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                 SPECIAL REPORT FROM RADIO HAVANA CUBA

                        E-mail: rhc@radiohc.org
                        http://www.radiohc.org



SPECIAL / FIDEL CASTRO SPEAKS ON 40th ANNIVERSARY OF THE CUBAN 
REVOLUTION / 1 JANUARY 1999 / SANTIAGO DE CUBA

FIDEL CASTRO: "People of Santiago de Cuba. My fellow compatriots. In
attempting to recall the night of January 1st 1959, I find that I am
once again re-living the impressions and details of everything that
occurred that night. It seems unreal that destiny has given us the
rare privilege of returning to speak to the people of Santiago de
Cuba from the very same spot, 40 years later."

In his January 1st speech which he gave in the eastern city of
Santiago de Cuba celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Cuban
Revolution, President Fidel Castro addressed the nation from the 
balony where he spoke to the Cuban people for the first 
time after the departure of dictator Fulgencio Batista. At that time, 
he called for a general strike to foil a coup that was brewing in 
Havana. Orders had been given to rebel Commanders Camilo Cienfuegos 
and Ernesto Che Guevara to proceed to Havana and seize the county's 
largest military fortresses of Columbia and the Cabana.  He recalled 
those euphoric days when they realised they had been successful.

FIDEL CASTRO: "Before dawn of that day, when we heard that the tyrant
had fled the country along with the principal leaders of his odious
regime, before the unstoppable advance of our forces, for a few
seconds I felt a strange sensation of emptiness.  How was it
possible that we had achieved this incredible victory in a little
more than 24 months from the time we had collected together seven
rifles on the 18th December 1956, and after a difficult reversal
that practically annihilated our forces but which we rebuilt to fight
against a total military force of 80,000 men who were well-armed,
with high morale, a myth of unquestioned invincibility and with
ample advisors and supplies from the United States?"

The ideals of the revolutionaries worked a political and military
victory, vanquishing Batista's army in remarkable time. Fidel Castro
recalled how extraordinary the marches of Che and Camilo were,
crossing the country from the rebel's headquarters in the Sierra
Maestra mountains in extremely adverse climatic conditions with lack
of food and guides.

FIDEL CASTRO: "It was in the development of these operations that Che
and Camilo -- with approximately 140 and 100 combatants, respectively 
-- carried out one of the greatest feats in the annals of history:
advancing more than 400 kilometers from the Sierra Maestra to the 
Escambray, in the wake of a hurricane, in low-lying country, through 
swamps infested with mosquitoes and enemy soldiers, under constant 
aerial vigilance, without guides, food and logistical support from 
our underground movement which was very weak along their very long
route."

After reminiscing further on the first days of the victory, the
Cuban president remembered those who had fought and fallen, both
guerillas and civilians, young and old:

FIDEL CASTRO: "Honor and eternal glory, infinite admiration and
affection for those who fell to make total independence of the nation
possible.  To those who wrote history in the mountains, countryside
and cities, guerillas or underground fighters. To those who after
the victory, died in other glorious missions or loyally surrendered
their youth and energy to the cause of justice, sovereignty and
redemption of their people, to those who died and to those who
lived."

Fidel Castro then went on to describe the achievements of the
Revolution, commenting that for the new generation, the Revolution
has hardly begun. At the triumph, some 30 percent of the population
of Cuba could not read or write.  He then spoke of the advances in 
education that the island of 11,142,700 inhabitants has undergone.

FIDEL CASTRO: "Today, there are more than 250,000 highly-trained
teachers and professors; there are 64,000 doctors and 600,000
university graduates. Illiteracy does not exist and it is rare to
find someone who hasn't at least completed the sixth grade. Education
through the ninth grade is obligatory and all those that graduate can
go on to higher education at no cost." 

Cuba has the best public health care system in the Third World --
elements of which are on a par with industrialized countries.  The 
island's very low infant mortality rate which, at 7.2 per 1000 live 
births, is in fact lower than that of the United States, together 
with its equally low maternal mortality rate, are good indicators of 
the huge advances made by the Revolution.  And this in spite of 
Washington's devastating 37-year-old blockade.  The ratio of doctors 
to inhabitants is among the top three on the planet. 

President Castro stressed that the Cuban people have resisted years
of political, economic and ideological war by the richest and most
powerful nation on earth. The historical greatness of the island's
people has enabled them to overcome and resist this type of
aggression with the ideals that give them strength to defend the
just nature of their cause.

However, he said, in today's globalized community, the issue is no
longer one of defending a national cause so much as maintaining
dignity and humanity in the face of the ruthless laws of free-market
economics.

FIDEL CASTRO: "The economic order that prevails on our planet today
will inevitably fall. Even a high school student with basic
mathematical knowledge can understand this.  The current system is
unsustainable because it is held up by blind laws that are chaotic,
and destructive to society and nature. The actual theories of global
neo-liberalization -- its best academics, promoters and defenders of
the system -- have proven to be indecisive, vacillating and
contradictory. There are thousands of questions that cannot be
answered. It is hypocritical to affirm that individual freedoms and
an absolute free market system are inseparable -- as if the wild
West, where the most selfish, unequal, merciless social systems known
to humanity have come from, are compatible with the freedom of the
human race in a system converted to a simple market." 

The Cuban president went on to discuss the free market-driven
financial crisis that brought so many economies to the brink of
disaster in 1998.

FIDEL CASTRO: "In August of last year, the financial crisis in 
Russia, which produces only two percent of the GDP of the world, 
brought the Dow Jones index of New York down by 512 points in one 
day.  This spread panic from Southeast Asia to Latin America and 
threatened the U.S. economy.  For now, the worst catastrophe has been 
prevented. In the stocks and shares that make up the market, 50 
percent are made up of the savings and pension funds of U.S. 
residents.  In the 1929 crisis, it was only five percent and many 
people committed suicide.

"In the globalized world, what happens in one part of the planet has
immediate repercussions on the rest. The world was really frightened.
The resources of the richest nations on earth were mobilized to put
out the fire.  Nevertheless, Russia remains on the edge of an abyss
and they have demanded unnecessarily difficult conditions from
Brazil.  The IMF did not pull back one iota from its fundamental
principles and the World Bank broke ranks, denouncing the IMF relief
package to Brazil.

"The world needs to take strong measures to confront today's reality.
We are six billion inhabitants on this planet.  It is almost certain
that in only 50 years, we will be more than nine billion. To
guarantee food, health, education, employment, clothing, shelter,
drinkable water, electricity and transportation for such an
extraordinary number of people -- most of whom will live in poor
countries -- will be a colossal challenge. 

"There must be world-wide development.  This task cannot be put into
the hands of the transnationals and the blind, chaotic laws of the
market.  The United Nations constitutes a good base on which to
begin as it contains a great deal of information and experience. The
organization has to be democratized, however, putting an end to the
dictatorship of the Security Council and the dictatorship that
exists within the Council. There should at least be an increase in
the number of permanent member nations, in which the Third World is
fully represented."

The Cuban president commented that Europe had presented the world
with a good example of working together rationally, stressing that
the new Euro currency will thus have the strength to challenge the
dollar.

FIDEL CASTRO: "The franc, the peseta and the lira were also pounded
by speculation. The dollar and the Euro can keep an eye on each
other. An adversary has risen to challenge the privileged U.S. 
currency.  Washington is anxiously betting that the Euro will not 
succeed. We should follow events closely."

Ending by once again calling to mind the memory of Che and Camilo,
and the legacy of many other fighters, Fidel Castro called on
everyone, especially Cuba's youth, to work not only for Cuba but for
the entire human race. He finished his speech with a direct appeal
to the young people of the island.

FIDEL CASTRO: "Deepen your conscience; strengthen your character;
learn in the hard school of life to sow solid ideas using arguments
that are irrefutable; practice what you preach; trust in the honor of
humanity, so that for every ten, there are nine that will stand by 
your side to defend the Revolution."


Cuban President Fidel Castro, speaking at the National Celebration
for the 40th Anniversary of the Cuban Revolution, in the eastern city
of Santiago de Cuba, January 1st, 1999.



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