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Dear compatriots and dear friends from all over the world:
I have worked intensively all this time to ensure
the objectives set for our country in the
Proclamation of July 31st.
Currently, we are facing an adversary who has
dragged the United States to such a disaster
that the American people are almost sure to
prevent him from completing his presidential
term.
Intellectuals and prestigious personalities from
the world:
As I reflected on this address, I found myself in
a dilemma, since I could not find a small
meeting room to accommodate you all. It was only
in the Karl Marx Theater that all guests could
be seated but, according to the doctors, I was
not yet ready for such a challenging engagement.
Then, I chose this way to address you all.
You are well aware of my identification with
Marti’s ideas about honor and glory, when he
said that all the glory of the world fits in a
kernel of corn.
Your generosity to me is really overwhelming.
There are many people whose names I would like
to mention here but I choose to avoid the
recitation and decide on bringing up only one
name, that of Oswaldo Guayasamin, since he
embodied many of your greatest virtues.
He painted four portraits of me; the first in
1961. That one is lost. I looked it up
everywhere possible but it could not be found.
It was particularly painful as it became
apparent to me what an exceptional person
Guayasamin was. The second one, which he painted
in 1981, is preserved at Guayasamin’s House in
Old Havana. The third one, painted in 1986, is
kept at the “Antonio Nunez Jimenez Foundation of
Man and Nature”. When we met, we were very far
from even imagining that his fourth portrait
would be his birthday present to me on August
1996.
His words were inspirational when he said: “In
Quito or any other corner of the Earth leave the
lights on, as I will be coming back late.”
At the inaugural ceremony of the Man’s Chapel, I
said about Oswaldo Guayasamin: “He was the
noblest, most honorable and humane person I ever
met. He created his work at light-speed and his
human dimension defied all limits.”
The work of creators will never be lost while
this planet exists and human beings can breathe.
Today, thanks to technology, the works and
knowledge created by man in thousands of years
are within everybody’s reach, even if the impact
of radiation from billions of computers and cell
phones is still unknown.
A few days ago, the prominent organization World
Wildlife Foundation, based in Switzerland and
considered the most important NGO in the world
to monitor global environment, acknowledged that
the set of measures implemented by Cuba to
protect the environment made it the only country
on Earth to meet the minimum requirements for
sustainable development. This was for our
country an encouraging honor, albeit one of
limited world impact due to the low significance
of its economy. Therefore, last November 23, I
sent a message to President Hugo Chavez that
read:
“Dear Hugo:
“The adoption of a Comprehensive Energy-Saving
Program will make you the most prestigious world
advocate for the environment.
“It is most significant that Venezuela is the
country with the largest oil reserves, so this
will turn you into an example and act as a
magnet for all the other energy consumers to do
the same, thus saving incalculable sums in
investments.
“Just like Cuba, a nickel producing country, can
mobilize resources amounting to billions of
dollars for its development, Venezuela, a
hydrocarbons exporter, could mobilize trillions.
“If the industrialized and wealthy countries
succeeded in operating the miracle of
reproducing solar fusion on the planet, within
various tens of years, devastating before then
the environment with their hydrocarbon
emissions, how could the poor peoples that make
up the immense majority of mankind live in this
world?
“Ever onward to victory!”
Finally, dearest friends who have honored us
immensely with this visit to our country, it is
with great sorrow that I bade you farewell for
not being able to personally thank you and
embrace every one of you.
It is our duty to save our specie.
Fidel Castro Ruz
November 28, 2006
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