Communist leader slams U.S.-sponsored trade association
By Toby Westerman. © 2001
WorldNetDaily.com. May 3, 2001.
"Free market neo-liberalism" creates "savage societies,"
Cuban President Fidel Castro has declared, accusing the United States of being
"powerful in everything except ethics and ideas," according to
official Cuban sources.
In speeches commemorating "International Workers Day" -- May Day
-- Castro attacked capitalism in general, stating that "imperialism, unable
to escape its own shadow, is preordained to increasingly pillage and exploit
the world." Castro condemned the U.S.-sponsored Free Trade Association of
the Americas as a tool of U.S. oppression and portrayed its supporters in Latin
America as "blind to the expansionist desires of Washington."
The statements were carried by Radio Habana Cuba, the official broadcasting
service of the Cuban government.
In the closing speech to the 18th Congress of the Confederation of Cuban
Workers, Castro reaffirmed communism's hold on the island, placing in
perspective recent market reforms that have taken place in Cuba.
"Our society is a socialist one, not a mercantile one," Castro
emphasized.
Castro cited the reported remarks made by World Bank President James
Wolfensohn that Cuba had made significant progress in health care and education.
Castro stated that Wolfensohn's comments "indicate that Cuba is a just
society."
Appearing in Havana's Revolution Square before a crowd officially estimated
to be "well in excess of a million people," Castro stated that the
U.S. is seeking to annex Latin America and that the Free Trade Association's "unequal
conditions will lead to the devouring of their [Latin American and Caribbean]
countries."
"The superpower to the north will be able to devour us, but not digest
us," Castro declared.
"What is most sad, cynical, and hypocritical," Castro asserted, "is
that the Free Trade Association is being designed without consulting the
region's peoples."
Castro then led a mass demonstration to the U.S. interest section, leading
the demonstrators in the chant, "Annexation no, plebiscite yes."
Cuba is the only nation in the region that has not been invited to
participate in the Free Trade Zone of the Americas, which is planned to be
established by 2005.
Ironically, Cuba itself has been active in the process of Latin
American/Caribbean economic integration.
In August 2000, Cuba voiced its support for the Latin American Integration
Association on the occasion of the organization's 20th anniversary. Cuba, a
member of the LAIA, praised the group as having "an important role in the
region's efforts to insert itself into the process of world economic
globalization."
Cuba speculated that the LAIA could establish a free trade zone in Latin
America and the Caribbean by 2005.
"Latin America should look to developing all types of inter-regional
links," the Cuban government stated.
In discussions regarding regional economic cooperation organizations in
which Cuba would participate, Havana made no mention of a plebiscite, in stark
contrast to Castro's vocal demands concerning the Free Trade Association of the
Americas.
In an interview with WorldNetDaily, Mariela Ferretti, spokeswoman for the
Cuban American National Foundation, expressed skepticism at viewing Havana's
mass rallies as a true expression of popular Cuban sentiment.
Large numbers of those in the rallies "do not come under their own
volition," stated Ferretti. Noting that most Cubans still work for
government-owned enterprises, she stated that employees attend when their
employers instruct them to do so. "That is the way of life in Castro's
Cuba," Ferretti said.
Although Castro demands a plebiscite for the Free Trade Zone, Ferretti
observed that Castro has ruled for 42 years without holding a presidential
election.
Concerning free elections in Cuba -- including for president -- Ferretti
asked, "Why not hold internationally supervised elections, and put the
whole matter to rest?"
When asked about communism's hold on the island, Ferretti affirmed that "as
soon as the Cuban people are given a genuine opportunity to make a choice, they
will not choose communism."
"Cubans are hard working and love a challenge," Ferretti
commented. Communism's "paternalistic system" in Cuba is "an
accident of history," she stated.
Ferretti noted that Cubans still flee to the U.S. in search of freedom, a
commonplace occurrence that did not take place before Castro came to power.
"Geographically, the U.S. is no closer to Cuba than it was 50 years
ago," she observed.
Although no formal request has been made, Ferretti hopes the Bush
administration will review procedures for repatriating Cubans intercepted on the
high seas while attempting to reach the U.S.
Ferretti described as "ambiguous" current procedures used for
determining who receives protective status and is not returned to Cuba, as
opposed to those who are immediately sent back to the island.
Cubans receiving protective status are eventually sent to a third nation as
refugees, but often find themselves at risk at the hands of pro-communist
sympathizers in those nations.
Related stories:
Castro
calls Cuban Americans 'terrorist mob'
Castro
blames States for region's poverty
I.J. Toby Westerman, is a contributing reporter for WorldNetDaily who
focuses on current events in the Commonwealth of Independent States and the
Balkans.
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