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POLITICS-CUBA: Castro
Confronts US, EU
By Patricia Grogg
HAVANA (IPS) - Cuban President Raúl
Castro has confirmed the worst economic
forecasts for his country, in an
international context that could become
even more complicated following his
refusal to address demands on human
rights issues.
Possibly confirming the view of those
who observe that in Cuba every crisis is
followed by more entrenched
defensiveness, Castro stated
categorically that his government will
"never give in to blackmail by any
country or group of countries, no matter
how powerful, whatever happens," in
response to pressure from the United
States and European Union governments.
"We have the right to defend ourselves.
If they try to corner us, we will take
cover, first of all with truth and
principles," he added, referring to what
he called the "massive campaign to
discredit Cuba," after the death of a
prisoner who went on a prolonged hunger
strike.
Castro referred, without naming him, to
Orlando Zapata, who died Feb. 23 after
refusing food for 85 days in prison,
according to dissident sectors in
pursuit of recognition as a prisoner of
conscience. He had been adopted as such
by Amnesty International.
President Castro declared that Zapata
was serving a prison sentence for 14
common crimes, and had taken on the
image of a "political dissident" through
oft-repeated lies and because he wanted
to receive economic support from abroad.
He was incited to go on a hunger strike
and make absurd demands, Castro said.
As for Guillermo Fariñas, a dissident
who went on hunger strike on Feb. 24 at
his home in the central Cuban city of
Santa Clara, Castro said - again without
specifically naming him - that in spite
of all the slander this man was not in
prison, although he had served time for
common crimes in the past.
"As in the previous case, everything is
being done to save his life; but if he
does not modify his self-destructive
behaviour, he will be responsible,
together with his sponsors, for the
outcome we do not wish for," said
Castro, who railed at the "double
standards" of those in Europe who remain
silent about rights violations committed
by the United States.
President Castro spoke Sunday, at the
close of the Ninth Congress of the Young
Communists League (UJC), the governing
Cuban Communist Party's (PCC) youth
organisation comprising some 600,000
members.
The event was widely expected to herald
the Sixth PCC Congress, postponed since
2002.
But the Cuban president did not mention
a probable date for the Sixth Congress,
which is regarded as crucial in the
country's present circumstances, nor for
the National Conference that should
precede it, which is empowered to add
new members to the PCC's leading bodies,
and to dismiss others as it sees fit.
The first secretary of the PCC - the
only political party in Cuba - is Fidel
Castro, the historic leader of the Cuban
revolution, whose illness in July 2006
led him to step down as president in
2008.
In February 2008, parliament elected
Raúl Castro, Fidel's younger brother, to
the office of president. Raúl is also
second secretary of the PCC.
The updating of the economic model is
ongoing "in order to set the foundations
of the irreversibility of Cuban
socialism and its development,"
President Castro told the UJC Congress,
while recognising that "some comrades
sometimes get impatient and wish for
immediate changes in many areas.
"We understand such concerns that,
generally, stem from ignorance of the
magnitude of the work ahead of us, of
its depth and of the complexity of the
interrelations between the different
elements that make society work and that
are to be modified," he said.
Economists consulted by IPS said the
changes made so far, some of them in
institutional circles and others of a
more structural nature, do not answer
all the country's needs, nor do they
represent a substantive change in the
economic model.
The pending changes eagerly awaited by
Cubans range from migration reforms to
eliminate the obligatory permits Cuban
residents need to travel abroad, to the
elimination of the dual currency, and
free purchases and sales of houses and
cars.
"We cannot allow haste or improvisation
in the solution of a problem to lead to
a greater one. In regard to issues that
are strategic for the life of the entire
nation, we cannot let ourselves be
driven by emotion or lose sight of the
necessary comprehensiveness of our
actions," Castro said.
He described the economic situation as
extremely complex, and said "the
economic battle is the main task and
focus of the ideological work of party
members, because the sustainability and
the preservation of our social system
depend on it."
Among the problems weighing down the
Cuban economy, Castro mentioned
inadequate agricultural production,
corruption, and lack of labour power in
areas directly linked to production,
while there are surplus workers in other
sectors.
"Without a sound and dynamic economy and
without the removal of superfluous
expenses and waste, it will not be
possible to improve the living standards
of the population, nor to preserve and
improve the high levels of education and
healthcare guaranteed to every citizen
free of charge," he said.
Cuba is also experiencing difficulty in
securing international financing, a
problem that has been exacerbated by the
fall in prices of its main export
products, which forced the island to cut
back imports by 37 percent in 2009,
among other adjustments. |
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