-DATE-
19900929
-YEAR-
1990
-DOCUMENT_TYPE-
-AUTHOR-
-HEADLINE-
Castro Gives Speech on 30th CDR Anniversary
-PLACE-
CARIBBEAN / Cuba
-SOURCE-
Havana Domestic Radio and Television Services
-REPORT_NBR-
FBIS-LAT-90-190
-REPORT_DATE-
19901001
-HEADER-
BRS Assigned Document Number:    000016936
Report Type:         Daily Report             AFS Number:     FL2909144090
Report Number:       FBIS-LAT-90-190          Report Date:    01 Oct 90
Report Series:       Daily Report             Start Page:     1
Report Division:     CARIBBEAN                End Page:       16
Report Subdivision:  Cuba                     AG File Flag:   
Classification:      UNCLASSIFIED             Language:       Spanish
Document Date:       29 Sep 90
Report Volume:       Monday Vol VI No 190

Dissemination:  

City/Source of Document:   Havana Domestic Radio and Television Services

Report Name:   Latin America

Headline:   Castro Gives Speech on 30th CDR Anniversary

Author(s):   President Fidel Castro during the ceremony marking the 30th
anniversary of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution,
CDR, at Karl Marx Theater in Havana on 28 September--recorded]

Source Line:   FL2909144090 Havana Domestic Radio and Television Services in
Spanish 0114 GMT 29 Sep 90

Subslug:   [Speech by President Fidel Castro during the ceremony marking the
30th anniversary of the Committees for the Defense of the
Revolution, CDR, at Karl Marx Theater in Havana on 28
September--recorded]

-TEXT-
FULL TEXT OF ARTICLE:
1.  [Speech by President Fidel Castro during the ceremony marking the 30th
anniversary of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, CDR, at Karl
Marx Theater in Havana on 28 September--recorded]

2.  [Text] Distinguished guests, dear CDR comrades: I think it is a duty for me
to first say that I heard when I got here that thousands of CDR members arrived
at the entrance of the theater and were not able to enter because there was not
enough room. [applause] I heard that loudspeakers were going to be placed
outside if that happened, but it rained. The first thing all of us who have had
the privilege of getting into this theater have to do is to ask them to pardon
us. I tell those CDR comrades not to be discouraged by that, [applause] I hope
they have a happy 30th anniversary day and encourage them to continue with the
struggle.

3.  It is better to be here seated, although not all are seated.  The halls are
full. We can reflect calmly here. This cannot be done in a square. A great deal
of effort is required to speak and even to listen in a square. As in the last
26 July, when we mark the 30 years of the existence of the CDR's and the almost
32 years of the revolution, we had never felt such a hot sun and so much heat.

4.  This is a truly historic date. We commemorate it at a truly historic time.
It is fine that we meet here, that we do not invest a lot of resources, that we
do not spend fuel, that we make our presence evident, and that we can
communicate from here with all the CDR members in the country.

5.  We have talked about the beautiful history of the Committees of the Defense
of the Revolution. The day when the idea came about for the original and
revolutionary people's movement, which has provided the country with so many
services, is remembered here. This movement has served the country in many
areas, not only in the area of the struggle against the enemy, not only in the
area of the fight against the counterrevolution. We have worked for 30 years in
this task to defend a revolution that will soon be 32 years old.

6.  We have gone through difficult times, the early years, the fight against
bandits, the Bay of Pigs, later the October crisis--which will also be marked
in a few days. There has been a lot of talk about the October crisis lately.

7.  Two or three days ago, I read international dispatches which reported that
excerpts of an alleged autobiography, or notes written by Khrushchev, had been
published in the United States and that they refer to that time. I am said to
have advised Khrushchev to launch a preventive attack with nuclear missiles
against the United States. Perhaps Khrushchev interpreted that or he may have
interpreted in this way some of my messages. But this was really not the case.
I am not going to explain it now either, but fortunately I have kept the
messages I exchanged with Khrushchev during the most difficult hours of the
crisis and subsequent days. I have kept them. I thought that perhaps they could
be used for history. However, since so many indiscretions have been made and so
many papers have been published, perhaps I will need to publish them so that
those messages are known well and that my points of view on this matter during
the October crisis are known. [I will have to do this] without waiting too long
so that the current generations really know well what Cuba's position was at
the time.

8.  Perhaps this is done as an instigation as usual. They have always used or
found ways to create animosity and hatred against Cuba within the U.S. public
opinion.  Things are not the way they are said to be. They are not the way they
are said. [repeats] But I maintain the stand that I sustained then, and I would
say in the exact same way what I said then. I do not regret in the least what I
did nor what I said. It would be good, in the midst of so much gossip and so
many people who talk, to make public some of those messages. [applause]

9.  See how the October crisis is still going around. This was a period of time
that our people experienced. This was an extremely difficult time that our
people experienced in an extraordinary cold-blooded way and with equanimity.

10.  We have experienced all kinds of threats throughout these years. We have
conducted extraordinary internationalist missions which will remain for ever as
historic evidence of the revolutionary and solidaristic spirit of our people.

11.  So, for us, the revolutionaries, the early ones--I do not want to say the
older ones because, who considers himself old here? [laughter] neither the
early ones, nor you the younger ones--or intermediate ones as we have here,
because here we have old and new CDR members such as the young lady to whom we
handed over the identification card, we have all lived through some very
interesting experiences. The older ones have experienced them since the Moncada
attack and even before. I just handed over a medal to a comrade CDR member and
he was the same CDR member who took me, who drove the car in which I traveled
before 26 July [applause] from Havana to Santiago. [applause]

12.  We learned about adversity, we learned about prisons, we learned about
exile, we learned about expeditions, we learned about misfortune, we learned
about practically everything throughout these years. Never did pessimism invade
our spirit. There was no discouragement in any of those periods. It is very
good, it is very good [repeats] to remember this because those qualities are
required from all of us again. When one wants to overcome, when there is the
will to overcome, one overcomes. There are no obstacles, no difficulties can
stand in the way of the unwaivering will of men and countries. [applause]

13.  This is not new. Our people gave extraordinary proof of that spirit long
before our independence. Our people showed this spirit by fighting for over 10
years in Manigua against one of the most powerful armies of those times. They
spent 10 years without shoes. They spent 10 years living off the land. After
those 10 years, the immortal symbol of Baragua emerged [interrupted by
applause]. After some of them got tired, they gave what truly represented the
spirit of our people and they planted it there eternally. That is why the
Cubans returned to the struggle and that is why we one day reached complete
independence, an independence that today is greater than ever. Even those who
sometimes called us satellites, even those who wanted us to obey orders from
abroad and who so many times wanted to humiliate us with those strange words,
did not offend us because having solidarity is a principle. To be a brother of
revolutionaries is a principle. It always has been and always will be so. I
hope that those who at one time thought we were satellites no longer have the
remotest shadow of a doubt that we were not, are not, or will ever be anyone's
satellite. [applause]

14.  We should say that we built this revolution ourselves. No one built it for
us. No one defended it for us. No one saved it for us. We did it ourselves. We
defended it ourselves. We saved it ourselves and we will continue to do so. We
will continue to defend it and we will continue to save it as often as
necessary. [applause] We did not ask anyone for permission to build the
revolution. We did not count on anyone else. International solidarity emerged.
Economic cooperation, cooperation-in-arms arose. It was magnificent,
magnificent [repeats himself], beautiful, and we will always be appreciative of
this.

15.  However, not long ago there was talk of the explosion of the ``Cubre''. It
was obviously an act of sabotage prepared by the enemy. It was set up to
explode when the ship was being unloaded in our docks. It cost the lives of
about one hundred workers and soldiers.

16.  Well, at that time, we had not received a single weapon from anyone and we
were buying them with our own scarce resources. We distributed them throughout
the mountains and we prepared--alone, by ourselves, on our own account, and
with our own weapons--our guerrilla war against the imperialist invader which
began with threats. When we established our agrarian reform and the laws, the
first revolutionary laws, we did not even have economic or political relations
with the USSR. We did this ourselves and on our own.

17.  Nevertheless, the existence of the October Revolution was a privilege, as
we have said many times. The glorious and thousands-of-times glorious October
Revolution, was a fortunate thing, an extraordinary event and action for our
revolution and our country. [applause]

18.  Today, when some people even want to smash Lenin statues to pieces, we in
our hearts and thoughts see how Lenin's image grows and looms larger.
[applause] Lenin and his thought meant and still mean a lot to those of us who
have interpreted his thought and the thoughts of Marx and the revolution's
theorists in the way that they should be interpreted, in an original manner by
each country, by each revolutionary process. That thought maintains all its
validity in our revolutionary process at a time in which some people abhor the
idea of calling themselves Communists. There are people like this throughout
the world in industrial quantities [as heard].  They do not want to call
themselves Communists. They call themselves socialists, social-democrats,
social-whatever, and social-nothings. [laughter]

19.  Lenin's work will last throughout history. He helped to change the world.
Lenin's work led to the emergence of the first socialist state in the history
of humanity. That state saved humanity from facism. Without the blood shed by
the Soviet people, facism would have been imposed upon the world for at least a
short period and a short time. Everyone would have been able to personally
learn of the horrors of facism.

20.  That first socialist state meant the development of the people's
liberation movement and the end of colonialism. It meant a lot to us when the
imperialists wanted to destroy the revolution, when the imperialists blockaded
us, and tried to strangle us with hunger. The existence of the Soviet Union, of
the socialist bloc, was something of extraordinary value to our country under
those circumstances.

21.  Naturally, political and economic relations were established and evolved
into truly admirable methods of cooperation, into new forms of relations that
meant the end of unequal trade, which meant the application of the best
elements of the principles of Marxism-Leninism.

22.  In the first years and over the course of time, economic agreements were
established between socialist countries and Cuba, between the Soviet Union and
Cuba. When in practice we discovered the phenomenon of unequal trade, when in
practice we discovered that the prices of products we imported were constantly
rising while the prices of our products remained the same for a five-year
period, we established a correlation of prices between what we exported and
imported. As the prices rose on the merchandise we imported, the prices of our
own products rose. There was never anything more fair than this in the history
of economic relations between peoples and in the history of economic relations
between industrialized countries and underdeveloped countries that were
colonies and that were exploited and kept underdeveloped for centuries of
colonialism or neocolonialism. Throughout the years, a basis was established
for trade between socialist countries and Cuba, between the USSR and Cuba,
which has lasted for many years.

23.  We have been developing our country on those bases.  Economic and social
development has been formed on those bases, which were very fair, very solid,
and spanned many years until our levels of development were similar to the
industrial development levels of those countries. That historic period has not
concluded. Part of that historic period has ended. Part of that historic phase
has passed. Our industries were created on those bases. Our agriculture was
developed and mechanized on those bases. Electricity was established throughout
the country on those bases.

24.  At the triumph of the revolution in 1959, only 50 percent of the
population had access to electricity and there was a population of 6.5 million
people. Only 3.2 million people had access to electricity. Now, 92 percent of
our population has access to electricity. Over 9.5 million people have access
to electricity. This is three times the number of people who had access to
electricity at the time of the triumph of the revolution. Today, electricity
reaches the most isolated corners of the country, it has been taken into the
mountains, everywhere. Electricity brings a radical change in the way of life.

25.  Our population notably increased its income. Not only did the number of
people with electricity increase, but the consumption of electricity per capita
increased considerably.  Millions of people got all kinds of domestic
electrical appliances such as television sets, radios, electric irons, fans,
mixers, as many domestic electrical appliances as you can mention.

26.  The five-year plans between socialist countries and us and between the
Soviet Union and us were prepared on those basis. Plans for 15 and 20 years
were talked about and prepared on those basis. There was a constant exchange of
views between the planning organizations of all those countries and us.

27.  All of a sudden, within an extremely brief period of time, the socialist
camp disappeared. It is a euphemism to speak of a socialist camp now. Reference
is made to the CEMA, the CEMA is still there. It is there as a formality
because it hardly ever meets and, to tell you the truth, when it meets I do not
know what is going to be discussed. Some of those with which we had established
very close relations, such as the GDR, have virtually disappeared. On 3
October--that is in five or six days--it is going to be part of a unified
Germany. In other countries they are trying to build capitalism quickly and
openly.

28.  So, the country lost those pillars represented by agreements with many of
those countries from the socialist camp. Other countries are still struggling
to maintain as much as possible the social achievements in the middle of very
great difficulties because all these problems affect them.

29.  The USSR is left--when I mention the East Europe countries I do not
mention the USSR because I have it in a different category. The USSR is going
through a deep political, economic, and social crisis. This is nothing new. We
all know about it because of the news that we see in the press. The USSR, of
all of the pillars, was the strongest pillar of our economic and social
development.  We are building a nuclear power plant with the USSR. It was going
to have four 400,000-kilowatt reactors. The construction of two of them is at
an advanced stage. How much we could use those reactors now! Those reactors
have not fallen behind schedule through our own fault.  When will they be
ready? We do not know. Will they ever be completed? We do not even know that.
We built a large nickel production plant with the USSR. We have been building
another similar nickel plant in Camarioca with the USSR and other socialist
countries. We built large thermoelectric power plants with the USSR. We built
the first phase of the oil refinery with the USSR.  This has been completed.
These are huge investments. I should mention that the country has invested
around a billion pesos--between pesos and rubles--in the Moa plant, which is
now at a standstill due to a lack of fuel.  Tens of thousands of tons of
equipment have been installed. Thousands and thousands of homes have been built
there. Even an ultramodern hospital is being built there and it is almost
finished. We have built roads there, everything to develop the nickel industry
in that region.

30.  The refinery, the first phase, was being finished now. It was supposed to
be able to refine 3 million [unit of measure not specified] of oil. We cannot
even make it run.

31.  We have the work of more than 10,000 men, done over many years, invested
in the electronuclear plant and its fate is now uncertain.

32.  That is why we should be very familiar with things, very familiar with how
things are. Does the USSR or the Government of the USSR want to hurt us like
this? No.  The USSR does not want to hurt us like this.

33.  This year, we have a deficit of 2 million tons of fuel supplies and there
are a lot of raw materials, which would be too many to list and which are very
important, such as industrial raw materials, where significant supply deficits
exist. These raw materials have been agreed upon. Contracts were established on
them. These materials affect the economy in such areas as fertilizers and many
other things.

34.  Has the USSR wanted to harm us like this? No. The Soviet Government has
made every effort--and I say this with all honesty--to fulfill the supplies we
agreed upon. They have wanted to fulfill these goals. The USSR says that they
have made a great effort to do so. They have met their commitments regarding
certain items.  We have received some machinery, machinery which will now have
to be studied. What machinery do we really need? It depends on the availability
of fuel. We have continued to receive important products because the USSR has
made a great effort. We know it and it is fair to say so.

35.  This has nothing to do with the Yankee position. The Yankees beg the USSR,
implore it, tell it, and practically demand, publicly demand--and they do not
hide it-- that it end economic cooperation with Cuba as a condition to continue
improving relations between the USSR and the United States, as a condition for
the USSR to receive economic aid from the United States during its difficult
times. The United States demands that the USSR end the kind of economic
relations it has with Cuba, to end what they call aid, to end what is the
result of fair exchange between the two countries. They require this, demand
it. They make it a condition. It is an embarrassment. We have been able to
observe to what extremes the imperialists have gone to. It has asked the USSR
to please help destroy the Cuban Revolution. It has asked the USSR to please
join the U.S. blockade against Cuba because at this time, relations have ended
between the socialist camp and Cuba and the USSR and Cuba, and that blockade
still exists and it is more rigorous and merciless than ever against our
country.  Now the United States, which has not been able to beat us, which has
not been able to defeat us, is asking the USSR to join the U.S. blockade
against Cuba.

36.  That is not what the Government of the Soviet Union thinks. That is not
what the Soviet leaders think. There are some people in the USSR who are
delighted with the idea. There are some people in the USSR who think that this
is the perfect time to curry favor with the empire, to end the bases of
economic relations that exist between the USSR and Cuba. Some people think this
way and not only do they think it, but some of them have expressed this to the
Yankees. They have expressed this to Yankee officials. They have given
themselves the responsibility of saying this everywhere. We learn of these
things because we are not stupid, deaf, maimed, or blind. And of course, we
always receive the news. Some of them have said this, and they have not only
said it to the Yankees; they have said it to others. We know this.

37.  However, that is not the Soviet Government's way of thinking. Even amid
its problems and difficulties, it has made great efforts to meet its
commitments to our country. Nevertheless, to date, we do not know what the
bases of our trade with the USSR will be next year. No one knows at this time
how much they are going to pay for our sugar, for our products. What price are
we going to be charged for the products supplied by the USSR?  What amount of
fuel are we going to receive? No one knows this at this time, although
practically only three months remain before the end of the year.

38.  In the past, we would have five-year plans that were drafted over a period
of time. Agreements were reached almost a year ahead of time, a great time in
advance. At this point, we would have reached agreements for almost all the
merchandise, but right now, very few agreements have been reached. We know
nothing at this time, only three months away from 1991.

39.  Of course, fuel is one of the most sensitive areas, because this situation
is aggravated by the Persian Gulf crisis.  This crisis has been a tragedy for
the world, but in particular for Cuba, because the price of oil, which had been
14 pesos a barrel before the crisis, today is approximately 40 pesos. Imagine
if we are asked to pay this crisis price [precio coyuntural] for oil, while
being expected to receive the garbage-dump price for sugar, the so-called price
on the world market, which does not exist anywhere. In the economic relations
between the EEC and the countries from which it buys sugar--even when they have
a sugar surplus--the price is not the so-called world market price.

40.  Just imagine what the union of those two factors mean: the crisis in the
USSR, and the crisis in the Gulf. Where can we find a ton [as heard] of oil in
those conditions, and at what price? And when oil prices spiral upward
outrageously, this always works to the detriment of the prices of the basic
products of the Third World countries. It produces a reduction in the prices of
the other products, because those high oil prices cause a recession. There is a
reduction in the demand for the other products. The governments do not have
enough money to even operate. The countries have no resources; they have to
devote almost all their resources to oil, and consequently, they have much less
resources to buy other products.

41.  You can see that at those prices, two tons of sugar would be required to
buy a ton of oil. You know how much is involved in producing a ton of sugar,
starting when the sugarcane is planted. The soil is prepared, the sugarcane is
planted, cleaned, and cut, then the sugar is produced and shipped. Our country
had reached--on the basis of those agreements, on the basis of our relations
with the USSR--a consumption level of 13 million tons. Imagine having sugar at
the world market price, and oil at the world market price, this special price,
because oil does not have just a crisis price, it has privileged prices. It has
monopoly prices. Cuba would need 26 million tons of sugar--26 million--just to
purchase the 13 million tons of fuel that the country would need. In other
words, almost all the sugar that is sold in the world, or even more than is
sold. Because, while oil had increased in price considerably in the 1970's as a
result of one of those crises in the Middle East--one of those wars--reaching a
price of $20, $25, and even $30 a ton, with incalculable disruption to the
world, it had recently begun to decline in price. But while oil had increased
to 15 times its price, while oil is now 20 times its traditional price, sugar
is at its usual price. In other words, in comparing sugar and oil today, we
would have one at its usual garbage-dump price, compared with a monopolistic
crisis price that is 20 times greater than the usual price.

42.  In 1960 and 1961, at the triumph of the revolution, the price of oil was
$2 a barrel, $15 a ton. Today, a barrel costs almost three times more than what
a ton used to cost. That is a fact. No product in the world is more overpriced
than oil. The imperialists talked a lot about how we were being paid a very
high price for sugar, but oil has had, and still has a price that is
incomparably more inflated than sugar.

43.  We have been selling sugar to the USSR at a price that is more or less
equivalent to the production cost of a ton of sugar in the USSR, at times for
even less than the production cost of a ton of sugar in the USSR. As a matter
of fact, the price that we have paid for oil in recent years is much higher
than the production cost of a ton of oil. Actually, oil is one of the world's
privileged products, with an inflated price that is many times the cost of
production.

44.  Therefore, this is the kind of problem that we are facing, without being
at all at fault. After all, we have made enormous efforts to find fuel. You
know of the billions of meters that we have drilled in the search for fuel
throughout the years, with the cooperation of the USSR.  We have built
causeways [pedraplenes]; we have done everything, and we have only been able to
increase our oil production by a little over a million tons of oil. We have
made a great effort, with Soviet cooperation, to build that nuclear energy
plant. It is actually far behind schedule, because of factors beyond our
control.

45.  This is the kind of difficulty that the country and the revolution are
facing today. I wish to say that the current limitations can become greater. I
am speaking to you with great clarity. I ask you today, on this 28 October [as
heard], on this 30th anniversary: What are we going to do? Give up? [People say
``no''] Never. What are we going to do? [People stand and shout slogans] What
are we going to do? Are we going to renounce the revolution?  [People shout:
``No''] Renounce socialism? [People shout: ``No''] Renounce independence?
[People shout: ``No''] Never. What we have to do is resist and fight. 
[applause] We must resist, fight, and win, of course.

46.  Well, are we worse off than our ancestors were in the 10-year war? [People
shout: ``No''] Absolutely not. Are we going to be in a worse situation than we
would be in the event of a total military blockade of the country?  [People
shout: ``No'']

47.  In fact, in our defense plans in the last few years we have worked out all
the ideas of what we should do in the event of a total air and naval blockade
against our country, what we should do. Well, circumstances resembling a total
blockade of the country could come up for some time. But it would never be
exactly the same. Our ships would travel, taking away our products and bringing
what we may have been able to purchase. We could trade with many countries, and
the conditions would not be similar to a total blockade. We have said, we have
asserted, and we believe that we are ready to endure a total blockade of the
country and ensure the life of the country even under those conditions, and
ensure the defense of the country under those conditions.

48.  So the elements, adverse circumstances, the combination of all the factors
I explained before, could lead us to very difficult and very harsh trials. And
this is the hope of the imperialists. Today their greatest hope is that our
situation will become so difficult because of the situation in East Europe and
the USSR that we will not be able to endure. That is their hope, the hope of
the counterrevolutionary community there in Miami, those rats who have their
suitcases packed and all that kind of thing, and there are surveys and studies
on what to do and what they will do, already thinking about the
postrevolutionary period.

49.  Undoubtedly their basic ambition would be to turn this country into a
Miami, and into a total gambling den, something less than Puerto Rico even.
Those are their dreams, those are their dreams. [repeats] Of course, they have
not taken us into account. They are not taking us into account. And they dream,
but their dreams are associated with these problems, these situations.

50.  It has been very useful to have these programs and plans for the special
period, because the special period was thought up in case of a war, in case of
a total blockade of the country in which nothing could get in or out. The
special period we are talking about now has emerged as a concept in facing
these problems I have mentioned, the problems that have occurred in East
Europe, the USSR.  The concept of the special period in peacetime has emerged.
And we are undoubtedly already entering this special period in peacetime. And
it is inevitable that we will fall into this special period in all its
harshness in peacetime. We will have to undergo this trial.

51.  We have already had to take the initial measures in electricity
consumption. We have already taken other measures. We had been taking them for
months in the hope that the shortfalls could be resolved. But we had already
been reducing fuel consumption until we reached a point at which it was
impossible not to take more radical measures, such as the ones that have been
taken in industry, transportation, those that have been taken with electricity,
etc.

52.  Now new measures have been taken concerning the distribution of products,
and it is inevitable that situations will arise that are impossible to predict
at this time, impossible to predict. [repeats] What will the situation be in
1991? What is to come? What raw materials will we have? How much fuel? Under
what conditions? We cannot give figures. We must be prepared to work with less
and less and less and less and almost with nothing.  Well, that would be an
extreme situation, that would be an extreme situation [repeats] but we must
think about these alternatives, which could be the most critical thing.  So
there would be various measures we would have to take under these conditions.

53.  What are we trying to do and what are we doing, given this situation? We
propose that if we have to face a special period in peacetime, a harsh special
period, our task should not be only to survive, but even to develop.

54.  First there would be a period of adapting to this situation, continuing
the basic programs for developing the country, the essential things, such as
the food program.  In the first place, what we call the food program, words we
used technically that have been popularized and now everyone says them, many
use without even knowing what the food program is. There are some who think it
is about planting yams and harvesting them within three or four or five months.
There are different kinds of yams.  There are some that can be harvested after
four months, others after six months. There are yams that are harvested after
eight months. There is yucca that is also harvested after six months, or eight,
or nine, without it becoming tough, etc. There are different varieties, which
helps agriculture.

55.  The food program includes a range of things. In the first place, the
program involves working on 800,000 hectares of sugarcane with the plot
drainage and irrigation system, which almost doubles the yield of cane per
hectare. Right now we already have 160 brigades working on this. These 160
brigades can do 80,000 hectares in one year. By the end of the year we intend
to reach 200 brigades. This would mean a capacity for 100,000 hectares per
year. It is possible that we will increase it to 220 or 230, but more or less
that would take a number of years. Those 800,000 hectares cannot be done in six
months. We must think deeply about this.

56.  And of course today, sugarcane is not only used to produce sugar, but it
is also a very important raw material for the production of meat and milk,
because through the results of our research centers, we can produce a
high-calorie, high-protein food from cane that is equivalent to animal feed
that contains soy, corn, or wheat. Cattle and sheep can eat as much as they
want.  Chickens, unfortunately, cannot eat much more than 10 or 12 percent [of
their diet]. Pigs can eat up to 20 or 25 percent. It varies depending on the
type of animal. Cattle are a type of animal that has characteristics
...[rephrases] a special digestive tract that allows them to assimilate this
fibrous food. But from cane comes molasses and proteinaceous molasses, and
proteinaceous molasses is one of the major food products for pork production. 
Molasses can also be used for cattle.

57.  So I am talking about sugarcane as having uses other than sugar
production. Unquestionably, we will be able to produce much more sugar, and we
will produce as much more sugar as there is a market for. But in this sugar
plan we have taken into account the production of food intended for the
populace's consumption, through animals. This is one of the important aspects
of the program, the sugarcane program, and it is an important part of the food
program.

58.  This is what we have been working on. Two years ago, there were not even
10 of these brigades. By the end of the year there will be 200. Many with
equipment....[rephrases] Many of them, part of each brigade, will have
equipment made in Cuba. This has been an enormous leap forward. The equipment
is relatively new, but we are applying it in an accelerated way.

59.  Part of the food program is the engineering system for rice. We have given
priority to sugarcane because it is the most important economically, but we are
already working with some intensity on the engineering system for rice. We have
10 brigades--these are larger brigades--and we have to reach 40. By the end of
the year we will have 15. We intend to exceed 27 next year, and the year after
that to reach 40. Each of these brigades has 22 harrows that we have made in
this country, and we pull them with Soviet equipment, a T150K or a K700, or a
K701, or a T170.

60.  I could talk about how every day we are dealing with these problems. We
intend to apply the engineering system to the 160,000 hectares or maybe a
little bit more that are available for rice cultivation, and this cannot be
done in six months.

61.  The endeavor to build dams, canals, and irrigation systems is a part of
the food plan. We are simultaneously working on 30 dams. At the same time we
are working on the master channels [canales magistrales] that carry water, and
we are also working on the irrigation systems, everything simultaneously. This
is a tremendous effort to provide more water for sugar cane, and more water for
rice. We are thinking of planting sugar cane on over 70,000 caballerias of
irrigated land to ensure our production of sugar cane and sugar. But, we need
all these systems. We are making a tremendous effort. In three years,
investment in hydraulic projects has quintupled.  That is a part [chuckles] of
the food program. The construction of complete pork centers is a part of the
food program. We are building 50 of them. Part of that construction consists of
new centers and another part consists of pens [naves] that are built in the
current centers. We are building 27 of them, and 23 pens are currently being
built in the existing centers to double pork production. The pork is basically
produced from liquid feed [pienso], which consists of food refuse from schools,
restaurants, and places like that, as well as protein-rich molasses.

62.  That program will end next year, in 1991. During the second half of 1991,
the equivalent of 50 complete centers will be in production, doubling pork
production.  A part of the pork plan consists of building 1,800 poultry pens to
increase egg production to 700 million above the levels we had until 1989--that
program is also underway--and another part is to increase poultry production.

63.  Introducing the microjet system and drip irrigation [riego por goteo] on
citrus fruit plantations is a part of the food program. We are already doing
that, beginning with the Havana orchard in Ceiba. This year, we are introducing
the microjet system on 100 caballerias, which triples production. And so, we
are....[changes thought] We are planning to do that on all of the country's
citrus fruit plantations. We must establish this very revolutionary technique.
And not just that, we must make...some (?overhauls), new plantations in some
areas with greater density and with better and more productive systems. I mean,
we should implement in this field the most modern techniques, those I have
mentioned. We are adopting every measure to produce our required means.

64.  [Words indistinct] factories to manufacture hoses, because each caballeria
requires kilometers and kilometers of hoses.  Of course this is very productive
and increases productivity. We have a factory that is being expanded.
Instructions have been given to build a second factory to bring this system to
a thousand caballerias per year. This is a truly extraordinary figure.
Introducing the microjet system on [fruta] plantain and [burro] plantain
plantations is a part of the food program. The productivity of one hectare is
quadrupled over normal irrigation and cultivation systems. That is a proven
fact.

65.  I have asked that a documentary be made on a plantation in Ciego de Avila,
so you can see that this is an industry.  It produces a great deal [es un rio
lo que produce], since the food program is really the application of technology
and science to the field of agriculture to increase productivity per man and
per hectare. The production of vegetables is a part of the food program. The
irrigated area for the production of vegetables has already been doubled, it is
being doubled. We are adding 65,000 more hectares, on some of which will be
planted plantains and other crops using the microjet system. That is to say,
building 1,000 dairy farms, at the rate of over 200 dairy farms per year, is
part of the food plan.

66.  Let met tell you that before the rectification process began, just seven
or eight dairy farms were being built.  We have already opened eight
fronts--Pinar del Rio, Villa Clara, Sancti Spiritus, Ciego de Avila, Camaguey,
Las Tunas, Granma, and Santiago de Cuba. These eight fronts have new equipment
and staffing that has been organized like a contingent to build all the
installations through enormous effort.

67.  However, 1,000 dairy farms cannot be built in six months. You can rest
assured that we are conducting a massive effort to carry out these works. Just
to give you an example, we began several investment projects in conjunction
with the GDR, which was very interested in producing butter. The GDR had a
surplus of skim milk, which they used in their pork industry. We proposed that
the GDR develop an investment project with convertible foreign currency to
dehydrate their surplus skim milk, which they would trade for liquid yeast,
because they could use liquid yeast for agricultural purposes. By virtue of
this agreement, we would have received 20,000 tons of powdered milk from the
GDR by the year 1995.

68.  Well, since we now have a new situation, we do not know what will happen
to the aforementioned agreement. It takes 20,000 tons of milk powder to produce
200 million liters of milk. This is what the Camaguey Plan, with 300 dairy
farms, will produce once it is completed, once it is completed [repeats].
Therefore, one single transaction in which we had secured 20,000 tons of milk
powder represented the total production of the Camaguey Plan.

69.  Now, the Camaguey Plan will possibly produce, once the 300 dairy farms and
500 installations for calves and heifers are finished, that 200 million liters
of milk. This is part of the food program.

70.  The seafood production [produccion acuicola], which we are swiftly
developing....[changes thought] We are building approximately 200 hectares of
freshwater fish hatcheries to raise fingerlings and to increase freshwater fish
production by thousands of tons at our facilities.

71.  This year our production will total 20,000 tons of fish.  We are working
to double this figure within two years.  We held a long meeting on 26 September
with the technicians, scientists, directors of fingerling production centers
and fish hatchery workers to accelerate this program through the use of
fertilizer in the fish hatcheries and other experimental efforts. These
projects will enable us to produce up to nearly two tons of fish per hectare.
We have a capacity of over 100,000 hectares in our fish hatcheries. [words
indistinct] important in what we are working on.

72.  The research centers are also working intensely to contribute everything
they can to fish production techniques. We are developing a taro, plantain, and
potato seed production system in the laboratory to accelerate our production
programs so that we will not be dependent on natural seed production. We are
developing the construction of [words indistinct] laboratory to use biological
methods to control blights. This is part of the food program.

73.  The food program is ambitious and extensive. However, it should not be
viewed simplistically. We cannot believe that we will plant some seeds today
and in three months all our food problems will be solved. We have to know our
realities and that things are not that simple or easy.  Currently, we are
implementing a program that we could call special in the city of Havana and in
Havana Province. We are working to produce fruit, vegetables, and edible roots.
The program has been discussed with enterprises, cooperatives, ANAP [National
Association of Small Farmers] personnel, and peasants. We always have to [word
indistinct] self-sufficiency in fruit, vegetables, and edible roots in Havana.
This includes planting 600 caballerias with plantains. These caballerias have
irrigation systems; 500 of them have microjet systems.  That is the latest and
most revolutionary innovation in plantain production. We have planted 600
caballerias.  There are a total of approximately 2,900 caballerias. Part of
these caballerias will be used for permanent crops such as plantains, which
cannot be rotated. Also, 2,200 caballerias will have malanga [edible root]
which are to be rotated every year. The Executive Committee is working directly
on this program. It is working in agriculture with the Havana Province peasants
and in the city of Havana itself. Havana is contributing heavily toward this
program, as it must.

74.  The Havana minibrigades are currently building 30 agricultural campsites
and 50 more camps are to be constructed. As soon as we finish the first 30
camps, we will start to build the remaining 20 for 300 workers.  Later we will
probably have to build 10 more camps for the cooperatives that have labor force
difficulties. These cooperatives will have a capacity for 20,000 workers from
Havana at peak periods--20,000 workers.

75.  What is agriculture's misfortune in Havana? The lack of a labor force.
Consequently, weeds take over the fields. This situation has been saved by
rural schools that contribute their invaluable services and vacation time to
agricultural labor. However, multiple crop enterprises have been slowly left
without their own employees. This is a reality. A total of 1,700 caballerias
have 1,900 specifically designated employees. But, the situation is not the
same everywhere. In (Guira de Medino), a multiple crop enterprise that has
excellent land and is fully equipped with an irrigation system, there are 128
designated employees. Of course, the machinery and workshop sections have many
people. There are many people in the service sections, too. We cannot ignore
that services are needed. When you have a camp, you have to cook there and
maintenance has to be done on the site. People in the service sections are
needed. In the [word indistinct] sphere [words indistinct]. There are also many
people in the leadership and administrative category.

76.  Certainly, this [word indistinct] we have been asking the city to
cooperate and produce the food required by the city. However, we are also
telling enterprises that all of our vices have to be swept aside [word
indistinct]. We are telling them that we have to sweep them away.  [applause]
We must establish discipline. [applause] We must establish discipline.
[repeats] The machinery worker cannot only work on machines. He has to plow. 
We have to cut by 80 percent the number of people who are in the offices of the
agriculture enterprises--80 percent. [applause] Yes. If they want the job [word
indistinct] and those who have reports [words indistinct]. However, we will see
to it that [words indistinct] of 100 are left with less than 20 workers. Not
only in this enterprise, but throughout the country--less than 20.  [applause]
Do you know how many people have wound up in offices? Do you know [words
indistinct] and they ask for this again? We have discussed this with
cooperatives. They have a good level of management. However, there are three or
four cooperatives with 60, 70 caballerias. We are going to place these
enterprises at the same level as cooperatives. We will place them at the same
level as cooperatives. [repeats] [applause]

77.  However, this still does not solve the problem. Mobilization is not the
final solution to the problem. We will need years for this.

78.  But there is a specific reality. Agricultural workers are being treated as
least important in our society, as the last wheel of the car. How does that
saying go? Oh yes, they are being treated like the car's fifth wheel.

79.  We have done all kinds of things. When we started the rectification
process, one of the first things we did was eliminate the 80-peso minimum wage.
We did all kinds of things. We carried out wage reform, but the agricultural
worker was forgotten. That is the truth. We helped cooperatives. We have
provided them with equipment.  We gave them construction materials and they
built houses. The standard of living of cooperative members has improved
significantly. We met with the best cooperative directors. We talked about and
discussed all these issues in depth. We told them that we owe the agricultural
workers the same standard of living that members of cooperatives enjoy.

80.  Many people made a lot of money on the peasant free market. People
acquired material without control [por la libre]. They came to Havana all the
way from Pinar del Rio and Santa Clara Provinces to buy material without
control and they built themselves very nice houses.  Many people did that.
Agricultural workers, however, did not have that opportunity.

81.  Unfortunately, at a given time, agricultural enterprises stopped building
houses. When the rectification process began, we tried to start the home
building policy in those enterprises again, but we had to start by creating
cement block factories and by repairing the existing cement factory. We had to
do many things.

82.  We cannot have agricultural workers if they are not paid adequately for
their work and if we fail to pay due attention to order, [Castro corrects
himself] I mean, to man. [applause] What happens when agricultural workers lack
homes and day-care centers and are treated as outcasts? The state has a more or
less fixed wage system. When there is a lot of work to do, private enterprises
pay up to 20, 25, or 30 [currency not specified] and take labor forces away
from state enterprises.  Cooperatives also pay more than the state, although
not more than private enterprises. Thus, those enterprises' agricultural
workers [words indistinct].

83.  Every time we have implemented a policy centered around man's
interests--as we did in the case of the sugar cane harvest--we have obtained
positive results.  State enterprises produce over 80 percent of the total sugar
cane production in this country. Productivity per hectare improves and
increases with those policies.

84.  We have made a greater effort with sugar cane. This is a mechanized crop.
Our 4,000 combines have replaced 300,000 cutters. [Words indistinct]
Unfortunately, our varied-crop enterprises and many other agricultural
enterprises did not make the investments they needed to make. I believe that
many varied-crop enterprises in Havana and in other areas, too [words
indistinct] but if we did not build houses in those enterprises during those
critical years, we must build houses there now. The 10,000 houses built in that
enterprise that has just [word indistinct] man's stay in that enterprise. If we
want to have food to eat, agricultural workers' wages should be even higher
than those paid in the cities. [applause]

85.  That is a fact in other countries. That is a need in any country and in
any social system. Japan is one of the world's most developed countries. As far
as the rice issue is concerned, the Japanese plant it by hand or with very
small machines, because they do not sow large fields.  The production per
hectare is high, though the production per man is very low compared to any
mechanized rice plantation.

86.  When the international price of rice is $250 or $300....  [changes
thought] In Japan, the government pays $800 or $850 per ton of rice to the
farmer, otherwise they would be without rice, otherwise they would be without
rice [repeats]. Of course, that is the complaint of many rice-exporting
countries. That subsidy competes and takes the markets away from many Third
World countries. But they produce rice. How much do the Japanese spend on
foodstuff subsidies? $24 billion. How much does the EEC spend? $25 billion. And
so those strange neoliberal theories that some have invented that agriculture
cannot be subsidized.... [changes thought] The more industrialized nations
subsidize it, otherwise they would not have agriculture.

87.  Yes, this is also a selfish measure. They forget about countries that
produce many things and so they take away the meat market from Argentina,
Brazil, and Uruguay, and create all sorts of problems for other countries.
Regardless of the social system, and this is much more so in the socialist
system that seeks equity and justice, the work is very hard. One has to see
what agricultural work is like in June, July, and August. In Europe, gentlemen,
they work with air conditioning in the fields. With the temperature in Europe
and the United States, in those countries that have a dry climate and 15, 16,
or 17 degree [centigrade] temperature, there is air conditioning. Here, men
must work under a sun that breaks stones, a relative humidity of over 80
percent, and heat in the shade of over 30 degrees.

88.  This is hard work, and we must do it. Otherwise, people will instinctively
and naturally seek the shade or an office. [applause] Now that everyone, now
that everyone [repeats] has studied and can study, since the universities have
200,000 students in their regular courses and in their refresher [por
reencuentro] and directed [dirigido] courses, and in all sorts of courses....
[changes thought] A person may be trained, and I will not mention any
profession lest someone should take offense [laughter]....  [changes thought] I
can say a historian, that is a good profession and very interesting, is taught
through a directed course. However, we cannot produce through a directed course
a single plantain or harvest a pound of sweet potatoes. [applause]

89.  The university has 300,000 [figure as heard] students, taking all sorts of
courses. The [name indistinct] farming enterprise, which has 4,000 hectares,
has 128 farm workers. Everyone has become a university student, professor,
teacher, Minfar [Ministry of the Revolutionary Armed Forces] or Minint
[Ministry of Interior] official, mid-level technician, engineer, CDR [word
indistinct] [applause], and yet the farming enterprises, the various crop
enterprises, are there, where one has to [word indistinct]. It is not the same
thing on dairy farms.  One has to work early in the morning and in the shade on
the dairy farms. However, where there are crops, one cannot [word indistinct],
because we still do not have machines that pick up and clean the sweet
potatoes, cassavas, and all the other crops.

90.  That work has to be done by hand. There is no one there, and that is the
reality. One has to change that reality.  That is why I say that (?the question
is not just to leave the) office. [applause] Offices must have among their
cadres those who know, experts. But an expert [words indistinct] and also in
the plantain field [words indistinct]. I think of an expert as an intellectual
of production, directing the field there, being a sergeant of production.
However, if everyone is taken to the field, that will not solve anything.

91.  Some crops require 10 workers per caballeria, sometimes more, sometimes
less. In the case of plantains, where the microjet system is used, then you
need five workers. How productive they are! The irrigation system is like a
faucet that is opened. Once the investment is made, it is only a matter of
opening the faucet. That phase involves high technology and it increases
productivity enormously. In addition, we are dealing with a year-round
crop--from January until December. It is year-round production. It is not like
potatoes, which we can only produce between March and April. Potatoes are a
seasonal crop. We have to store potatoes in cold-storage rooms.

92.  In any case, we need eight to 10 workers per caballeria for this type of
crop. We are taking all this into account in the program we are developing in
Havana.

93.  In May and June, but especially in June when Cuban students finish their
final exams and go on vacation, our agricultural workers also request leave to
coincide with the [word indistinct]. You can therefore imagine what happens to
our 300 sweet potato caballerias in June, July, and August. Each sweet potato
caballeria requires the planting of 600,000 stems to produce 5,000, 6,000,
7,000 or more quintals of sweet potatoes. The same thing goes for the yucca
crop, except that if we wait until June to plant the yucca--after having
planted potatoes, tomatoes, and other vegetables--there are no students to help
with the crops. There is no one to do the work at the caballerias. Students go
on vacation in June.

94.  Perhaps some of the machinery is not used enough during that time of the
year. I have told our comrades that everything should be planted by June. The
only thing that grows at that time is grass. The only thing that is fertilized
at that time of the year is grass. And we [word indistinct] grasslands in some
of those enterprises.  When people are called in [words indistinct] they [word
indistinct] the grass this tall. We should not let grass grow, because in
places where one man is enough [words indistinct], then we need five men to do
the same job and nothing is produced.

95.  A cucumber caballeria should usually produce 3,000 quintals of cucumbers,
but when the grass starts growing in June and July.... [changes thought] This
happened this year.

96.  We talked about this when we discussed the call for the party congress
with the CTC [Central Organization of Cuban Trade Unions] members. At that
meeting, we realized that there were orders to plant important [word
indistinct], taking into account that the weather had been bad for the potato
and tomato crops. But what happened? It was only at that meeting that we
realized what was happening. Our comrades were looking for a labor force and
mobilizing members of the Youth Labor Army. But [words indistinct] is that
[words indistinct].  When they called for a mobilization, the grass was up to
here. It was very tall. That cannot happen to us again.

97.  Now that we have discussed this problem, we realize that this year has
facilitated our work regarding problems we had with our winter crops. We made
big efforts in the spring. This is what all these things prove and teach us. 
We should have 20,000 workers in June.

98.  We are trying to provide our agricultural camps with all the necessary
facilities. We need cubicles instead of large rooms.  We are going to install a
number of fans. We will not install air conditioning, but we will have fans.
The electricity consumed by one air conditioning unit can be used to operate 12
fans. We already have the fans. We have everything. We will try to keep some
camps cool for as long as we can, because some of them have no cooling systems
at all.  [applause] We will also put screens on the windows, because one of the
enemies is mosquitoes. We will improve the entire general situation of the
agricultural camps.

99.  The food given to the mobilized agricultural workers must be more or less
similar to that of the contingents, because these mobilized workers must be as
well fed as circumstances permit. [applause] The camps will now have stoves;
wood-burning stoves, and regular stoves.  We have made estimates of the
expenses of the 50 camps working at full capacity for one year. If there is
suddenly no more oil and we do not have enough to make those stoves work, we
will then use the wood-burning stoves.  With the wood-burning stoves we will be
able to solve the problem. We should adopt as many preventive measures as
possible. We must be prepared for any situation. If we need to make more
sacrifices, we will be ready to make them.

100.  The same is going to be done with our machinery. Our plan includes the
domestication of 3,000 teams of oxen.  In the varied-crop enterprises, many of
these teams are in the [word indistinct], although some of them have not been
killed. [Crowd laughs] Some of them have been pardoned. We have told some of
them: Gentlemen, you are not going to be part of our diet. You are now going to
work. You are now going to contribute to a special period in time of peace. Of
course. [applause]

101.  To avoid unnecessary sacrifices as long as we can, there is a national
program to domesticate 100,000 bulls in six months. We also have 300 buffalo,
which are very good too, and their herds are increasing. We are now purchasing
fowl meat as well. As long as we can do this, we will continue to domesticate
these animals.

102.  We will possibly domesticate another 100,000 bulls so that our
agricultural sector will have approximately 400,000 domesticated bulls.
Currently, we have 212,000 domesticated bulls. We are going to double this
figure and we are going to plow the land and plant everything necessary with
oxen and not use fuel. [applause].

103.  We will try to maintain the sugarcane combines because they can do the
work of 300,000 workers. Even if we had the strength, we must consider the
expenses incurred in mobilizing 300,000 workers; buying axes, machetes, tools,
and providing shelter, transportation, food, clothing, and footwear.

104.  Even if we had to stop everything else, we would still keep the 4,000
combines working. We will harvest the sugarcane with combines. [applause] The
food program is being carried out rigorously, and it is a number one task whose
development should not be stopped.

105.  The second program is that of biotechnology, pharmaceutical industry, and
research centers, because they represent a world of difference for this
country. Even if we only had cement, wheelbarrows, and money for this plan
after the food program, we must go on. Well, we are using up nearly four
million tons of cement. Let us suppose that the special period cuts down this
quantity to one and one half million tons or a third of the cement, the dams,
canals, food programs, and dairy installations will have all of the cement that
they require. This biotechnology, pharmaceutical industry, and research plan
will have all of the cement that it requires. This could yield thousands of
millions of [new products] for the country. I am not speaking of a few
millions. We are paying great attention to this field. Our scientists work 14
or 15 hours daily seeking new products in this field, which is a good thing for
the country. Yes, the imperialists know it, but it does not matter. I can say,
however, that we can manufacture in our research centers any medicine that they
can manufacture. [applause] We are even manufacturing some products that they
are not.  And some of them will be more costly than oil. We have manufactured
products in our research center that have proven to be so good that we are
already using them.  There is an increasing demand for them. In addition,
people come here from Vitiligo to be treated because they have not been cured
anywhere else or have been treated before with medicine that we manufacture. 
There are people who come to us for treatment of pigmentary retinitis, which is
not cured anywhere else in the world. We are progressing in many fields,
particularly in the production of vaccines and medicines of all kinds. There
will not be one medicine left that we cannot manufacture. This is another field
that will not be affected by the special period. If we have one cent, this is
where we will use it.

106.  And we still have the third branch, tourism, which could mean
considerable revenue for the country. In Cuba, the pure air and sea, and a sun
that cracks the rocks, a sun that the Northern Europeans would like to enjoy in
winter, is not suitable to plant sweet potatoes. This climate, however, is
excellent for recreation. So we have this developed world that lives in despair
because pollution is everywhere. The waste products of 140,000 industries are
spilled into the Mediterranean, as a result the fish cannot live there and the
oxygen level has diminished.

107.  We have clean seas, surrounded by the Gulf current, excellent natural
resources. We do not have oil, but we do have some places that are beautiful.
Since we have to live, and need money, and we need resources, and since we must
save the revolution, we must make all the necessary investments in this area.
[applause] These are priority programs. These are priority programs. [repeats]
Any economic program, anything that gives us something, that saves us an import
product, that solves an important problem, or that generates an export
product.... [changes thought] Logically, if we build much less, and use less
cement, we may have cement to export, if we have fuel. We may have left over
cement to use in Villa or we may have other materials left, and we can increase
our exports with them.

108.  Well, there are things like, for example, the manufacture of bicycles,
which has become a top priority. [laughter] It is a top priority. We have
purchased 200,000, and we are awaiting to purchase an additional 500,000, and
we have given instructions to quickly purchase the equipment for five bicycle
factories--five factories. [applause] JUVENTUD REBELDE reported that 500,000
bicycles were going to be built in 1991.  That is not right. In 1991, and if we
manage to purchase 500,000 bicycles, we may have more than that. The ones we
are purchasing have to be assembled.

109.  I said we have 200,000 and are trying to obtain an additional 500,000.
Even though we are purchasing the equipment, no one can say that the first
bicycles built here will be circulating in the first quarter of the year.  No.
There is a bus factory called Giron Seis which has turned out to be bankruptcy
on wheels because of the amount of gasoline it spends. For the moment, we will
not build any more Giron Seis factories. If there is an engine, we will put it
in stock, for those that unfortunately must be on the road. But the Giron Seis
factory will now become a bicycle factory. [laughter]

110.  If we go back to manufacturing buses there, it will have to be a bus with
an engine that yields 20 kilometers per gallon instead of seven. That is a big
loss. It is a fuel pipe that leaks gasoline along the way. No one know what
needs to be done to an engine that uses a gallon every seven kilometers,
transporting just a few people. We have some of these old buses that stopping
them means getting richer.

111.  Well, what do we want to do with these bicycles. We want to hand them
out. We are carrying out some programs within a limit of eight to 10
kilometers, that will not take more than 30 minutes, 20 minutes, 15 minutes, or
10 minutes. Then, we are really going to have ltd [expansion unknown] in
industrial quantities.  [laughter] If our people do what some other countries
have done....[changes thought] Look at what China is doing today. And what
Vietnam is doing. Many countries live with fewer buses than we have; they move
about on bicycles. This is the era of the bicycle. We will not be the only
ones. What is happening is terrible. What will befall the Third World is much
worse than all that.

112.  Let us manufacture them. This is an investment we must make immediately,
like the investment for parts for the microjet systems for citrus fruit and
other crops, like the production of engines for irrigation systems, and like
the production of (?Fregat) machinery. For all of that we must have whatever
resources we may have available.  The people will get a little of everything.
Of the food plan, the people will get the biggest share whether we are in the
special period or not. To be truthful, comrades, we have been implementing a
food plan without the special period. We have been working very hard since the
rectification process began. Hundreds and hundreds of forces have been
organized for this food plan.

113.  The people are the only ones to gain from the programs of the medicine
industry. Whenever there is a new vaccine, every child gets vaccinated.
Already, virtually every child in this country has been vaccinated against that
plight and the people's terror known as meningococcus. Now, we have a vaccine
against hepatitis. It is an expensive vaccine, but we are going to mass produce
it for ourselves and for export. There are excellent products that seem to be
very good for fighting hypertension or high cholesterol levels, something that
afflicts a large number of people.

114.  In addition, we have other promising products that have beneficial
properties and represent hope, especially for seniors. [laughter] This world is
filled with all types of people, young and old. Well, gentlemen, that was to
tell you that we are making progress with some products and those products
benefit the people.

115.  The tourism program is a source of jobs in the country. This is
especially true in regions that are untouched. We are going to develop them.
This activity is going to be a source of jobs for thousands of people. These
jobs will pay well and they will not be as hard as growing sweet potatoes. We
have many people in other parts of the country, not so much in Havana, who want
this type of work.

116.  However, some tourist installations will not be occupied all year long.
During part of the year, some of these installations could be used for rest and
recreation of our people. [applause] During special periods these things will
be a priority.

117.  There is something I forgot and should have mentioned when I talked about
the multiple enterprises. It is a new idea, and it is a very important one. The
idea came from the Blas Roca contingent. They asked us to give them an area
where they could organize a brigade. We gave them 65 caballerias of plantain
with irrigation systems; 15 caballerias are already planted and the remaining
50 will have an aerial irrigation system. This system is 50 percent more
productive than the surface irrigation system. It is an aerial irrigation
system because it is like a shower that falls from the top of the trees. This
contigent is going to have 65 caballerias and already the Havana Micons
[Ministry of Construction] comrades, the contigents, have asked that they be
given another area. So, possibly the 500 caballerias of plantains with
irrigation systems in the Havana Province will be worked by contigents. Workers
that are more productive would reduce the amount of mobilization that would be
needed.

118.  This arrangement would work throughout the whole year. This type of
farming is very technical. The workers will be in the shade primarily because
of the cover. No grass grows there. It is possible that of the 500 caballerias
with irrigation systems, 400 of them are of plantains. Of these, 100 are worked
by a permanent force of contingents. Something new has arisen [words
indistinct].

119.  We are regrouping our forces throughout the country.  We are leaving to
the Blas Roca Brigades indispensable projects like the Coiba Hotel, the Bejucal
center for bioproducts, the cold storage warehouses being built in Havana, the
freeway to Pinar del Rio, which is very necessary in normal times, and the
freeway to Artemisa.

120.  The road between San Cristobal and Pinar del Rio will be built becasue it
is needed. The road is very bad. We will build the road for [word indistinct]
traffic, but not a freeway. Several Blas Roca brigades have gone to Pinar del
Rio to build dams and ponds for fish breeding and other activities. We are
making total changes. In the La Juventud dam area, they are going to build 20
ponds. In Mapopo, here in the province of Havana, they are going to build 10
ponds. We are relocating projects that were useful under normal conditions, but
now, in this special period, are less important. We are strengthening the
hydraulic and fish breeding sectors.

121.  We are transferring construction workers to agricultural sectors. We are
going to start this experiment with the permanent brigades here in Havana.

122.  There are a number of measures that we are undertaking.  We have already
issued orders not to start a single new social project. We wanted to build new
schools to replace the old ones in Havana. We had already carried out a project
for special schools and health centers. We have not yet built all of them. We
caried out a program of social schools and day-care centers. We have built
almost 120 centers. Now we have stopped those projects. We like these projects
very much. They are very humane.  However, they are not a basic need at this
moment. We have even decided not to start any new housing projects in Havana.
We have established a policy to go ahead and complete everything that is
already being built. This means that if a day-care center or a school is being
built anywhere, it will be completed.

123.  We have no alternative but to dedicate a number of years to our social
problems. I can assure you, companeros, that we will not build any new
hospitals. We will complete the ones we are building. In five years we have
become one of the most highly-regarded countries in the world in the medical
field. We will continue to graduate doctors. Naturally, the universities will
not be closed.  We cannot conceive of that. We will continue to gain more
experience.

124.  We will not start any new social programs. If we have to build houses, we
will build them wherever there is an industry, for the workers. We have to
build houses in the countryside to solve our basic problems. We are sorry about
the rest, because for three years we have been investing in factories to build
cement blocks, bricks, tubing, and everything else in the cement industry. It
hurts us very much to have to discontinue these programs, especially after we
had such great expectations about them. However, we must be determined about
our plans. We cannot be sentimental or emotional about this. The basic issue is
to safeguard the country and the revolution.

125.  We could not continue with these programs during a special period.
However, we are going to start new projects, and we are going to finish as many
of the ones we started as possible, because they are needed.

126.  About 30,000 houses are being built in the city [words indistinct]. These
are measures that we have to adopt and we must be prepared to adopt them.

127.  We are also thinking of the transportation problem. It will not be
possible to continue with 28,000 bus trips in the capital as before. We will
keep as many buses as we can for as long as possible. We might not be able to
maintain more than 20,000, and who knows how much fuel will cost next year. We
are not thinking of reducing working hours, but rather working days. If we
reduce one or two hours, we are not accomplishing anything.

128.  What will the situation be for the raw materials industry?  It is not
possible today, but if we have to close many industries, we will close them. If
we have to do what we said at the meeting of the Women's Federation, that is,
wear the same clothes several years, we would go to [applause] ...we would go
to our closets and trunks. We will have to do this for the children that are
born and whho start growing. However, if we were to lack raw materials for the
textile industry, we would have to reduce textitle production to the absolute
minimum.

129.  Even if this were to happen, our women will be well dressed. At the
Women's Federation meeting, I said that everyday they wore a different dress.
And here also. I am sure that if we were to meet tomorrow, you there would not
be wearing that red dress, nor you that green one, nor you the white one. Each
one of you would be wearing a different dress. Many of you have been saving
your dresses, like many families who keep their cribs, and save the older
children's clothes for the younger ones.  Everyone knows that. Such is life.

130.  We must be prepared for [words indistinct]. However, companeras and
companeros, there is something I want you to keep in mind. Only a socialist
system can face this. In a capitalist system having these kinds problems, they
would double or triple the prices and that would be it. The poorer people with
less income would have no electricity and that is it. Only a socialist system
faces the problems in the way we are doing. A capitalist system would even go
as far as to ration electricity and to solve the problem with price increases.
What if we were to raise the price to 20 or 25 cents a kilowatt? You can be
sure that we would save many more kilowatts. However, who would be penalized,
who would be affected? Who would be harmed? The workers, the poorer people
would be harmed. Those poor sectors would be affected the most. [applause]

131.  What would a capitalist system do in the case of an energy crisis? It
could do nothing. It would have no way out. Prices would increase and some
people would resort to stealing electricity from their neighbors. In a
capitalist system, generally speaking, no one is allowed to do this, but the
prices would increase anyway. They raise the price to 50 and reduce the number
of trips from 26,000 to 8,000 [sentence as heard]. Two thirds of the 15,000
Havana city bus employees would be fired. Two thirds is a lot and we would have
a conflict.

132.  It seems that it is more pleasant to go around in a T-bone [not further
indentified] than to work in the south [sentence as heard].

133.  However, what do the capitalists do? What are many Latin American
countries doing every day? They had never had a crisis like the one that is
coming because of fuel. They fire millions of people. They multiply costs. 
They crush the people, and they are only a privileged or super-privileged
minority.

134.  We have seen in Latin America over the last few years the famous shock
measures which the World Bank and the IMF are recommending to the formerly
socialist Eastern Bloc countries, those that decided to build capitalism. The
World Bank and the IMF are advising them to throw millions into the streets and
to increase prices. That is how capitalists solve the problem.

135.  However, the revolution will face this time without sending anyone into
the street, without depriving a single citizen of his resources, and without
leaving anyone unemployed.  Money may be plentiful, I will not deny it,
however, one of the problems we will face is that we do not expect to have new
electric home appliances because, logically, many consumer goods will decrease.
This is regrettable, but it is better than not having food or medicine.

136.  Let us hope, and we will be happy, if the country has electricity
throughout. Right now we cannot do it. We hope each family gets a television
set, in color. We were already doing it. And that each family may have a
refrigerator, a fan, or anything. Can we really assure that we will have those
appliances with the future appearing the way it does? No, we cannot.

137.  Not a single citizen will be deserted, and that is a characteristic of
our socialism. Not a single citizen will be abandoned. We challenge capitalism
to solve the problem in this manner, and to face difficulties such as this one
in this manner.

138.  If we must reduce the work week, we will reduce it. If we cannot work
five days, we will work four. And if we cannot work four, we will work three
and give time off.  We do not know what free time is if it is well used. I
talked to the companions of JUVENTUD REBELDE.  They plan to study languages and
computers in their free time, now that they will have free time each week.

139.  Everybody must make their plans. A young man may ride a bicycle with his
girlfriend. It does not have to be on an Icaru [not further identified]. An
Icaru is bad for the wheels, just like the Jiron 6 [not further identified]. A
young man can ride a bicycle.

140.  We will give time off, and maybe we will tell the British that we have a
30-hour work week and they still have to work so many hours. We will tell
Europe that we are ahead of them.

141.  Of course, when the situation returns to normal, we must go back to work
and longer work weeks.

142.  During the special period, the contingents will continue to work in the
areas of biotechnology, on important economic objectives, or in a hotel for
tourism. They will work day and night, all the time.

143.  It is possible that the situation with the fuel and raw materials will
force us to reduce the work week. Many similar measures are already being
taken. Some people work an extra hour so that they do not have to work on
Saturday. Some other people are working double shifts every other day.

144.  We are searching for many formulas, but we do not want to sacrifice the
citizen. At the most, the worker will earn free time, but he will not be on the
streets without a job.  This is the real humane way.

145.  Imperialists talk so much about human rights, but their formulas are
cruel, and always at the worker's or the people's expense. Humane treatment may
be the great virtue of our system when it faces problems such as this one. If
we had a capitalist system in our country, this would be absolutely impossible.
The situation would explode. There would be 10 revolutions. Some countries are
facing a similar situation now.

146.  In this case, two things are working in our favor.

147.  We have experienced oil crises in the past, but we did not have a crisis
in the socialist world. Now, we are facing two crises at the same time; the
crisis in the socialist world and the oil crisis, which has resulted from the
Persian Gulf conflict. Both are very serious problems.  Our other problems have
combined with this new problem, but the situation is disastrous for other
countries. With oil prices at $40 per barrel, no one knows what is going to
happen to over 100 countries in the world. No one knows what will happen in
those countries. But this is not all.

148.  If a war breaks out in the Gulf, oil prices will inevitably go up to $50,
$60, or $70 per barrel, and that would be a world catastrophe. It would be a
world catastrophe that would not only affect Third World countries, but it
would destroy the Third World. It would destroy Third World nonoil-producing
countries, which most of them basically are. A few oil-producing countries will
become rich and we do not even know what they will do with that money. The
capitalist, developed countries will manage better, but they will inevitably
experience an economic recession and not even the United States, which produces
part of the oil and gas it consumes, would escape. Thus, the world is facing an
extremely dangerous situation, and many countries do not even have the
resources we do.

149.  We will join together to face that situation. We will bear the burden of
this problem together. We will work together to save the country. We will
conduct activities that will allow us to find definitive solutions in the
future, but we always work as we should work under these circumstances. We have
to think that one day we will attain our total economic independence at any
price.  [applause] Our total economic independence [repeats].  And we will
attain it. Life will have us face that challenge. And we will mature. We will
be stronger and more prepared. How are we going to attain that goal? Although
ours is a small country that does not produce important hydrocarbons, we have
this. We have this [repeats]. We have our people's intelligence. [applause] We
have our intelligence; the intelligence that has developed the revolution
throughout these years. We have developed abilities. We have these two things.

150.  Our moral values and revolutionary principles helped us send over 300,000
internationalist combatants. No other country in the world has done that. Those
values must be present now. This country is now required to express its
internationalism; it is required to conduct an extraordinary internationalist
mission: to save the Cuban Revolution; to save socialism in Cuba.  [applause]

151.  That will be, that will be [repeats himself] the greatest
internationalist service that our people may ever offer humanity. The
revolutionary ideas are not defeated or anything like that. They are going
through hard times, but they will return. And the more injustice there is in
the world, the faster they will return. The more exploitation there is in the
world, the more hunger there is in the world, the more chaos there is in the
world, the faster the revolutionary ideas will return.

152.  We, who are the standard bearers of these ideas, must hold them up.
History has given us this mission, history.  [applause] As I said, we have the
intelligence, the moral virtue, courage, and heroism to carry out that mission.

153.  We have worried throughout much of the destiny. You may have heard at the
United Nations the gratitude shown for our representation's behavior at the
Security Council regarding the Persian Gulf crisis. We acted there with total
dignity and with a total spirit of justice. We have made this extraordinary
effort for peace, to find a solution to the problem without war, but a fair
solution.

154.  We did not hesitate in rejecting and condemning Kuwait's occupation and
annexation. We did this based on the norms and principles of international law,
which we believe must prevail in our world. We did not hesitate, therefore, in
supporting the resolutions that condemned those actions which, according to our
judgment, violated international law. But at the same time, we have strongly
opposed everything we consider unfair.  One of the most unfair things is the
attempt to defeat a whole nation through starvation. That is what the blockade
amounts to.

155.  At first we struggled to have food and medicine excluded from the
blockade because, if having hostages is condemnable or making innocent people
hostages, which we oppose and always will oppose, it is even more cruel to try
to kill millions of women, senior citizens, and children by starvation to
achieve a determined objective.

156.  That blockade does not only affect the military force, but the civilian
population too. Among the civilian population, there are millions of women,
elderly and children.  This is revolting. That is what the United States wants,
and has demonstrated at the United Nations, in light of Cuba's efforts for
defining the blockade properly and trying to have an exception to food and
medicines.

157.  The United States has been devising procedures that make it virtually
impossible to ship food and medicine to the Persian Gulf area. You can see that
the United States speaks of respect for human rights and certain principles,
while it applies incredibly cruel and loathsome formulas.  We have flatly
objected to this. Also, we vetoed the blockade because we knew what was coming
behind it.  As soon as the United Nations passed a resolution, the United
States unilaterally, and on its own, decided to establish a naval blockade
without authorization from the United Nations. Later, however, something truly
shameful occurred. In a resolution, the UN Security Council approved the
unilateral blockade measure by the United States. We objected. I think the day
in which the Security Council approved the unilateral military action of the
United States was a day of dishonor for the Security Council. The United States
was waving the baton in the Security Council. Now, an approved air blockade,
and Cuba voted against it, it was the only country to do so. We have had the
honor and the glory of being the only country to do so. [applause]

158.  History will record the honor, dignity, and courage that Cuba acted with
at this moment, which is so important for mankind. It was important to assume a
firm stance.  We did not compromise, but voted no, and we will vote against
everything we disagree with, although we are the only one. [applause] Several
of the measures approved by the Security Council are conducive to war, and we
have fought for peace within the Security Council, and not just there, but
everywhere. We have made many silent, quiet efforts to seek a political, rather
than a military solution to the conflict. We have taken action; we have made
use of our relations with many countries in an effort to achieve this
objective.

159.  In our opinion, a political solution necessarily implies an end to the
occupation of Kuwait, and the reestablishment of that country's sovereignty. In
this there is no confusion of any kind, and we have a policy of principle, a
straight, clear policy. We feel there should be guarantees for all the
countries in the region, and we believe that if the United States is capable of
achieving a political solution [corrects himself]--not the United States, the
United Nations--it could also develop formulas to provide guarantees for all
countries in the region by the withdrawal of the Iraqi troops to their border,
to their territory, and the withdrawal of the U.S.  and NATO troops from the
Persian Gulf region.

160.  Not attaining a political solution would represent a defeat for mankind.
We have bet on this political solution. We have worked and are still working,
although we are aware that there is less and less time. And we have done it,
not only with the political vocation of our peoples and our revolution, not
only to do our international duty [sentence as heard]. It would be very sad to
see a catastrophe befall the world, especially one that is impossible to
prevent. In addition, we are not dealing with a nuclear catastrophe, although
no one is sure what will happen. If chemical and nuclear weapons are used, no
one can be sure of the results. This war would not only cost many lives on the
battlefield, but it would be a catastrophe for the international economy,
partricularly in developing countries, the non-oil producing Third World
countries, which comprise the great majority.  While some countries will swim
in cash, others will swim in misery, sacrifice, and suffering. This is
inevitable.

161.  Apart from all of the risks, such as a chemical war and maybe a tactical
nuclear war, the outbreak of an armed conflict in the Persian Gulf could cause
an unestimatable amount of destruction, not only of lives, but also of energy
resources, which today are the Achilles' heel of the international and Third
World economies.

162.  If to these countries' huge debt, amounting to more than a trillion
dollars, we add the price of oil at $60 dollars a barrel, you can imagine the
catastrophe. This is also why we have multiplied our efforts in favor of peace
at the Security Council. It can be said that the United States and the West
have been betting for war, a war that would even result in negative
consequences for the economies of the developed countries and that of the
United States itself. I am sure that if they could think calmly, they would
realize that war is the worst solution for settling this conflict, that this
conflict can and should be settled politically, that several of the Security
Council resolutions, instead of paving the way for a political solution, have
made it more difficult. Our country has waged a great struggle also in this
context. We have not only thought about ourselves--yes, our own interests are
at stake--but about the interests of the world and fundamentally the interests
of the Third World countries. We will continue to wage this honorable and some
times lonely battle, but we will not hesitate, surrender, or back down.

163.  This, CDR companeros and companeras, is in essence what I wanted to tell
you today on this 30th anniversary.  My trust of the people is something that
marked me since I regarded myself as a revolutionary and since I became a
revolutionary. I am sure we have the privilege of relying on one of the most
intelligent, courageous, and generous people. This is a people of honor and
dignity, regardless of any defects we might have. In these difficult times,
there will surely be, as usual, rats that want to abandon the ship. There will
be cowards. [applause] We are not imposing our ideas, thus bringing problems to
thousands. Let them shift their homeland, if they so desire at this time. It is
not us, you know this very well, who are making it difficult to leave, but
they, the human rights people who, refuse visas when they are requested.  But
if the requestor breaks into the embassy with a sharp machete threatening to
cut off the ambassador's head, he is given a visa and the plane ticket at once.
[applause]

164.  We have seen and witnessed this little game, but stopped it short. I told
those involved: There is only one way for people to leave. Whether they want to
or not, they will stay in this homeland that they have refused to accept,
because they have been unable to appreciate farmers, the people of honor, the
proletariat, and the best workers of the country. [applause]

165.  Being farmers is a great honor in these times, although we have to
produce sweet potatoes, banana, malanga, and yucca even for [words indistinct],
because it is always so. We also have to feed even the scum and the
undesirables. But we cannot help it. We will give them their piece of sweet
potato, we will not refuse it. They will not be able to enjoy the glory of what
we are doing here. Maybe a formula can be devised some day to give more to
those who do more and a little less in the rationing card to the lazy. All of
these things are possible, but I am not announcing them. They can become very
complex. Well, life will tell us what to do. But well, we could give workers
three or four days off. They will feel happy and that each is doing his share.
What we must create is a climate of condemnation for the scoundrels, the
loafers, the idlers, and parasites. This should not be a task of the masses. It
is the moral climate that should pressure. Arms will abound for a situation
like this. We might lack raw materials and fuel and share this effort among us
all. I have already said that some will have to work more than others, and they
will, with pride.

166.  But I am referring to those who abandon the ship of the revolution, those
who are no longer revolutionaries, those who have been here and there. There
are some around, I can see them here. The easily frightened have always
existed. [applause] There are those who lose their morality and try to spread
their demoralization. We must confront them. In difficult times, the worms will
try to raise their heads. We must fight them and tell them: Worms, back to your
holes. Worms, go to your holes. [applause] Worms, back to your garbage, dung,
[words indistinct], and shut your mouth. [applause] These good virtues of the
CDR should never be lost. The morals of worthy men and women, the courageous,
the patriots, the revolutionaries, and the communists is what should prevail.
[applause]

167.  Now, we are even adopting new forms of popular organizations. As you all
know, we are already creating in Havana the 93 people's councils for the 93
zones into which the capital city will be divided. This will be done according
to the party and state leadership, which have made the decision to apply this
system as an experiment.  I believe, however, that it will be a definite
reality. It will be an experiment regarding operations, norms, and tasks. On 10
October, however, the capital city will have its 93 people's councils, with
their presidents, who will be the natural leaders. They will be elected from
the zone delegates. You could not find a more democratic or popular
institution. The president of each zone will be elected by the other delegates,
who were, in turn, elected directly by the people. They were not only elected,
but also nominated by the people. Representative and mass organizations will,
of course, also participate in the councils. It will be a formidable
instrument. There will be 93 presidents who, if they are professionals, will
earn the same salary they were making before, so that they will dedicate
themselves completely to the task, with the help of the other delegates of the
zone. [applause]

168.  The president of the council will have power. He will be the official who
represents the people, the municipality, and the province. He will represent
the government. All this is very clear. He will represent the people and the
government in the council. If we are supported by the mass organizations, we
will be able to curb many of the vices that still persist, and many other
things that have resulted from the lack of control. I spoke today to some of
the delegates to the sessions. I asked one of them: Can you tell when there is
embezzlement in a business? He said: Yes. Can you tell when there are
privileges or corruption? He said: Yes. That man will be the authority there.
The council will try to see that those who work in corner stores and service
centers are, as much as possible, men living in that zone or near it.
[applause]

169.  In those zones we have agencies that belong to city hall, to the
province, or to the nation. A bakery is the same as a store or a cigar factory.
The council presidents must be there, watching everything that goes on,
imposing and demanding order. We reached that conclusion after discussions on
convening the party congress. We kept in mind that it must be clear that
consensus and broad majority views should exist in discussions on convening the
congress, and that these must begin to be applied even before we get to the
congress; they should be applied before we get to the congress. [applause]

170.  It is my opinion that, in the capital, one of the most important tasks is
to perfect the way the people's government works.  The delegates will have
authority. They will always have an authority who represents them, who will
call on the municipalities and the provinces, wherever they are needed.

171.  I intend to meet every so often with these 93 heads of the people's
government. [applause] They will be able to tell us what is going on at the
grocery store, the butcher shop, the restaurant, the saloon, anywhere. They
will know what is going on there. They will be the representatives of the
people and the socialist state in this struggle. They are not going to be
managers. They are not going to be shuffling any paper or becoming involved in
any bureaucratic procedures. When they begin their work, they will begin at a
grocery store or at a defense committee office. They will work wherever there
is a telephone to make calls.

172.  You know that we have a telephone development program. We have been
carrying it out, and we will continue it. Imagine, during a special period,
there is probably even more talking. [laughter] We have a plan to install
200,000 telephones. We even have a factory to make the cables if we get the raw
materials. The factory is already completed. It is San Jose de Las Lajas. We
purchased many telephone lines. We bought them at a good price, because we took
advantage of the conversion in which certain countries are involved. We bought
them cheap.  We paid one-tenth the normal price. They are newer than what we
have. We bought them cheap, and we are installing them.

173.  Each delegate or president will, therefore, probably get one telephone
and perhaps a motorbike [applause, laughter]. This will help us in this battle.
We must settle our matters to fight the vices that the people, with reason,
criticize, and to fight forms of corruption. It is a battle that can only be
won with the people and with the people's participation. Thus, we must fight a
battle not only politically, but economically. It is a battle for efficiency.
We must be proud soldiers of this era, this hour, this struggle, and this
mission.

174.  We must first save the homeland. [applause] We want a free and
independent homeland. A land that is now more independent than ever. More
independent than ever.  [Castro repeats himself as heard] We want to always
have a proud and independent homeland instead of a yankee colony. We must save
the homeland. We must save the revolution. We must save socialism. This is the
task we urge the 7.5 million CDR members to undertake today.  Socialism or
death! Fatherland or death! We will win!

-END-