REFLECTIONS BY THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF

THE SUMMIT DEBATE

All physical, geographic and time barriers disappeared. It seemed unreal. Never before had a dialogue of this nature taken place between heads of State and government, most of whom represented nations that had been pillaged by colonial and imperialist powers for centuries. Nothing could have been more instructive.

The Saturday of November 10^th, 2007, will go down in the history of our America as a day of truth.

The ideological Waterloo took place when the King of Spain abruptly asked Chávez: “Why don’t you keep quiet?” All hearts in Latin America raced at that instant. The people of Venezuela, who will be called upon to vote “yes” or “no” next December 2^nd, were shaken by the emotion of living the glorious days of Bolivar again. The betrayals and the low blows that our dear brother endures each day cannot change the way the Bolivarian people feel.

When Chávez arrived from Chile at the Caracas airport and I heard him directly mention his plans to mingle with the crowds, as he has done so many times, I had the extremely vivid impression that, given the current circumstances and the highly significant ideological victory he has attained, a paid assassin of the empire’s, an oligarch corrupted by the reflexes that the empire’s propaganda machine has inculcated into people, or a mentally disturbed person could put an end to his life. It is impossible to avoid the impression that the empire and the oligarchy are doing everything in their power to lead Chávez to a cul-de-sac, that they can easily place him in the line of fire.

Venezuela must ensure its victory is transformed, not into a terrible setback, but into a much greater victory, to prevent imperialism from leading our species to suicide. We must continue to struggle and to face risks, but we must not play Russian roulette or flip a coin every single day. No one escapes the logic of probability.

In such circumstances, the modern means of communication through which the summit debates were aired live are preferable.

Fidel Castro Ruz

November 12, 2007

4:45 p.m.