staff with us, he already had some responsibilities, but he had to get involved in two or three operations. It was necessary to ask Comrade Almeida's platoon to close in on a determined position in a very risky advance which cost a lot of casualties. But we also had to move to the west, and while we were analyzing what to do and how to organize that operation, Che immediately requested a group of men, an automatic rifle, to conduct the operation. At that time he was given an automatic rifle, and a group of men practically from the general staff. They quickly advanced toward that position. It was on a third occasion when a volunteer was needed when a difficult situation arose, that he volunteered and acted immediately. That fierce combat, during which practically 30 percent of both sides' forces were wounded or killed in 3 hours of combat after which the camp was occupied, inspired in him the desire to help those who had landed in the north--who incidentally, in spite of our efforts, were surrounded, captured, and murdered. As a result of that combat which lasted 3 hours, the camp was occupied and there were a good number of wounded men, ours and theirs. Che was the doctor who quickly assisted the wounded; ours and the wounded enemy soldiers. That was always our policy throughout the struggle. Logically, following that operation, a converging movement of forces, a persecution began. We had to overcome the problem of our numerous casualties because after assisting the wounded, we left them in the position so that when we withdrew they could be picked up by their units. Then Che, as a doctor, stayed with the wounded, taking care of them in a difficult situation, since there were numerous forces in the area trying to capture our column. The column advanced through rugged and difficult terrain; it escaped the siege, but Che stayed in the rear with the wounded and a very few men. He stayed with them several weeks until sometime later, with the wounded well, the small group of men joined the main column which had arrived at the area where the arms captured in that combat were stacked. Then, for the first time, a new column was organized and Che was appointed its commander; so Che was the second commander of our forces and he began to operate in a certain area with his column, not too far from where the first column was located. That is how Che became a soldier and was named the commander of a small column; he always had the same character, the same attitude so it can be said that we had to take care of him. What does that mean, taking care of him? His aggressiveness and boldness made him come up with daring operations, and when engagements took place during later phases when we had not fully developed, lacked forces and experience, he demonstrated a tenacious and persistent character with his small column where he operated. We can talk about his tenacious and daring character as a soldier: on some occasions he insisted in fighting the adversary for a position. He would fight for hours, even days. Let us say that in a certain manner, he acted contrary to the struggle's deepest ideals, risking his life in operations which only obeyed impulses from his character, tenacity, and spirit. That resistance to yield a position, even though his troops were numerically small and the advancing forces were large, and the position not worth defending, showed his character, his tenacity, his combative spirit. But logically, that is why we had to outline to him certain policies, certain rules. Now, what did he admire? What moved us? What exactly conveyed by one of the most characteristic elements of Che's soul and spirit? His morals, his altruism, his absolute unselfishness. He had met a group of Cubans; he understood their cause; and from the first moment he showed such unselfishness, such generosity, and from the first moment he showed an absolute willingness to die regardless of whether it was the first or second or third engagement. There we had a man born so many thousand kms from our land, the man whom once the Cubans looked down upon because he was ordering them and had not been born in Cuba. For that country and for that cause, he was at any time the first to volunteer for risk; the first to volunteer for danger. He had no personal ambitions; he could not be ambitious about anything. To fulfill his duty, give a quick answer, and provide an example without hesitation was what he believed a revolutionary should do. How far from his thoughts in those early days would have been the possibility of our having a ceremony such as this one today, and the fact we would visit his monument. Che did not fight for honors; Che did not fight for material things; Che did not fight for ambitions; Che never fought for glory. This man from the first instant, from the first combat was willing to give his life; he could have died as any other combatant. If he had died in the first battle, he would had left the memory of his person, his gestures, his characteristics and nothing more. The same would have occurred if he had died in the second, third, fourth or fifth engagements. He could have died in any of those battles, and many men did die in those battles. The only thing that passed through his mind were the concept of duty, the concept of sacrifice, the most absolute purity, the most complete unselfishness. It can be said that Che survived the Sierra Maestra struggle because he stuck to a principle; when men become outstanding leaders, we followed the policy of not exposing them to minor engagements; as followed the line of saving them for more important operations. One day, after the last offensive unleashed against us in March 1958 which began at the end of that month, when some 10,000 men advanced against our forces and we were able to gather at most 300 combatants; we had among them Che's column and other forces. After a struggle which lasted 70 consecutive days, our combatants, hardened and experienced--despite the disadvantage in men and weapons--were able to destroy the offensive, capture numerous weapons, and organize several columns. When the offensive began we had some 300 men; when it ended we had 805 armed men. Under these circumstances we organized two columns, one under Camilo's command and the other under Che's, equipped with the best available weapons. What was accomplished it what can truly be considered an epic? They left the Sierra Maestra, advanced to the west to Las Villas Province, [word indistinct] through some 50 kms of stark territory long deserted. The two columns of Camilo and Che, which left the Sierra Maestra around September, advancing, while many times fighting and being tenaciously pursued in unfavorable terrain, fulfilled their mission of reaching the center of the island. At the end of the December, when our forces had virtual control of Oriente Province, the island cut in half through the province of Santa Clara, Che carried out one of his heroic deeds and advanced upon the city of Santa Clara with 300 combatants, confronted an armored train located on the outskirts of the city, seized the area between the train and the main enemy force, derailed the train and captured all the weapons in the train--that is, he began the attack against the city of Santa Clara with 300 men. When the definitive crisis took place in the Batista regime on 1 January, and there was an attempt to block the Cuban revolution, orders were given to the columns of Che and Camilo to quickly advance to Havana. They carried out their missions. On 2 January, both columns were in the capital. That day victory was consolidated and marked the beginning of a long journey. The lives of everyone changed; many tasks arose and many combatants assumed administrative-type functions. Che, at the end of a few months, was appointed minister of industries and began work which lasted for years. We have spoken of Che as a combatant, but Che had many other qualities. In the first place he was a man of an extraordinary culture--one of the most intelligent men we have ever known, one of the most complex spirits, one of the most revolutionary characters. His soul extended throughout the world; his concern for other countries, for the movements in Africa, Asia. During that time the Algerians were struggling for their independence. In those days in their continents, the underdeveloped countries or the poor countries of the world were carrying out different movements. He saw the need to establish contact with those worlds. He visited numerous countries on different missions, looking for rapprochement, looking for trade exchange, and worked very hard to overcome the consequences of the economic blockade imposed against our country. When the Giron invasion took place, Che was commanding the Pinar del Rio Province forces. When the attacks took place in Giron, to the south and center of the island, we did not know which was the spearhead of the main assault. In general, the most experienced chiefs assumed command of certain military regions. Even though he was the industries minister, immediately after the mobilization he was sent to Pinar del Rio Province. Likewise, when the October 1962 crisis erupted, Che again assumed the command of that military region. So many times, under different circumstances, we were forced to confront serious dangers. He continued to be a combatant [words indistinct] deeply studious in the free time permitted by his intense work, be sacrificed sleep and rest to study. He not only worked many hours in the Ministry of Industry, but received visitors, wrote war stories and wrote about experiences in countries where he went to fulfill some mission. He told everything in a simple, interesting style. Many of the Cuban war episodes are preserved thanks to Che, thanks to the interest he had that our people share those experiences--written by their sons at a dedicated moment in his life. Che was the creator of voluntary work in Cuba. Che was a man who maintained close links with the ministry's work centers. He would visit them, talk to the workers, review problems, every Sunday Che would go to a work center. Sometimes he would go to the pier to load sacks along with the stevedores. At other times he would go to the mines and work with the miners. On other occasions he would go to the cane plantations or meet with construction workers. He never reserved a Sunday for himself. One must consider all these activities and his former feats from the viewpoint of his own health as he suffered from certain (?respiratory) problems which caused him to have acute asthmatic attacks. Even under these circumstances he waged a campaign. Under these circumstances, he worked day and night, wrote, travelled throughout the world, worked in the mines, the fields, went everywhere and never rested for a minute. When he was not working at the ministry he studied when he should have been sleeping or performed voluntary work. Che was a man who had infinite trust and faith in man. He was an example. He set the example of a man of great spirit of sacrifice, a truly Spartan character, able to deprive himself of anything. His policy was to set an example. We might say that his life was an example in every respect. He was a man of absolute moral integrity, of strong principles, a complete revolutionary who looked at the future, at the man of tomorrow, who looked at the humanity of the future--a man who reflected human values, the moral values of man and who, above anything else, practiced unselfishness, resignation and devotion. Nothing said here conveys the slightest exaggeration of the slightest defense, they simply empress how the man was that we knew. Here is his monument, here is his personality as the artist saw it. It is, however, impossible for monuments to convey a true idea of the man. Che left us his manuscripts, his stories, his speeches. We have the remembrance of Che from those who knew him. We have seen in many of our factories the pride with which the workers recall the day Che visited them, the place where Che undertook some voluntary task. Not too long ago in a large textile plant we visited, where the machinery was being repaired and we were accompanied by a distinguished foreign visitor, the workers led us to the shop where the looms are kept as relics and where Che undertook some voluntary work. The mines Che visited, the placed he talked with the workers and labored are so many other monuments to his memory which our workers preserve with much affection. Che did not live for history--that is to say, he did not live for glory. As a true revolutionary, as a dedicated revolutionary, he realized what that extraordinary man said, that great patriot whom you have also mentioned here, Jose Marti, when he said that all the world's glory could fit into a nutshell. Revolutionaries do not struggle for honor or glory, or to occupy places in history. Che holds and will hold a great place in history because he did not care about it, because he was ready to die in the first battle, because he was always totally unselfish and therefore converted his life into an epic. He converted his life-style into such an example that we tell our people, we have told them it was a belief, a principle. If we say what we want our children to be like, we say like Che. There is not a single Cuban family, a Cuban father, not a single Cuban child who does not have Che as an example for his life. We who knew him, we who had that tremendous privilege, we can state that if the world is searching for an example, this contemporary world, this new world, this world which is writing its current history, a new history of humanity--in this world seeking to build a humane society, a superior human society facing difficult problems, tough and harsh struggles--when one thinks of the conditions necessary for that, our people, our country has taken for that world that model, has set that model for its children. We believe that it will have an extraordinary value. What a tremendous thing it would be if we managed to translate that reality into future generations and that in the future we have generations like Che. From generations of men like Che, future societies will be built. From generations of men like Che the superior society will arise, communism will emerge. (applause) He left us that example. Lastly he left us for the future his quick intelligence, his Spartan nature, his heart of steel--but steel for enduring suffering and sacrifice. He also left us a noble soul, a simple soul, a generous one devoted to a cause, to fighting for others, to sacrificing himself for others--with his intelligence, his heart, his steady hand. He left us his diary, where he narrated the epic of the last days of his life with that clean succinct and laconic style that reflected toward the end of his life literary ethics of extraordinary value in every sense. That is why the world's youth see in Che a symbol, and like him, feel the cause of the Algerians, the Vietnamese, and like him feel the cause of Latin Americans. The name and personality of Che is viewed with tremendous respect, admiration and warmth in all continents. Che's name and personality are alive there in the core of the American society--in those battling for civil rights; fighters against the war of aggression, fighters for peace, in the souls of progressive man, in the souls of citizens fighting for any given cause. Even right there in the United States the figure and banner of Che wave. That is why his personality has taken on gigantic proportions and is what it is today. Nobody's imagination created it, nobody's fantasy created it, nobody's interest. Never has a flag been raised on a more solid base, never has a example risen on such firm ground. He himself created that Che, that personality, that symbol during his short but intense life, during his brief and creative life. He did not expect that; he did not seek that; but as a result of his life, of his unselfishness, his nobility, his altruism, he has been made into what he is today: A banner, a model, a fighter, a guide, a monument to the nobility and spirit of justice. This can be summarized in two words: Into the revolutionary model of the fighter and of the communist for all the peoples of the world. (applause) Thank you very much. -END-