Reflections by comrade Fidel
CHAVEZ’ VISIT
Raúl had invited him. He replied he didn’t want to come
see me so I wouldn’t catch the flu he had. That was nothing but a pretext to
avoid the torture of my habitual questions. “What am I taking vitamin C for?” I
told him in a message. Should we expect
all the heads of State who attended the Rio Group’s warm and successful last
meeting to get sick?
He was content, euphoric about that battle for peace
and his role in it --recognized by international cables-- made him happy. He
was serene, persuasive, thoughtful and with an excellent sense of humor. Even
Bolivar, who was never wholly satisfied with anything, would have been pleased
at that moment.
At the end, he sang “Quisqueya.” The meeting had
proven fruitful and, flu and all, his musical voice and ear could finally take
the floor.
He remarked that oil prices had gone up 5 dollars. He
asked to be excused by Leonel who, in a reflex-reaction, overcome with joy, had
begun to cough.
Many of the countries who had gathered there export
coffee and cocoa to the
Simple trade, increasingly unequal, is crushing the
economies of many Latin American countries. Some African countries are oil
producers. Others produce coffee and cocoa. Some attract transnational capital
like bees around a honey pot. Others attract debt and its steep interests. And
all suffer the scourge of rising food prices.
Today, Saturday, I had a long conversation with
Chávez. We are like brothers. The decision to publish what we discussed is not
mine to make, as it has never been and will never be.
All I can say is that the meeting was excellent. And
I have yet to feel any flu symptoms.
Fidel Castro Ruz