-DATE-
19911210
-YEAR-
1991
-DOCUMENT TYPE-
-AUTHOR-
-HEADLINE-
Castro on AIDS, Divorce, Drugs, Young Leaders
-PLACE-
CARIBBEAN / Cuba
-SOURCE-
Mexico City NOTIMEX
-REPORT NO.-
FBIS-LAT-91-239
-REPORT DATE-
19911212
-HEADER-
*********************
Report Type:         Daily Report             AFS Number:     PA1112154091
Report Number:       FBIS-LAT-91-239          Report Date:    12 Dec 91
Report Series:       Daily Report             Start Page:     1
Report Division:     CARIBBEAN                End Page:       1
Report Subdivision:  Cuba                     AG File Flag:   
Classification:      UNCLASSIFIED             Language:       Spanish
Document Date:       10 Dec 91
Report Volume:       Thursday Vol VI No 239

Dissemination:  

City/Source of Document:   Mexico City NOTIMEX

Report Name:   Latin America

Headline:   Castro on AIDS, Divorce, Drugs, Young Leaders

Author(s):   Mexico City newspaper EL SOL DE MEXICO; place and date of
interview not given]

Source Line:   PA1112154091 Mexico City NOTIMEX in Spanish 1845 GMT 10 Dec 91

Subslug:   [Report on ninth and final part of an interview with President Fidel
Castro by Mexico City newspaper EL SOL DE MEXICO; place and date of
interview not given]

-TEXT-
FULL TEXT OF ARTICLE:
1.  [Report on ninth and final part of an interview with President Fidel Castro
by Mexico City newspaper EL SOL DE MEXICO; place and date of interview not
given]

2.  [Text] Mexico City, 10 Dec (NOTIMEX)-Fidel Castro has said that Cuba has
been quite successful in fighting acquired immunodefficiency syndrome [AIDS]
and has managed to contain the disease while other countries have not.

3.  We apply traditional methods, those that have been used throughout history
in cases of highly dangerous diseases, that is, the isolation of infected
people, as in the case with cholera, leprosy, and so on, Castro added.

4.  In the final part of an exclusive interview with Mexican newspaper EL SOL
DE MEXICO he stated that in Cuba the disease was detected at a very early stage
and ``we lost no time, we made no mistakes, because we treated it on a
case-by-case basis.''

5.  We established sanatoriums to house those infected with AIDS to allow them
to have contact with their families and go out.

6.  He added that the hospitals implement control measures and educate the
families of AIDS patients while the patients receive treatment and careful
nourishment and are allowed to visit their homes.

7.  Cuba has so far registered 681 infected people of whom 98 are sick and 583
are carriers of the virus.

8.  ``Our people feel overprotected from AIDS, otherwise, the country would not
even have the 681 serum positives it has, that is, .006 percent,'' Castro
added.

9.  During his interview with the Mexican newspaper, Castro also commented on
divorce in Cuba. He said that his country has registered a high rate of
separations and this has increased with the revolution.

10.  ``Couples are freer now; women who are freer are less dependent on men
than during pre-revolutionary times,'' Castro stated.

11.  In the past women held no jobs or worked as maids, and there was a large
number of prostitutes.

12.  The commander said that there are 33,000 legal separations and 83,000
marriages. [sentence as received]

13.  Castro said that ``the government is concerned about the high number of
separations'' and admitted that this shows that sex education is not that
advanced.

14.  He added that women in Cuba comprise nearly 60 percent of the country's
technical force, hold jobs, earn good salaries, and are free and less dependent
on men than in the past.

15.  As for the drug problem in Cuba, Castro stated that ``there is almost no
mention of that'' in the country.

16.  He said that ``some factors have helped us,'' referring to the case of
General Ochoa and his comrades, who received death sentences for their
involvement in the trafficking of drugs from Colombia.

17.  ``That set a clear precedent; that our country would not tolerate
weaknesses or crimes of that nature,'' Castro added.

18.  He pointed out that ``we had a problem. In Colombia there was a powerful
mafia and as part of its plans it was constantly violating Cuban airspace.''

19.  The government implemented a number of actions to prevent Cuba from being
used as a bridge for drug trafficking, ``it involved hard work, but we were
successful'' and attempts to violate our airspace and territorial waters have
decreased considerably.

20.  As for the new generation of presidents and chiefs of state in Latin
America, especially Mexico and Brazil, Castro pointed out that it is a good
idea to bring in new blood, because only with the involvement of youths can
many things be accomplished.

21.  Castro said that Cuba is renewing its political leadership.  He added that
more than half of the members of the Central Committe of Cuba's Communist Party
are new, as are a large number of Politburo members.

22.  We injected a good dose of young blood into the recent party congress,
because we are convinced that this is essential and that there is a need for
health and energy for the increasingly complex and tense functions of the
state.

23.  ``I believe that the presence of young people, outstanding people, and new
politicians, who have emerged in important countries such as Brazil, Mexico,
and so on, is a positive development'' he pointed out.

24.  Castro stated that youth has helped Mexican President Carlos Salinas de
Gortari, because he moves about the country as if he were ``possessed'' and
works hard.

-END-