Raul Castro for changing international relations
Cuba: Cuban President Raul Castro on Wednesday advocated for
making fundamental changes in the international system of economic
relations, and said a global order inspired in hegemonic pretenses and
the selfishness of privileged minorities is neither legitimate nor
ethically acceptable. Raul Castro addressed the Non Aligned Movement
ministerial meeting being held in Cuba, which is the current chair of
the 118-member bloc.
In his speech, the Cuban head of state recalled that the challenges
identified at the 2006 Non Aligned Summit are not only still standing
but they are now more dangerous and pressing.
Therefore, the necessity for NAM to act in a coordinated fashion is
today more imperative and crucial, he said.
Raul Castro added that we are currently afflicted by a deep economic,
social, food, energy and environmental crisis that have become global,
and there is a growing awareness that solutions must be found shortly.
If we fail to act firmly and expeditiously our peoples stand to
suffer again the worst consequences of this crisis, and for a longer
period of time, he warned.
According to the Cuban President, it is impossible to sustain the
unfair and irrational consumption patterns that served as the basis to
the current international order imposed by a few that we have been
forced to respect. Neoliberalism has failed as an economic policy.
Today, any objective analysis raises serious questions about the myth of
the goodness of the market and its deregulation; the alleged benefits of
privatizations and the reduction of the statesƒ?(tm) economic and
redistribution capacity; and the credibility of the financial
institutions, Raul Castro said.
He quoted a speech by the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel
Castro at the 1979 Havana NAM summit warning of the negative
consequences of spending over 300 billion dollars in weapons and on the
existence of a foreign debt of the underdeveloped countries that
amounted to almost as much.
On that occasion comrade Fidel estimated that, at the time, that
figure would have allowed to build in one year 600 thousand schools to
teach 400 million children; or 60 million comfortable houses for 300
million people; or 30 thousand hospitals with 18 million beds; or 20
thousand factories providing jobs to over 20 million workers; or placing
150 million hectares of land under irrigation which with an adequate
technical level could feed one billion people, Raul Castro said.
Of course, nothing was done and the situation has aggravated
dramatically. Suffice it to say that currently the annual military
expenses exceed the figure of one trillion dollars; the number of
unemployed in the world could rise to 230 million during 2009; and in
hardly a year ƒ?”during 2008ƒ?”the number of people starving in the
world mounted from 854 million to 963 million, he added.
The Cuban head of state also recalled that the UN has estimated that
80 billion dollars a year for a decade would be enough to eradicate
poverty, hunger and the lack of health and education services and houses
all over the world.
That figure is three times lower than what the South countries spend
every year to pay their foreign debt, so the international system of
economic relations requires fundamental changes, he stressed.
The solution to the global economic crisis demands a coordinated
action with the universal, democratic and equitable participation of all
countries. The response cannot be a solution negotiated by the leaders
of the most powerful nations without the participation of the United
Nations, Raul Castro affirmed. Havana, Prensa Latina |
