Intellectuals Praise Cuban Resistance
On the occasion of Fidel Castro s 80th birthday, celebrities such Francois Houtart, Frei Betto and Giani Mina spoke at the Cuban broadcast of the International Roundtable Monday.

The program highlighted the extensive coverage international media have given the health and activities of the statesman, after his proclamation to the Cuban people, as well as referring to the numerous get-well messages sent to him by heads of state, political, scientific, and intellectual personages, as well as ordinary people.

Belgian theologian Francois Houtart asserted that the island is a political and moral obstacle to the globalization of capitalism staged by the US.

The outstanding Brazilian religious and intellectual figure Frei Betto said that without the Cuban referent, the current alternatives emerging in America, (Hugo Chavez, Evo Morales, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, Nestor Kirchner and Tabare Vazquez) would not be possible.

The author of ó Fidel and Religion ó said the case of the five Cuban antiterrorism fighters unlawfully imprisoned in the US, illustrated the abnegation and strength of the Caribbean nation.

Italian journalist and producer Gianni Mina affirmed that Fidel is among the few heads of state that stand out for his intellectual level.

 Also present at the roundtable were Spanish Jaime Losada, Brazilian Marilia Carbalho, and Puerto Rican Nelson del Castillo.