Maravi

Economic recession in US a risk - Castro

Economic recession in US a risk - Castro
By Larry Moonze in Havana, Cuba
Wednesday May 02, 2007 [15:26]

CUBAN President Fidel Castro has said economic recession in the United States of America is a risk to the world. In his message for May Day, which also condemned Brazil's road to massive ethanol production using cereals, President Castro stated that it hurts to think that 10 billion tonnes of fossil fuel was consumed every year.

President Castro, who did not attend the Labour Day activities, called for energy revolution in the world. "Another risk of a different nature facing the world is an economic recession in the United States," he stated. "In the past few days, the dollar has broken records in losing value. On the other hand, every country has most of its reserves in convertible currencies precisely in this paper currency and in US bonds."

President Castro stated that it was imperative to have an immediate energy revolution that consisted not only of replacing all the incandescent light bulbs but also of massively recycling all domestic, commercial, industrial, transport and social electric appliances that required two and three times more energy with their earlier technologies. "It hurts to think that 10 billion tonnes of fossil fuel is consumed every year. This means that each year we waste what it took nature one million years to create," he stated. "National industries are faced with enormous challenges, including the reduction of unemployment. In that way, we could gain a little time."

He stated that while he held nothing against Brazil, the issue of using of bio-fuels that country had agreed with the US would contribute to global warming. "I hold nothing against Brazil, even though to more than a few Brazilians continuously bombarded with the most diverse arguments that could well confuse even people who traditionally have been friendly to Cuba, we might sound callous and careless about hurting that country's net income of hard currency," President Castro stated.

"However, for me to keep silent would be to opt between the idea of a world tragedy and a presumed benefit for the people of that great nation."

He stated that while Brazil hopes to use sugarcane for producing ethanol, "history shows that sugar as a mono-crop was closely associated with the enslavement of Africans, forcibly uprooted from their natural communities and brought to Cuba, Haiti and other Caribbean islands."

President Castro stated that in Brazil, the same thing happened with sugarcane cultivation. "Today, in that country, almost 80 per cent of sugarcane is cut by hand. Sources and studies contributed by Brazilian researchers affirm that one sugarcane cutter, a piece-work labourer, must produce no less than 12 tonnes in order to meet basic needs," stated President Castro.

"This one worker needs to perform 36,630 flexing movements with his legs, make small trips 800 times carrying 15 kilogrammes of cane in his arms and walk 8,800 metres in his task.

"He loses an average of eight litres of water every day. Only by burning cane can that productivity per person be achieved. Cane cut by hand or by machines is usually burned to protect people from nasty bites and especially to increase productivity. Even though the established norm for a working day is from eight in the morning until five in the afternoon, this type of piece-work cane cutting tends to go on for a 12-hour working day. The temperature sometimes rises to 45 degrees centigrade by noon."

President Castro stated that he had cut cane in 1969 when Cuba tasked itself to produce 10 million tonnes sugar and four million tonnes of molasses.

"We never reached that goal although we came close," he stated. "The USSR had not disappeared; that seemed impossible. The Special Period, which took us to a struggle for survival and to economic inequalities with their inherent elements of corruption, had not yet begun.

"Imperialism believed that the time had come to finish off the Revolution. It is also fair to acknowledge that during the years of bonanza, we wasted resources and our idealism ran high along with the dreams accompanying our heroic process."

He reminded workers that at the end of World War II, fought by the peoples against fascism, a new power emerged that took over the world and imposed the absolutist and cruel order under which citizens of the world lived today.

"Nothing is preventing US and European capital from funding the production of bio-fuels," President Castro stated. "They could even send the funds as gifts to Brazil and Latin America. The United States, Europe and the other industrialized nations would save more than US$140 billion every year without having to worry about the consequences for the climate and the hunger which would affect the countries of the Third World in the first place. They would always be left with enough money for bio-fuels and to acquire the little food available on the world market at any price."

And Cuban acting President Raul Castro on Tuesday presided over the overwhelmingly attended Labour Day activities at Havana's Jose Marti Revolution Square without uttering a single word.

Raul, who is also Army General, arrived at the square in jovial mood but immediately ushered the union leader to open the activity.
He never said a single word to the gatherers apart from waving at the marching islanders to signal solidarity with the workers.
Ocassionally, he spoke to his comrades who included Vice-President Carlos Lage and National Assembly president Ricardo Alarcon among others.

Raul presumably could not speak since President Fidel Castro had already issued a message in which he asked workers to reflect on bio-fuel issues, including the immediate need for energy revolution and also the US economic recession.

Nonetheless, Cuban workers commemorated their day in style as they formed columns without hiding their joy and their determination for more productivity and efficiency.

The colourful event took close to three hours as the unending resemblance of the biblical exodus marchers poured through while Raul who is also second secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, kept on waving at them.

Workers trooped to the square as early 05:00 hours and chanted anti-terrorism slogans while reaffirming their defence of socialism and motherland.

In Havana alone, they were over one million Cubans who marched, with the total number countrywide estimated at over six million.

Labels: ECONOMY, FIDEL CASTRO

posted by MrK @ 5:53 PM