REFLECTIONS
BY COMRADE FIDEL
THE
EMPIRE’S HYPOCRITICAL POLITICS
It would be dishonest of me to remain silent
after hearing the speech Obama delivered on the afternoon of May 23 at the
Cuban American National Foundation created by Ronald Reagan. I listened to his
speech, as I did McCain’s and Bush’s. I feel no resentment towards him, for he
is not responsible for the crimes perpetrated against
What were Obama’s statements?
“Throughout my entire life, there has been injustice and
repression in
stand up for freedom in Cuba,” he told annexationists, adding: “It's time to
let Cuban American money make their families less dependent upon the Castro
regime. (…) I will maintain the embargo.”
The content of these declarations by this strong
candidate to the
José Hernandez, one of the Cuban American National
Foundation directives who Obama praises in his speech, was none other than the
owner of the 50-calibre automatic rifle, equipped with telescopic and infrared
sights, which was confiscated, by chance, along with other deadly weapons while
being transported by sea to Venezuela, where the Foundation had planned to
assassinate the writer of these lines at an international meeting held in
Margarita, in the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta.
Pepe Hernández’ group wanted to renegotiate a former pact
with
Presidential candidate Obama’s speech may be formulated
as follows: hunger for the nation, remittances as charitable hand-outs and
visits to
How does he plan to address the extremely serious problem
of the food crisis? The world’s grains must be distributed among human beings,
pets and fish, which become smaller every year and more scarce in the seas that
have been over-exploited by the large trawlers which no international
organization could get in the way of. Producing meat from gas and oil is no
easy feat. Even Obama overestimates technology’s potential in the fight against
climate change, though he is more conscious of the risks and the limited margin
of time than Bush. He could seek the advice of Gore, who is also a democrat and
is no longer a candidate, as he is aware of the accelerated pace at which
global warming is advancing. His close political rival Bill Clinton, who is not
running for the presidency, an expert on extra-territorial laws like the
Helms-Burton and Torricelli Acts, can advice him on an issue like the blockade,
which he promised to lift and never did.
What did he say in his speech in
despair. That is not a future that we have to accept --not for the child in
Port au Prince or the family in the highlands of
must do better. (…) We cannot ignore suffering to our south, nor stand for the
globalization of the empty stomach.” A magnificent description of imperialist
globalization: the globalization of empty stomachs! We ought to thank him for
it. But, 200 years ago, Bolivar fought for Latin American unity and, more than
100 years ago, Martí gave his life in the struggle against the annexation of
“I will reinstate a Special Envoy for the
Today, the United States have nothing of the spirit
behind the
In his speech, Obama portrays the Cuban revolution as
anti-democratic and lacking in respect for freedom and human rights. It is the
exact same argument which, almost without exception,
An armed revolution in our country might not have been
needed without the military interventions, Platt Amendment and economic
colonialism visited upon
The revolution was the result of imperial domination. We
cannot be accused of having imposed it upon the country. The true changes could
have and ought to have been brought about in the
The first thing the leaders of the Cuban revolution
learned from Martí was to believe in and act on behalf of an organization
founded for the purposes of bringing about a revolution. We were always bound
by previous forms of power and, following the institutionalization of this
organization, we were elected by more than 90 percent of voters, as has become
customary in Cuba, a process which does not in the least resemble the
ridiculous levels of electoral participation which, many a time, as in the case
of the United States, stay short of 50 percent of the voters. No small and
blockaded country like ours would have been able to hold its ground for so long
on the basis of ambition, vanity, deceit or the abuse of power, the kind of
power its neighbor has. To state otherwise is an insult to the intelligence of
our heroic people.
I am not questioning Obama’s great intelligence, his
debate skills or his work ethic. He is a talented orator and is ahead of his
rivals in the electoral race. I feel sympathy for his wife and little girls,
who accompany him and give him encouragement every Tuesday. It is indeed a
touching human spectacle. Nevertheless, I am obliged to raise a number of
delicate questions. I do not expect answers; I wish only to raise them for the
record.
Before
judging our country, you should know that Cuba, with its education, health,
sports, culture and sciences programs, implemented not only in its own
territory but also in other poor countries around the world, and the blood that
has been shed in acts of solidarity towards other peoples, in spite of the
economic and financial blockade and the aggression of your powerful country, is
proof that much can be done with very little. Not even our closest ally, the
The
only form of cooperation the
We
have never subordinated cooperation with other countries to ideological
requirements. We offered the
Our
revolution can mobilize tens of thousands of doctors and health technicians. It
can mobilize an equally vast number of teachers and citizens, who are willing
to travel to any corner of the world to fulfill any noble purpose, not to usurp
people’s rights or take possession of raw materials.
The
good will and determination of people constitute limitless resources that
cannot be kept and would not fit in a bank’s vault. They cannot spring from the
hypocritical politics of an empire.
Fidel
Castro Ruz