By David Gonzalez.
The New York Times, May 2,
2001.
HAVANA, May 1 — Fidel Castro denounced the proposed Free Trade
Agreement of the Americas today as a ploy by the United States to manipulate its
allies politically and to dominate the hemisphere commercially.
During a 45-minute May Day speech to hundreds of thousands of flag-waving
Cubans packed into the Plaza of the Revolution, Mr. Castro seemed to relish his
familiar role of being the lone voice warning his Latin neighbors and defying
the United States. As the rustling of tiny paper flags peppered his speech, he
warned of the dangers of globalization and repeatedly inveighed against what he
described as the impending danger of United States control of everything —
from airlines and banks to laboratories and even pizza parlors.
At the end of the rally, a procession of nine-foot-tall effigies of various
world leaders, including a grimacing President Bush, stumbled past the podium
where Mr. Castro had just spoken, while an announcer blared out taunts.
"He lost the election but stole the presidency," the announcer
said of Mr. Bush.
Taking another jab at the United States, Mr. Castro, wearing running shoes,
marched alongside the 200,000 Cubans who filed past the United States Interests
Section — which handles United States business there in the absence of full
diplomatic relations — along the seaside boulevard known as the Malecón.
Loudspeakers blaring patriotic slogans faced the American government offices,
while schoolchildren marched past waving flags and chanting: "Socialist
children are resolute. Resolutely for peace."
The trade agreement was approved at the Summit of the Americas in Quebec in
late April. The agreement would create the world's largest free trade zone by
2005 as well as foster cooperation to fight drugs and disease, but would exclude
nations that have turned away from democratic traditions.
Cuba was denounced last month by the United Nations Human Rights Commission.
It was the only nation in the hemisphere that was not invited to the summit
meeting and would not be eligible to take part in the new trade agreement. But
that did not stop Mr. Castro, apparently still smarting from the slights and
pressure, from offering ample criticism after a quick summary of the United
States' own history of expansion to the West and into Latin America.
"There are Latin American politicians whose souls are sweetened when
they hear talk about free trade, as if they are still living in the middle of
the last century when they only depended on exports of basic products and
clamored for the suppression of United States tariffs," Mr. Castro said.
"For Cuba, it is clear that the so- called Free Trade Agreement of the
Americas in its conditions, time frame, strategy, objectives and procedures
imposed by the United States, inexorably leads to the annexation of Latin
America to the United States."
He said that such an opening of markets would lead to low-paid jobs and
continued underdevelopment. While other countries fault Mr. Castro for not
holding free elections, he insisted that the United States' allies in free trade
should let their people decide if they want unfettered access to markets.
"The worst, the saddest, the most cynical and hypocritical is that this
monstrous path is being attempted without consulting the people," he said.
"That is all the democracy that the empire and its lackeys can conceive
of."
And he concluded: "No government can sell its nation on the backs of
its people. There cannot be annexation if there is a plebiscite."
Soldiers, schoolchildren, retirees and workers stood in the sprawling plaza
as speakers denounced the United States' trade embargo of Cuba, then applauded
the musical and dance groups who performed in honor of the International Day of
the Worker. Young girls in ruffled ballet outfits waved hoops and soldiers,
doctors and militia members marched on the sidelines.
"I'm still here," said Elba Olivera, a retired history teacher. "We
went through a time when we people thought we would fall like the Soviet Union.
"We lost our markets and countries we traded with left us alone. But we
did not have barefoot children or old people who were sick. Things have
improved, even with the pressure."
Overlooking the edges of the crowd in the Plaza of the Revolution was the
huge statue of the 19th-century nationalist leader José Martí and
a towering wrought-iron portrait of Mr. Castro's own comrade in arms, Che
Guevara. Mr. Castro also had someone from more recent history near him for much
of the day: Juan Miguel González, the father of Elián, the
shipwrecked boy who provoked an international custody battle last year.
Cuban officials have insisted that they would not use Elián or any
other Cuban child for political ends, although Mr. Castro did take South
Africa's president to meet the boy recently.
Mr. Castro did not invoke Elián's name during the speech, but
reminded the crowd that his return was only a partial victory as long as the
United States trade embargo and other laws restricting travel and trade
persisted.
"There was no truce after the return of the boy," he said. "That
is when the battle began."
The human rights issue heated up in recent weeks after the Czech government
successfully sponsored a resolution that faulted Cuba's human rights record
during a session of the United Nation's Human Rights Commission. Czech officials
said that while some advances had been made, the Cuban government continued to
repress dissidents and to limit freedom of expression. Two prominent Czechs were
arrested recently in Cuba and held for several weeks after meeting with Cuban
dissidents.
Foreign officials were heartened by the resolution, however, saying that
Cuba's human rights situation was obscured last year by the controversy over Elián.
Ever since that vote, television here has devoted several hours each day to
rallies, speeches and round- table discussions finding fault with the nations
who voted against Cuba, going as far as to call "bootlickers" and "lackeys
of the United States."
"That was a maneuver guided by the United States in Geneva," said
Carlos Amat, Cuba's permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva. "They
did it to justify their blockade."
Privately, some Cubans said they were weary of the daily denunciations,
saying they had failed to capture the people's attention or spirit. Though the
country may be celebrating the day of the worker, the real work that never ends
is figuring out how to resolve their own daily problems.
"How long will this go on?" said one retiree, whose family's total
monthly pension is about $7. "This does not make any sense."
Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company | 