Fidel Castro Ruz
I took a good look at Obama in the famous “Summit
Meeting”. Sometimes he was overcome by tiredness, he unwillingly shut his eyes
but, at times, he slept with open eyes.
The Cartagena Summit was not a meeting of a trade
union of misinformed presidents, but a meeting among official representatives
of 33 countries of this hemisphere. The overwhelming majority of them are
asking for solutions to the most pressing economic and social problems that
affect the region with the most unequal distribution of wealth in the world.
I do not wish to get ahead of the opinions of millions
of persons, capable of making and in-depth and objective analysis of the problems
affecting Latin America, the Caribbean and the rest of a globalized world,
where a few has it all and the rest has nothing. The system imposed by
imperialism in this hemisphere, whatever its name, is worn out and
unsustainable.
In the near future, humanity will have to cope, among
others, with the problems associated to climate change, security and the
production of food for the ever-growing world population.
Excessive rainfall is affecting both Colombia and
Venezuela. A recent analysis revealed that on March this year, high
temperatures in the US were 4.8 Centigrade degrees hotter than the all-time
average. The consequences of those changes, which are well known in the
capitals of the main European countries, give rise to catastrophic problems for
humanity.
Peoples expect political leaders to provide clear
answers to these problems.
Colombians, whose country hosted the disreputable
Summit, are a hardworking and self-sacrificing people who need, as much as all
others, the cooperation of their Latin American brothers and sisters who are,
in this case, the Venezuelans, Brazilians, Ecuadorians, Peruvians and others
capable of doing what the Yankees, with their sophisticated weapons, their
expansionism and their insatiable craving for material goods will never do. The
visionary formula stated by José Martí is now more necessary than ever in
history: “The trees must form ranks to keep the giant with seven-league boots
from passing! It is the time of mobilization, of marching together, and we must
go forward in close ranks, like silver in the veins of the Andes.”
Far off from the brilliant and lucid ideas of Bolivar
and Marti are the mulled over, sweetened and relentlessly reiterated words of
the illustrious Nobel laureate, expressed during a ridiculous tour around the
Colombian countryside, which I heard yesterday in the afternoon. They only served
to remind us of the Alliance for Progress’ speeches delivered 51 years ago,
when the monstrous crimes that lashed this hemisphere had not been committed as
yet, where our country struggled not only for its right to independence but
also for its right to exist as a nation.
Obama spoke about the distribution of land. He did not
specify how much land would be distributed, when and how.
The Yankee transnationals will never give up their
control over the land, the water, the mines and the natural resources of our
countries. Their soldiers should vacate the military bases; their troops should
be withdrawn from each and every one of our territories. They should renounce
to the unequal exchange and plundering of our nations.
Perhaps the Community of Latin American and Caribbean
States turns into what should be and hemispheric political organization without
the presence of the United States and Canada. Their decadent and unsustainable
empire has already earned the right to rest in peace.
I think that the images about the Summit should be
well preserved as an example of a disaster.
I leave aside the scandal caused by the misconduct
attributed to the members of the Secret Service responsible for guaranteeing
Obama’s personal security. I am under the impression that the staff entrusted
with that task is characterized by its professionalism. This is what I saw
during my visit to the United Nations, while they were protecting the Heads of
States. They have, no doubt, protected him from those who would not have hesitated
to perpetrate an action against him out of racial prejudice.
May Obama be able to sleep with eyes shut, if only for
a few hours, without having anyone saddling him with the job of delivering a
speech about the immortality of the crab at an unreal Summit.
Fidel
Castro Ruz
April 16, 2012
7:40 p.m.
April 16, 2012
7:40 p.m.
I was surprised today when I listened to the speech delivered by Jose
Miguel Insulza in Cartagena. I thought that the person who was speaking on
behalf of the OAS would at least claim some respect for the sovereignty of the
peoples of this hemisphere which were for years colonized and cruelly exploited
by colonial powers.
Why didn’t he say a single word about the Malvinas Islands, or demand
respect for the sovereign rights of the sister nation of Argentina?
The Cartagena Summit went through episodes that will not be easily
forgotten. It is true that its celebration required a huge effort.
Despite of the several hours that have elapsed since its inaugural session, we
have no idea of what ever happened during the lunch sponsored by Santos, with which
he attempted to make it up for the colossal amount of energy used up by the
participants in that Summit.
Those who may find this entertaining, will very seldom in their lives
have the opportunity to watch the faces of more than thirty political leaders
in front of the TV cameras since they got off the car until the moment when,
after the heroic and final effort of walking down a long and carpeted corridor,
they climbed up the ten or twelve little steps to the stage where the host,
smiling and happy, awaited to greet them. It didn’t matter whether they
were young or of age, or whether they had flat feet, kneecap surgeries or
difficulties in one or both legs. They were forced to keep on to the top.
Whether rich or poor, they were compelled to observe the protocol.
Curiously enough, Obama was the only one who took advantage of that
trajectory to do some workout. As he was walking all by himself, it was
easier for him to do so: he adopted a sport-like pose and jogged up through the
steps.
The women attending the Summit either as companions or as Heads of State
were the ones who did it best. Once again they proved that the world
would be a far better place if they took care of political affairs. Perhaps
there will be fewer wars, although no one could be sure of that.
Anyone would say that, out of obvious political reasons, Obama was the
figure that caused the worst impression in me. However, this was not the case.
I saw he was pensive and at times quite absent. It was like if he were sleeping
with open eyes. No one knows how much rest he had before arriving in Cartagena,
which Generals he spoke with, what problems were on his mind; whether he was
thinking about Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, North Korea or Iran. Quite certainly,
of course, he was thinking about the elections, the Tea Party moves and Mitt
Romney’s sinister plans. At the very last minute, shortly before the
Summit, he decided that the contributions of the richest should account for at
least 30 per cent of their incomes, like it used to be before the Bush junior
administration. This, of course, would allow him to portray a clearer image of
his sense of justice before the Republican right.
But the real problem is this: the enormous debt accumulated by the
federal government, which exceeds 15 trillion dollars and demands no less than
5 trillion dollars in resources. The tax to be imposed on the richest will
contribute around 50 billion dollars in a period of ten years, while the need
for money will increase to 5 trillions. Therefore, he will be receiving one
dollar per every 100 that are needed. These estimates can be made even by an
eighth grader.
We should remember very well what Dilma Rousseff demanded: “relations
‘on equal terms’ with Brazil and the rest of Latin America.”
“The Euro-zone has responded to the economic crisis with a monetary
expansion, thus provoking a ‘tsunami’ that has led to an appreciation of the
Brazilian currency and has damaged the competitiveness of the national
industry”, she stated.
Those realities do not escape Dilma Rousseff, a capable and intelligent
woman who knows how to address them with authority and dignity.
Obama, who is used to say the last word, knows that the Brazilian
economy is emerging with and impressive strength and that, in association with
others like those of Venezuela, Argentina, China, Russia, South Africa and
others from Latin America and the world, will trace the future of the world’s
development.
The biggest problem of all is to preserve peace from the increasing
risks of a war that, given the destructive power of modern weapons, would push
humanity to the edge of an abyss.
I realize that the meetings in Cartagena are taking a long time and the
sweetened realities are fading away. Nothing was said about the guayabera
shirts presented to Obama as a gift. Somebody will have to compensate the
Cartagena designer Edgar Gómez.
Fidel Castro Ruz
April 14, 2012
9:58 p.m.
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