Fidel Castro: The course of events must change or else our species will not survive
- From: periodistalibre@xxxxxxx
- Date: 31 Mar 2007 08:54:45 -0700
(Fidel has been focusing on these issues for quite a few years now.)
====================
GRANMA INTERNATIONAL -
Havana. January, 5 2004 -
· Speech given by Dr. Fidel Castro Ruz, President of the Republic of
Cuba, at the Karl Marx Theater on January 3, 2004, for the 45
Anniversary of the Triumph of the Cuban Revolution
Dear fellow Cubans;
Distinguished guests:
Many of us who had the privilege of witnessing that exciting day are
still
alive; many others are deceased. On January 1, 1959 the overwhelming
majority of those here tonight were less than 10 years old or had not
been
born or there were still many years to go before they would be born.
It was never our purpose to attain individual or collective glory,
honors or
recognition. However, those of us who today have a legitimate right to
call
ourselves Cuban revolutionaries found ourselves obliged to write what
has
turned out to be an unprecedented page in the annals of history.
Unhappy
with the social and political situation in our country, we simply
resolved
to change it. This was not something new in Cuba; it had happened many
times
for almost a century.
We believed in the rights of the peoples, including the right to
independence and to rise up against tyranny. It was from the exercise
of
such rights in this hemisphere, conquered by European powers by fire
and the
sword, mass slaughter of indigenous peoples and the enslavement of
millions
of Africans, that a group of independent nations emerged, one of which
was
the United States of America.
When, on July 26 1953, the Cuban Revolution fought its first battle
against
an illegal, corrupt and bloody regime, 8 years had not yet gone by
since the
end of World War II unleashed by fascism in 1939, which took the lives
of
more than 50 million people and brought about the destruction of the
economies of all the then industrialized countries, with the exception
of
the United States, which was out of reach of enemy bombs and guns.
The fascist ideas that were the cause of that colossal conflict were
in
total contradiction with the principles proclaimed by the 13 former
British
colonies in America on July 4, 1776 in their Declaration of
Independence,
which literally read: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that
all men
are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit
of
Happiness. [¼]That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive
of
these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it,
and to
institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and
organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely
to
effect their Safety and Happiness".
The French Declaration of the Rights of Man, which resulted from the
1789
French Revolution, carried this point even further when it proclaimed:
"When
the government violates the rights of the people, insurrection is for
the
people and for each portion of the people the most sacred of rights
and the
most indispensable of duties".
The fascist ideas also clashed head on with the principles enshrined
in the
United Nations Charter after the gigantic battle that was World War
II.
Among the principles the Charter proclaimed to be essential
prerequisites of
a world political order are respect for the rights of the people to
sovereignty and independence.
Actually, the rights of the peoples have never been respected
throughout
humanity's brief known history, so full of wars of conquest, empires
and an
infinite variety of forms of plunder and of ways for human beings to
exploit
other human beings. Nevertheless, at that historic point in time and
despite
the reality that the victorious powers imposed a world political order
with
privileges for a minuscule group of the most powerful states that
became
ever more irritating, many nations, institutions and people were
hopeful
that a new and promising stage for humanity was beginning. More than
100
nations or groups of nations, including human groups that still lacked
a
national identity, were formally recognized as independent States. It
was a
time that greatly favored illusions and deception.
The overwhelming majority of countries that formally received the
status of
independent states was made up of former colonies, dominions,
protectorates
and other forms of oppressing and controlling countries that the most
powerful nations have used for centuries.
Their dependence on the former colonial powers was almost total; their
struggle to attain greater sovereignty and act on it has been
difficult and
often heroic. The dreadful harassment to which they are submitted in
Geneva
to get them to support the US resolutions or, as a last resort, to
abstain
from voting against them is proof of this. The way these states behave
in
the United Nations General Assembly is admirable. An expression of
this is
the growing and almost unanimous support for Cuba against the
blockade.
The worst of all is that a considerable number of those countries that
were
supposedly independent before that conflict was unaware of just how
little
independence they really had, and Cuba was one of them. Almost all of
the
Latin American countries were on that sorry list, as would become
blatantly
clear. As soon as our heroic people achieved real and full
independence,
almost all of their governing elites joined with the United States to
destroy the Revolution and prevent the social and political
accomplishments
we were rapidly achieving.
The aggression began as early as 1959 with the use of all possible
economic
and political measures, including violence, terrorism and the threat
of the
massive use of US military might.
What happened to Cuba would help showing all of the illusion and
deception
contained in those elegant texts about principles and rights
proclaimed by
the United Nations Organization.
Might and not rights would continue to be the basic fact of human
life, as
it has been the case through the millennia.
All that has happened up until the present, since the first known
historical
facts were registered, is the result of the natural and spontaneous,
torpid
and disorderly evolution of human society. Nobody can be blamed for
the
various economic and social systems that have followed one another
over the
course of five thousand years.
The different civilizations which arose in the most distant regions of
the
world: China, India, the Middle East, the Mediterranean, Central and
South
America obviously were, to a greater or lesser extent, ignorant of the
others' existence, were independent, although many things attest to
the
extraordinary range of their knowledge. Some are amazing like, for
example,
the Greek civilization with its art, philosophy, literature, its
knowledge
of history, physics, mathematics, astronomy and other subjects.
Our knowledge of Mayan and other pre-Incan civilizations is growing,
and
this knowledge shows that human beings, even when separated by tens of
thousands of years in time and tens of thousands of kilometers in
space were
already creators and capable of extraordinary works. Yet, in all the
civilizations that preceded us and even today, empires, wars of
conquest,
different kinds of slavery and feudalism, rich and poor, privileged,
ruling
social classes and exploited, marginalized and excluded classes have
existed
in one form or another. To ignore this fact would require enormous
ignorance.
I must admit that Marx was right when he sketched out the idea that
only
when a truly rational, just and equitable social regime exists on this
earth, will humankind have left prehistory behind.
If the whole development of human society has inevitably been chaotic,
disorderly, unpredictable, extremely cruel and unjust, the struggle to
create a different and truly rational world, worthy of our species'
intelligence is, at this moment in its history, which bears no
resemblance
to any of humanity's previous stages, something that was not possible
or
even imaginable in other circumstances: an attempt by human beings to
plan
their own destiny for the first time.
Dreaming of impossible things is called utopia; struggling for goals
that
cannot only be reached but which are essential if the species is to
survive,
is called realism.
It would be wrong to assume that such an aim would be motivated by
ideology
alone. We are talking about something that goes beyond the noble and
completely justifiable whishes for justice, beyond the deep desire
that all
human beings can live a free and decent life: we are talking about the
survival of the species.
The big difference between the age of the Greeks and our age lies not
in the
intellectual capacity of our species but in the exponential and
seemingly
infinite development of science and technology that has taken place in
the
last 150 years, and which completely eclipses the negligible and
ridiculous
political capacity we have shown for facing up to the risk of
perishing as a
species, a risk which really is threatening humanity.
Less than 60 years ago, when the first nuclear device equivalent to
20,000
tons of TNT exploded over Hiroshima, it became clear that technology
had
created a tool which, if developed, could bring about the obliteration
of
human life on this planet. From that day on, the development of such
new
weapons and weapons systems, hundreds of times more powerful, varied
and
accurate has not ceased, not for one day. Today, there are tens of
thousands
of them. Actually, very few have been destroyed under deceptive and
limited
covenants.
A small group of countries that have a monopoly over such weapons have
taken
upon themselves the exclusive right to produce and improve them.
Meanwhile
the contradictions and interests of its members change and humanity
develops
under a web of nuclear weapons that threaten its very existence.
Someone
could say something similar to what that Persian emperor said as he
and his
huge army closed in on the 300 Spartans defending the pass at
Thermopiles:
"Our nuclear weapons shall hide the sun".
The lives of the billions of human beings who inhabit this planet
depend on
what a few think, believe and decide. The worst of it all is that
those who
wield such great power do not have psychiatrists to look after them.
We
cannot just accept this. We have the right to denounce it, to exercise
pressure and demand changes and an end to such an absurd, unheard of
situation, which makes hostages of us all. No one should ever have
such
powers or else no one on this earth will be able to talk of
civilization
again.
There is another lethal problem as well: nearly 40 years ago some
people
began to voice their concerns over what has come to be called the
environment, because a barbarous civilization was destroying the
natural
conditions for life. This extremely sensitive issue was then put on
the
table for the first time. Quite a few people thought it was just some
alarmists exaggerating, a kind of neo-Malthusianism, like in previous
centuries.
They were, in fact, well-informed and intelligent people who took to
building a public awareness on this issue, at times worried sick that
it was
too late to take useful measures. Regrettably, those who due to their
great
political responsibilities should have shown greater concern, showed
only
ignorance and disregard.
More than ten years have passed since the UN-convened Rio de Janeiro
Summit
and despite the usual proliferation of speeches, pledges and promises,
very
little has been done. Nevertheless, there is a growing awareness of
the
mortal danger. And the struggle must grow and will grow. There is no
option.
Recently, a conference was held in Havana on desertification and
climate
change, which was also convened by the UN. It was an important effort
to
inform, raise awareness and call people to join the struggle.
In Rio de Janeiro, I was a witness to the deep concerns and fear of
representatives from small islands in the Pacific and from other
countries
threatened by the risk of being either partially or totally submerged
by the
seas because of climate change. This is sad. The first to suffer the
consequences of environmental damage are the poor. They do not have
cars, or
air conditioners; it is possible they do not even have furniture, if
they
have houses, that is. The effects of huge emissions of carbon dioxide
causing atmospheric warming and the destructive effect of the ultra
violet
rays that pass through the damaged ozone layer filter have a greater
impact
on them. When they fall ill, it is common knowledge that there are no
hospitals, doctors or medicines for them or their relatives.
A third problem: according to the most conservative estimates
possible,
world population took no less than 50,000 years to reach one billion.
This
happened around 1800, just as the 19th century was beginning. It
reached two
billion 130 years later, in 1930. It reached 3 billion in 1960, thirty
years
later; 4 billion in 1974, fourteen years later; 5 billion in 1987,
thirteen
years later; 6 billion in 1999 only 12 years later. Today, it stands
at 6.3
billion.
It is really amazing that in just 204 years world population increased
by
6.4 times from the figure of one billion reached in 1800, after no
less than
50 thousand years, calculated in a relatively arbitrary and
conservative way
so as to have a point of reference, but that should be further
analyzed. It
could have taken many more years, if we limit ourselves only to the
time it
took to reach its current capacity.
At what rate is it growing now?
1999: population 6.002 billion; growth 77 million.
2000: population, 6.1,079 billion; growth 75 million.
2001: population, 6.154 billion; growth 74 million.
2002: population, 6.228 billions; growth 72 million.
2003: population, 6.300 billion; growth 74 million.
2004: estimated population, 6.374 billion; growth 74 million.
What will the world population be in the year 2050?
The lowest estimates say it will be 7.409 billion; the highest say
10.633
billion. According to many experts, there will be around 9.00 billion
inhabitants. The enormous alarm generated by this colossal demographic
explosion, plus the accelerated degradation of the natural conditions
needed
for our species' survival have caused people to react with true dismay
in
many countries, since almost one hundred per cent of the growth I
mentioned
will take place in Third World countries.
Aware of the growing deterioration and reduction of land and water
resources, of the famines in many countries, of the indifference and
wastage
in consumer societies and the educational and health problems facing
the
world population, one could imagine that if all of these problems are
not
solved our human society might become one where its members devour
each
other.
It would be a good idea to ask the Olympic champions of human rights
in the
West if they have ever used a single minute to reflect on these
realities,
which to a very large degree are the result of the current economic
and
social system. It would be worth asking them how they feel about a
system
that, instead of educating the masses as a fundamental element for
making
progress in the search for urgently needed, viable solutions, with the
support of science, technology and culture, spends one trillion
dollars
every year on alienating consumerist advertising. With the money spent
in
just one of those years to spread this peculiar poison, all the
illiterate
and semi-illiterate people in the world could be taught to read and
write
and even reach ninth grade in less than ten years and no poor child
would
have to go without schooling. Without education and other social
services,
crime and drug abuse can never be reduced or eradicated. This we
proclaim
from Cuba, a country blockaded for 45 years, accused and condemned
more than
a few times in Geneva by the United States and their closest allies
but
which is about to provide health, education and cultural development
services the like of which the developed and rich West has never even
dreamed of and, what is more, these are absolutely free for all
citizens,
with no exceptions whatsoever.
The neoliberal globalization imposed on the world, designed to
facilitate
greater looting of the planet's natural resources, has, in the wake of
the
fateful "Washington Consensus" led most of the countries in the Third
World,
and especially those in Latin America, into a desperate and
unsustainable
situation.
The first fruit of this disastrous policy was the "lost decade" of the
80s
during which economic growth in the region only reached 1%; it rose to
2.7 %
between 1990 and 1998, much lower than false hopes and pressing needs,
to
drop again to 1% between 1998 and 2004.
The foreign debt, which in 1985, the year of that treacherous
"consensus",
was $300 trillion, today stands at more than $750 trillion.
Privatizations wiped out hundreds of billions of dollars worth of
national
assets that took many years to create but which evaporated with the
speed at
which capitals flee from those countries to Europe and the United
States.
Unemployment reached record heights. Of every 100 new jobs created, 82
are
in the so-called "informal sector" which includes a long list of those
who
earn their living any way they can without any kind of social or legal
protection.
Poverty has grown alarmingly, especially extreme poverty; it has grown
by
12.8 % involving 44 % of the population. Development is stagnant and
social
services are deteriorating by the day. Neoliberal globalization, as
was to
be expected, caused a veritable disaster in these services, first and
foremost health and education.
If old and new forms of looting, such as unequal terms of trade, the
unceasing, forced flight of capital, the brain drain, protectionism,
subsidies and the WTO's edicts are added to this, then no one should
be
surprised by the crises and other developments in South America.
Latin America is the world region where neoliberal globalization was
applied
most rigorously and exactingly. Now it is facing the challenge of the
FTAA,
which will sweep away national industries and turn the MERCOSUR and
the
Andean Pact into appendages of the US economy: it is a last assault on
the
economic development, the unity and the independence of the Latin
American
peoples.
But, even if this attempt at annexation is successful, this economic
order
will still be unsustainable, both for the Latin American peoples and
for the
people in the United States whose jobs are threatened by plentiful
cheap
labor recruited by the maquilas from among those who were prevented by
the
existing poverty, educational disaster and unemployment from getting
properly trained. Cheap, unskilled labor is something that the Latin
American oligarchies can offer on a grand scale.
A summary of all that I have said shows my profound conviction that
our
species, and with it each one of our peoples, are at a turning point
in
their history: the course of events must change or else our species
will not
survive. There is no other planet we can move to. There is no
atmosphere, no
air and no water on Mars, neither is there any transportation for us
to
emigrate there en masse. Either we save this what we have, or many
millions
of years will have to go by before another intelligent species arises
that
can start all over again the adventure we have gone through. Pope John
Paul
II has already explained that the theory of evolution is not
irreconcilable
with the doctrine of the creation.
I must draw my address to a close. There is much work awaiting us in
2004.
I want to congratulate our people for everything it has done over all
these
years, for its heroism, its patriotism, its fighting spirit, its
loyalty and
its revolutionary fervor.
I want to offer special congratulations on this 45th anniversary to
those
who took part in glorious internationalist missions, today epitomized
by the
exemplary behavior of the five heroes imprisoned by the Empire who,
with
impressive dignity, have withstood the unjust, vengeful, cruel actions
of
the enemies of their homeland and their people; epitomized too by the
15,000
doctors who, making great sacrifices, taking risks and dangers carry
out
their internationalist duties anywhere in more than 64 countries, a
human
feat that the United States and Europe could never accomplish as they
lack
the human capital to demonstrate which human rights they are really
defending.
With threats or aggressions nobody can prevent our doctors, teachers,
sports
instructors or any other collaborator from showing their solidarity;
nobody
can hold back the bravery of our sons and daughters because many are
ready
for the honor of taking the place of those who might fall victims of
terrorist actions encouraged and promoted by extremist officials in
the US
government.
I congratulate all those who struggle, those who never give up in the
face
of adversity; those who believe in humanity's capacity to create, sow
and
cultivate values and ideas; those who bet on humanity; all of those
who
share the beautiful tenet that a better world is possible!
We shall fight hand in hand with them and we shall overcome! (Applause)
.
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