-DATE-
19881129
-YEAR-
1988
-DOCUMENT_TYPE-
SPEECH
-AUTHOR-
F.CASTRO
-HEADLINE-
INAUGURATION OF ROLLING MILL
-PLACE-
LAS TUNAS
-SOURCE-
HAVANA TELEVISION
-REPORT_NBR-
FBIS
-REPORT_DATE-
19881206
-TEXT-
Mill Inauguration Speech

FL0112173788 Havana Television Cubana Network in Spanish 0213 GMT 29 Nov 88

[Speech by President Fidel Castro inaugurating 200T rolling mill in Las
Tunas on 28 November--recorded]

[Text] Comrade workers of the 30th Congress contingent, Comrade workers of
the first 200T rolling mill, residents of Las Tunas:

I thought we were going to have a small ceremony and I find myself here
with this impressive multitude to people, with tens of thousands of people.
Someone told me that they estimated 40,000 people were here but I think
[changes thought] Tuneros [residents of Las Tunas] can be seen as far as
the eye can see.  I don't know where so many Tuneros came from.  [laughter]
They cam from somewhere.  [applause]

I was reading today, I was reading a report today that the population, that
the population [repeats himself] had increased during the past few years.
I think that there are really few opportunities to participate in such an
important event.  I think that many things have contributed to this
project.

First of all, I should say that I'm impressed with the work done here, with
the efforts of our construction workers.  I think that a record has been
set here.  A true record has been set in several ways.

This construction project was not included in the 5-year plan.  How can
such a project emerge that was not included in the 5-year plan?
Fortunately, the mill was not included in the 5-year plan.  Many times
there are projects in the plans that do not come out ahead.

Was it a calculation error?  No, it wasn't.  We were constructing what is
know as the Antillana de Acero expansion.  The Antillana de Acero is a
steelworks plant in Havana.  It used to be a small shop and now it
produces around 450,000 tons of steel.  That's the way it is now.  The
plant administrator is here.

Where does the steel come from for construction?  All the reinforcement
rods [cabillas], not just the reinforcement rods, but also wires used in
construction--at least the vast majority of these because there are some
specifications, some specific material that has to be brought in from
somewhere--and the steel used to build schools, houses, factories, bridges,
dams, dairies, and so forth primarily comes from Antillana de Acero.  This
was the first plant built.  It was later expanded.  We were building the
third expansion.  It's the third expansion of the Antillana de Acero plant
and it's purpose is to produce 650,000 tons of steel.  The more than
400,000 tons of steel are rolled out in Antillana de Acero or in a rolling
mill similar to this one, which is the first one built in Cuba with
equipment made in our own country.

All the calculations were well done but the furnaces that forge the steel,
the part of the plant that forges steel, was further ahead in its
construction than the part that would roll those additional 200,000 tons of
steel that were going to be produced by the third expansion.

Besides this, the rolling mill that is under construction is not being
built to produce reinforcement rods.  It's purpose is to manufacture
different types of steel primarily for the mechanical industry.

We do not use all of the reinforcement rods manufactured in this country.
Part of the rods and other steels used in construction are exported for
convertible currency.  In starting or strengthening construction in our
country--including several social projects, such as homes, circles,
schools--we found that we had to decrease exports so that we could use more
steel ourselves.  In expanding it, in expanding the Antillana de Acero
plant, we could manufacture steel but we didn't have a tolling mill.  The
rolling mill would take another 1 and 1/2 years to complete.  It is a more
complex rolling mill.  This was one of the problems.

The other problem was that once the Antillana de Acero plant was
constructed, or expanded, we found that with a relatively small
technological investment, we could get a very modern electric furnace.
Instead of producing 200,000 tons, we could then produce 450,000 tons of
steel.  This was obvious.  First we would finish the production of levers
[palanquillas] and the forging of steel at the rolling mill that is under
construction in Havana.  As a result of the capabilities of that expansion,
we would be able to produce 200,000 tons of steel.  However, with a
relatively small investment, we could produce more than double this amount.
We then found that we had no place to roll the steel.

It is true that we might have been able to export levers that are less
expensive than the levers we now produce.  It's also true that we need more
reinforcement rods.  It was during a meeting of Havana enterprises, a
meeting of enterprise leaders, the PCC, trade unions, youths [words
indistinct].  We all became aware that we would have steel but no rolling
mills.  The decision was made then to construct this plant.

Why was this decision made?  It was made because we had already constructed
one.  Our mechanical industry had already manufactured its first rolling
mill which was assembled in the capital.  We already had the experience.
We already knew that our own industries could manufacture the machines for
this rolling mill.  We would have to buy a few components, a few motors,
electrical materials, etcetera.  We would have to spend about $1.5 million,
which later turned out to be $1.7 million.  If we had $1.7 million
available, we would be able to buy components and build the rolling mill.

At that time, however, the location for the construction of this project
hadn't yet been decided.  The plans had not yet been drafted.  There wasn't
a single piece of equipment available.  It was immediately decided to build
the plant in Las Tunas because we knew that there was a good work force, a
good work spirit here.  We knew that they had constructed their bottle
factory and that it was doing well even though it's a complex industry and
that many times... [interrupted by applause] Many times the factor did not
have all the resources it needed to import parts for the maintenance of the
plant.  It's the largest bottle-producing plant in the country.  We knew
that they were able to construct the Pacto Cabrera factory to manufacture
structures, to manufacture [word indistinct].

We followed the policy of setting up as many factories in the eastern
provinces as possible, as many new factories as possible.  This is one of
our principles.  It is one of our policies since this is the region that
has grown the most, as far as the population is concerned.  For some
reason, people have multiplied more quickly in the east that in other
provinces.  [laughter] Many eastern residents went to other provinces; many
of them went to the capital, not just at the beginning of the revolution,
but also during these past few years.  Despite all this, the population's
growth rate in the eastern provinces has been greater.

I repeat, it's been our strict policy for years to construct as many new
resources as we can build in the eastern provinces, including Las Tunas.

We weren't just going to build a single rolling mill.  We were going to
build the three mills we needed to process an important part of the 450,000
additional tons of steel that the Antillana de Acero expansion will
produce.  As I said, we not only increased the production of the expansion
from 200,000 to 450,000; we also did something similar in the old Antillana
de Acero plant.

Some investments were made to purchase furnaces.  We made some
technological adjustments that will allow us to produce an additional
100,000 tons of steel.  With these adjustments, we will produce 550,000
more tons of steel.  That's double the amount we now produce.  We will
produce twice the amount of steel we now manufacture, 450,000 tons.  We
will have steel for the rolling mill that is being built in the capital.
We will be able to produce the type of steel that the mechanical industry
needs and we will have steel for the three rolling mills under construction
in Las Tunas.  Do you understand?

We'll forge the steel there and transfer it by train--the most economic
means of transportation--and the reinforcement rods will be produced here.
These will be used for construction projects in the eastern provinces.  We
will no longer have to haul carts loaded with reinforcement rods from the
capital to Las Tunas, Holguin, Granma, Santiago de Cuba, and Guantanamo.

Not only will we supply the eastern provinces with what is produced at
these three rolling mills, but we will also export part of what is
manufactured there.  They will also help increase the country's convertible
income.  We will produce steel for our own growing construction needs, for
our ambitious socio-economic development plans, and we will also export
part of that production.

When this decision was made 17 months ago, the location and the plans did
not yet exist.  In 17 months, the plant was located here in this industrial
area in Las Tunas.  The plans were drafted.  Components were brought in, as
the director of the contingent said here.  Most of the equipment was
manufactured in the Santa Clara mechanical plant, which was also
constructed by the revolution.  In addition, all civil projects were
constructed, the equipment was assembled, and the plant was ready in only
17 months.  That's a total of 17 months.

Only 14 months have passed since the construction workers arrived here.
Never in the history of our country... [interrupted by applause] Never in
the history of the revolution have we constructed an industrial plant of
this nature in 14 months.  Never has this been done so quickly.  Never has
such an idea so quickly emerged and become a project and never has a
project so quickly turned into actions like on this occasion.

We visited the installation a short time ago.  We observed everything from
the offices, which are very small.  What a victory, what a great victory
this is and the small offices are a great concept.  The accommodations are
large for the workers who come here to help, for the technicians.  A group
of outstanding, experienced workers from Antillana de Acero are now staying
there.  They're retired and they've come here as instructors.  The
accommodations are good.  The dining area is excellent.  The rest of the
installations, the warehouses or the installations storing certain
equipment, and, last of all, the furnace, have made this a rolling mill
train [words indistinct] are wide and well constructed.  They don't get
wet.  They are extensive and they now have been completed.  They produced
the first reinforcement rod yesterday during a test run.

This was not the only thing done.  This idea was carried out in 17 months
and the plant was constructed in 14 months.  The staff was also trained
during this time.  The youths from Las Tunas went to Antillana de Acero to
learn how to manage a plant of this nature.  Now you can see a group of
youths in their work uniforms.  Each one is at his work post, ready to run
the plant.

When something like this is seen, it is truly an incentive.  This isn't
all.  Over to the side they're building rolling mill No 2.  They have set
up the foundation.  They're loading the ships with the structures that are
made right here in Las Tunas at the other plant.  This isn't all.

Before we came here, we went to another site not far from here where
construction has begun on rolling mill No 4.  You may ask:  What do you
mean rolling mill No 4?  Didn't you say there were three mills?

Yes, there will be three rolling mills to manufacture reinforcement rods
and we'll build the three plants.  However, there is a fourth rolling mill
that will not work [words indistinct] that comes from the capital.  It will
be a rolling mill for special steel that will be manufactured in furnaces
in that same plant.  The plant will not only have a rolling mill, it will
have the furnaces to manufacture special steel.  We may have to bring in
the raw material but [words indistinct].  Antillana de Acero will produce
the steel that will be rolled up to certain specifications.  We will roll
steel at a certain stage and it's possible that in the future there may be
an additional phase to take those special steels to [words indistinct].  No
other plant is being constructed that is as important as this one.

A few days ago I talked with Comrade Paquito, first secretary of the PCC in
Las Tunas Province.  I asked him about this construction project and
others.  I asked him what resources he would use to move the earth for the
pork plan project [plan porcino].  If we moved the contingent here from
Covarrubias when they finished their road or sent the workers from Nanati
to Santa Lucia to finish building the northern circuit and save who knows
how much fuel and vehicles... [interrupted by applause] We would not have
to go out of our way in bringing materials in from Nuevitas, including
cement, fertilizers, or other products.  We analyzed this and decided to
transfer the workers to Manati after they finish the Covarrubias road.
They will reinforce a group of construction workers who are working on the
pork plan project.  We would reinforce this contingent which is not only
involved in the construction of rolling mill No 2, but also in the
construction of the famous rolling mill No 4.

Some equipment was designated for this project on the 14th of this month.
When we passed through there, I had the satisfaction of seeing the
equipment in operation.  I was truly surprised by how fast they worked.
The workers are being very productive with the equipment.  They're making
some enormous excavations because the cement has to be very solid so that
the rolling mill and the furnaces will have a few meters on each side of
those excavations.  They have to be deep.  In a matter of hours those
machines... [does not finish sentence]

They have two machines, two new excavators, a 4124 and I think the other
one is a 3322.  One is one-half a meter in size and the other is 1 meter.
I was very impressed there with the speed of this equipment.  You have to
see the number of excavations they've dug, the amount of earth they've
moved with the equipment they have and with the additional trucks and a
loader they received.  I've never seen such work done so fast.  I've never
seen such great organization as I saw there at that project.

That project is very large.  They say they plan to finish it by December
1990 in tribute to the Fourth PCC Congress.  I also saw some very
interesting things there.  They're using sheet steel [laminado de acero]
in place of wood for the formwork [encofrado] of the foundations.  One of
the things that affects us very much is the scarcity of lumber.  We need
lumber for construction, furniture, containers, and other uses.  We need it
for large construction projects.

In eastern Siberia, there is a growing Cuban contingent that is producing
lumber for our country.  We receive more than half-a-million cubic meters
of lumber from the USSR and this is insufficient so we have reached an
agreement with the USSR to cut lumber there and process it.  Some of it is
given to the Soviets while we get the rest.  All of this takes time,
however.  It's very cold there and it takes a while to do.  That's why we
have to be frugal with the lumber.  We have to know how to save because
lumber can be used for two, three, four, or five formworks, depending on
how it's used, depending on how its treated.

I recently saw at the Havana exhibit how by adding some light sheet steel
to it, lumber can be used up to 15 and 20 times [as heard].  What a
difference steel makes.  The engineer told me this and this is how it's
also been explained by other technicians.  If the rolled metal is not
treated well; if it's treated very badly, to make the formwork from sheet
steel, it can take up to--for 100 formworks--if we try to regulate it, it
can take up to 200 and if it's treated well, it can last up to more than
300.  [sentence as heard] The rolled metal can last up to 300 times.

We have no other alternative.  Because we don't have the resources to
import lumber with convertible currency, we have to save as much lumber as
we can in construction.  We also have a program to acquire a certain amount
of steel to use in construction.  We've seen what we should do right here
in Las Tunas, in one of those foundries.  We saw how they're using sheet
steel.

These are new technologies.  These are important advancements.  Because of
this, in this industrial area of Las Tunas, which is completely new, a very
important iron and steel industry will certainly develop here.

Why are we seeing these miracles?  It's because there are new concepts, new
ideas on how construction projects should be organized, how the workers
should be organized, what the main principles are to achieve this
production.  You saw here how production on this plant, based on weight,
has cost 62 centavos.  Previously, we did not know how much was spent on a
project.  The budget was confused with the costs.  The value of the project
was confused with the costs.  Now we religiously keep track of costs.  We
keep track of every centavo that is used for fuel, materials, equipment,
for everything.  We know exactly what it has cost us, not what its value
is.  This provides us with great economic efficiency.  This was not
previously known in any construction project.  Many times, instead of
costing 70, 60, 65 centavos, according to weight, it cost 1.10, 1.20, 1.30
pesos.  It's not really known how much the projects cost.

These new concepts are truly revolutionizing construction projects in our
country.  These ideas began with the creation of the Blas Roca contingent
in Havana.  It later continued with other collectives that have
demonstrated great feats.  The Blas Roca contingent began with one brigade.
It now has 11 brigades.  The Miguel Henriquez contingent was created with
workers from throughout the country.  The Purio contingent was created to
construct a large mill with a capacity of 1.2 million tons, or cubic
meters, of rock and sand.  Other contingents have been established.

The Covarrubias contingent was also formed.  It's incredible.  They had to
finish 20 km of road and they'll do it.  They considered it a great feat to
be able to finish it in 1 hear and they're going to do it in 10 months.
Those Tuneros will finish it in 10 months applying the principle of the
contingent.  [applause]

They have 20 trucks.  The 20 trucks are being actively used.  There is a
great work spirit.  They have practically devoured that road.  This opens a
new area of richness for the province because it goes to a few isolated
beaches that are of very good quality which can also become a source of
important income for the country.  As soon as they finish here... [does not
finish sentence] They still have to finish part of the road.  I was
speaking to Paquito.  I told him we have the road.  We have everything we
need to conduct all the studies, to set up the main plan, everything.  We
already have access.  We have a magnificent embankment [terraplen].

I suggested that it was not necessary to completely finish it right away.
Instead, we could cover it with a layer of inverted penetration
[penetracion invertida] to protect the area since it won't be used right
away.  It will be used later in the projects and in construction.  The
asphalt will be used in the work that is being done from Puerto Padre to
Manati.  We'll use it later.  The embankment will be well protected until
it is consolidated and we'll use it when we need it the most.  In our
opinion, it is currently more important to use the asphalt in Manati, to
construct that section of the road and asphalt it.  At a certain point,
when that road will be used more, then we'll asphalt it.  Right now well
protect it with a light covering and we'll consolidate it.  This should
help with any traffic that may pass through there.  I think this will allow
the brigade to finish earlier than it had planned and the brigade can then
concentrate on the section of road from Manati to Santa Lucia.

There are now around 13,000 workers applying these concepts, these
principles of multi-assignment, collective discipline, the discipline that
the collective itself sets.  They are true examples.  There is no
absenteeism in these contingents.  There is much more productivity in these
contingents.  These contingents produce with better quality and with much
lower costs.  Equipment is used better.  Previously, if a truck broke down,
the driver would go home.  He was an idle worker with 70 percent.
[sentence as heard] That was crazy.  That encouraged workers not to take
care of equipment.  There are no idle workers now.  Now there are
multi-assignments.

If a worker gets sick now, for example, if the person who operates the
loader gets sick, a driver or another worker can automatically operate that
equipment.  You will understand that is the person operating the loader is
not disciplined and he's not at his post on time, seven or eight trucks
will sit there.  They can't do anything.  If the workers becomes sick and
there is no one [words indistinct] seven trucks because there is equipment
that depends on many other pieces of equipment.

Now, contingents do not tolerate indiscipline.  The honor of the workers,
pride of the workers, does not tolerate indiscipline.  Workers establish
discipline.  The pride of the workers do not tolerate laziness or
indiscipline.  The love for their project, the dedication of the
contingents' workers does not tolerate indiscipline or shoddy work.  There
are not only 100 or 150, but there are already over 10,000 men working with
these ideas and these concepts.  I can assure you that the contingents, in
comparison to the methods that were previously used, are doing double the
amount of work with half the number of workers and they are doing it with
much more quality and they're finishing the projects.

How can you spend 10 years constructing a road, spending resources,
equipment, spare parts, rubber, fuel, and human resources and still not be
able to use that road after 10 years.  All construction projects have to be
finished quickly because the sooner you finish the project, the less it
will cost, whether its a circle, a school, or a hospital.  If we spend 10
years constructing a school, we begin using the school 10 years after we've
invested resources into it.  If we build the school in one year, we use the
school as soon as it's finished.

That is why when the construction workers congress suggested we turn the
brigade, which was already working with the spirit of a contingent, into a
contingent... [does not finish sentence] Today we've presented them with
this banner but they had already earned this banner.  They were already
working with the spirit of a contingent.

There is something else that is also a great incentive.  Construction
cadres have emerged with new skills, with technical knowledge.  They are
able to lead collectives with hundreds of men, with 500 men.  I'm referring
to Eng (Insua) [no further identification provided] because he has had much
to do with the success here.  He has known how to lead.  He has given
himself completely.  He has been dedicated to the project.  [applause] You
see that he's a young comrade, an engineer, and you can see that he knows
how to approach any task.  He knows how to organize the project.  He knows
what will put the project behind schedule and what will get it ahead of
schedule.  In this sense, we have on this project the best experience
acquired during these past years and the best of the ideas that have
emerged from the struggle against negative tendencies and in the struggle
for the rectification of errors.

I think that's how we should work I think that you understand this
perfectly well.  We visited a child care center before we came here.  It's
under construction there in one of those neighborhoods.  I think it's
called "Amiguitos del MININT [Interior Ministry]."  It was constructed by
the MININT combatants.  The child care center is truly a little gem.  It is
well constructed, pretty.  It was constructed in just a few months.
[applause] I think it was constructed in less than 6 months.

I've seen several projects that I've inquired bout.  I've asked:  What is
this project?  I've been told:  It's the university that now has 1,000
students.  We're finishing it now.  We're building the sports installations
or some other installations.  This is the university medical facility.
This is the only building we have left to finish.

I've asked:  What's this other project?  I've been told:  It's a special
school that we're building here in Las Tunas.  And what's this other
building?  That's an art school, a vocational art school.  What is this
other one?  That's the [word indistinct] that we're building.  What are you
building here?  Well, that's the refrigeration unit that we're building and
we'll soon have the capacity to do this and that.  Everywhere I've... [does
not finish sentence] This is an avenue we're constructing.

I asked the comrade from the party, what are we going to do with this
crane?  The comrade engineer said:  If the work slows down here, if we have
equipment that's not being used, we then go work on the northern circuit.

We've seen a lot of projects and a lot of projects have been constructed in
this province during the past few years.  A beautiful building can be seen
by any visitor and its' nothing less than the auditorium.  There's a new
hospital that now has 950 beds.  We have there... [interrupted by applause]
The (Dal) school is there and we also have the polytechnical health center.
There is a home for the elderly.  The land has been set aside for a
teacher-training school.  These are truly an impressive number of projects
that mark the progress of this province during the past few years.

The population has almost doubled.  Roque [no further identification
provided] was telling me that there were 65,000 residents in this
municipality when he was municipal secretary.  When was that?  [Roque
responds:  It was 24 years ago.] It was 24 years ago and now I think they
have about 110,000 or 115,000 residents and not just here in the
municipality.  There are people working in the sugar centers.

Millions and millions have been invested in the development of sugarcane
by-products.  Important investments have been made.  New investments are
being made in the ports.  Important investments are being made in
agriculture.  Important investments are being made in dams and mini-dams.
The capacity of the sugar mills has increased to hundreds of thousands and
we have built a new center.

Just this year alone, including some of the smaller and larger,
more-important or less-important projects, 133 construction projects have
been finished in Las Tunas Province.  [applause] Before the 31st [of
December], 67 more projects will be completed.  [applause] Important
projects are planned for next year.  We're going to build a pasteurization
plant that will have a capacity of 100,000 liters of milk a day.  It will
also have a capacity of dozens of rations of yogart a day.  We will not
only build the pasteurization plant [words indistinct].

During the first few days of next year, an ambitious milk production plan
will commence which includes building more than 200 dairies.  It's an
ambitious plan and it will be built in the outskirts of Las Tunas.  The
plan will include dairies, roads, and towns.  It's an integral concept and
it's the only way to work in a socialist system.  That plan begins next
year.

We have plans for poultry, pork, vegetables and tubers, irrigation.  We
have drainage plans for plots to increase sugarcane production and we have
plans to continue developing the production of sugar by-products.  There
are plans for developing the construction material industry.  This year the
production of rock, sand, and other materials increased more than 50
percent.  We need these materials.  Since cement comes from Nuevitas, it
will be quicker if it is brought on that road we're going to build.
Another important cement factory will be built in the future in Holguin in
the Jibara area.  The province will then not seem as far away and there
will be a cement factory to the west and one to the east.

We will have a very tremendous reinforcement rod factory here.  This
province already has factories for cement blocks, tiles, and other
construction materials.  The facilities are being expanded at the furniture
factory.

All this is reflected in many things.  I remember a few years ago that the
school retention index was very low in Las Tunas.  Today, the rate of those
children staying in school is the same in Las Tunas as it is in the rest
of the country, 96.8.  I remember the difficulties that existed a few years
ago in education.  Then the teacher's school was built.  Thousands of
teachers were trained and the province has taken a big leap in education.
The teacher-training school is also going to be built.

I remember a few years ago, 8 or 10 years ago, the infant mortality rate
was almost 30 percent.  This year, it's around 15 percent.  It's still high
but it's half of what it used to be.  We can see the result of the work of
the doctors.  In 1977, there were less than 200 doctors.  I'm not talking
about the capitalist era.  Who knows how many doctors there were then.
There were probably only a few.  However, in 1977, there were less than 200
doctors and now, the province has more than 700.  In addition, the medical
school has more than 1,000 students.  They are studying at the Las Tunas
medical school.

This is truly something that is worthy of admiration, if we consider what
this province had.  Today, we're discussing university facilities.  We're
discussing a medical school with more than 1,000 students.  It's proof of
the development that this province is undergoing as a result of the
revolution.  Las Tunas is now a province.  It previously was a
municipality. I think that you are the best witnesses of that progress.

The province is progressing in many other areas.  In the sports sector,
there are more than 600 sports facilities.  There are plans to expand the
baseball stadium.  They have the polyvalent auditorium.  A swimming school
is being built.  In the end, they'll even have swimming championships here
in Las Tunas.  [applause]

We're pleased to see this.  We're pleased to see this progress.  We're
pleased that these children, adolescents, and youths have all these things.
We're also pleased to know that if we work well, we'll have many more of
these things in the future.  We'll have more homes, more circles, more
schools.  We'll produce a lot more food.

We plan to increase milk production by at least 5 times.  How much do we
produce a year?  We produce 20 million liters a year and we plan to produce
more than 100 million liters a year of milk.  This is the equivalent of
approximately 280,000 or 300,000 liters of milk a day.  We will have to
take advantage of those lands.

If we work well with the resources we have, with the experience we have,
and with the new cadres we have, as well as with the technicians we have,
we will truly be able to do whatever we plan to do.

Who would have thought that Las Tunas Province, which did not have any
industries besides the sugar industry, would be able to operate that large
bottle factory or those structural plants?  Who would have thought it would
have been able to construct in only 14 months an industry such as this one?
It can be said here that Las Tunas [words indistinct] to do this same thing
in 14 months and not in 12 months.  [applause]

We will continue to promote development.  We will continue to encourage the
construction of highways, dams, mini-dams, canals, and the application of
technology in agriculture.  In this way, the most backward areas of the
country will, in a not-too-distant future, become a sort of pot of gold.
[applause] This is in your hands.  This is in your hands, the hands of the
Tuneros.

The same thing that you are making an effort to do is also being done by
the comrades of Holguin, Granma, Guantanamo, Santiago de Cuba, and
elsewhere.  This is a national effort amid difficulties, amid difficult
circumstances.  However, now, more than ever, we have to work more
efficiently.  Today, more than ever, we have to advance.  Today, more than
ever, we have to use properly each centavo, each gram of material, each
drop of sweat.  Today, more than ever, we have to be more efficient in our
efforts and we will be more efficient.

This event that has called us here this afternoon is proof of this.  This
record set by the heroic workers of the 30th anniversary contingent of
workers is proof of this.  [applause] It gives us incentives to continue
struggling.  It gives us an incentive to continue rectifying.  It gives us
an incentive to advance on the correct road.

I was speaking with journalists down by the sea, at the end of the
Covarrubias road.  I was telling them that we could suddenly discover many
things or we could become aware of many problems.  What is not possible is
to suddenly resolve everything.  Every problem has its own importance.
Each problem has its own possibilities.  I think we have a clear idea of
the importance of each problem, of the priorities of each problem, and of
the correct way of confronting these problems.

We have seen the results here, this afternoon, in Las Tunas.  We've not
only seen the results in cement, in stone, concrete, steel columns, in
well-cultivated and well-attended sugarcane fields, in industries; but,
above all, we've especially seen it in this ceremony.  We have seen it in
the people in the confidence you have, in your optimism, in your
enthusiasm, and in your revolutionary spirit.

These days we are marking the 30th anniversary of many historic, epic
events that took place at the end of 1958.  The revolution is going to be
30 years old.  If, after 30 years, the revolution did not create anything
more than a spirit such as this, patriotism such as this, a political
culture such as this, an awareness such as this; if 30 years have passed
with tragic events, terrible injustices, ignorance, illiteracy, illness,
unemployment, hunger, machete plans [as heard], imprisonment, injustice;
if, after 30 years, the revolution did not create anything more than a
people such as this one, all the efforts made have been worth it.  All the
sacrifices made have been worth it.  The blood that has been shed has been
worth it.  [applause]

That is why, people of Las Tunas, we urge you to continue to struggle like
this, to continue working like this.  This is the only way to develop a
country.  This is the only way to conquer difficulties.  This is the only
way a new fatherland is created.  Only like this will we truly honor the
heroes and martyrs who over 100 years ago began in these lands the glorious
struggle for independence, freedom, dignity, brotherhood among men, and
justice.

Fatherland or death, we will win!
-END-