Contribution to the 13th International Communist Seminar
Brussels, 2-4 May 2004
www.icsbrussels.org , ics[at]icsbrussels.org
Communist Party of Cuba
Cuba
First of all, I would like to express the satisfaction of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba for our participation, once more, in this International Seminar hosted by the Workers’ Party of Belgium.
It is no secret that we are facing some extremely complex and risky moments in international relations, in which the use of force and imperial domination are dominant.
Afghanistan, Iraq, and, in the words of the president of the United States himself, "any dark corner of the world" can become the object of the hegemonic, expansionist and war-like policies of the US administration.
New concepts in the relations between the nations of this planet have been imposed and executed, such as "limited sovereignty", "humanitarian intervention", "pre-emptive war" and others. They only serve to cloak with democracy the aspirations of the government of the United States to submit by force all states that are opposed to its dictates and that defend their autonomy and independence. That way, the empire gives itself the right, not only to rapidly response to any aggressor, but to first attack whatever country, with, of course, the priority for those who resist.
It is precisely as one more element in the hegemonic strategy of the US administration that we should consider ALCA or the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). This project is essentially annexationist and is being concocted behind the backs of the majority of the peoples of Latin America.
It seems of vital importance to us to take on this issue at this International Seminar, because the US wants to accelerate the formation of the FTAA with the objective of "officializing" the countries of Latin America as their backyard and of obstructing the links and contacts that the region has with the rest of the world, including Cuba.
For this reason, the FTAA constitutes a grave danger for our America, not only from the economic and political viewpoint, but also culturally. It concerns the elimination of our identity and of the traditions and the history of the peoples of the region.
Fighting against the FTAA is fighting against neoliberalism, against the puppet governments. It is fighting for solidarity and for a genuine, just and equitable development.
The FTAA, which means neoliberalism, will only develop the fortunes of the transnational corporations and of a few native oligarchs, while it will block the social and economic development of the Latin American countries. It will increase poverty, multiply inequality, sacrifice social politics even more by means of the reduction to the utmost of the basic services such as health and education, and do away with the promotion of a national and universal culture.
However, the United States tries to present the FTAA as the only possible way for the development of Latin America, as the golden alternative that will be realized as a judicial commitment between States.
Without wanting to overwhelm you with data, we have to stress that in the past year, the Gross Domestic Product per capita in Latin America was lower than in 1997. This is an expression of the decline in growth. Today, there are 20 million more poor Latin Americans than in 1997, and the unemployment rate rose to almost 11%, with the number of jobless in the cities standing at 17 million.
We could add to this that foreign investments, repeatedly hailed by the empire as the tool for salvation, declined in the region with 25% compared to last year, while capital flight for the debt service is simply unsustainable.
And precisely about the issue of the foreign debt, one of the major obstacles for regional development, both the United States and the project for the FTAA remain mum. Between 2001 and 2003, while the negotiations for the FTAA were going on, Latin America paid 464 billion dollar in debt service, or 154 billion dollar per year.
As is well known, so much plunder and misery led to social explosions that provoked the downfall of neoliberal governments, as in Argentina and Bolivia.
That is why we maintain that there is a glaring contradiction when the government of the United States insists in the FTAA as the solution and paradise on earth for Latin America, while the neoliberal policies that the FTAA contains and would push even further, have only deteriorated to the hilt the economic and social situation of the continent.
Nevertheless, the ideologues of the empire keep to their empty and cheap rhetoric and maintain their slogan that the FTAA constitutes an historic opportunity to broaden trade, to reach prosperity, to bring democracy and to deepen the hemispheric association in the midst of worldwide competition.
Moreover, we should thank Colin Powell himself for having defined, with imperialist frankness and correctness, the purpose of the FTAA, when he stated that "our objective is to guarantee the control for the North American companies over an area that extends from the Polar Circle to Antarctica, and the free access – without any kind of obstacle – for our products, services, technology and capital throughout the hemisphere".
Certainly, it is impossible to be lured by the access to the market of the United States if we take into account that the trade deficit of this nation has reached the historic high mark of 500 billion dollar last year. The US trade deficit has increased in an exponential manner: it stood at 35,6 billion dollars in 1992. At par with the increase in the deficit, there has been a growth in the importance of foreign trade for the North American economy. Exporting has become imperative for the US, in view of its necessity to reduce the deficit and also because of the significance that exports have for an economy in which the unemployment rate of 6% is one of the most serious symptoms of the crisis.
We should mention that at the meeting of Foreign Secretaries in Miami, a change in the design of the original FTAA project was agreed upon, with two ingredients: a "soft FTAA", with shady forms that still need to be detailed, and some bilateral free trade agreements which continue to be like the "hard FTAA", and probably even "harder". With these changes, the annexationist project may have changed in form and procedures, but not in substance.
The fight against the FTAA has not ended. It now knows it most difficult and decisive moments. The year 2004 will be decisive for the fate of this annexationist and dominant project.
The Continental Campaign Against ALCA, as an integral part of the efforts of the Continental Social Alliance, could not stay behind in this competition for the right to life. The Campaign has shown to be an efficient force that cannot be ignored. In Quebec, Quito, Cancun or Miami, in defiance of teargas, rubber bullets, barbed wire, blows, arrests and threats of all kinds, the social movements have given a lesson in courage and dignity.
Cuba is likewise waging an intense battle against the FTAA. The Cuban organizations that are part of the Cuban Chapter of the Continental Social Alliance have hosted in Havana hemispheric meetings to reflect on this project and to agree on actions against it. Various actions that contribute to the defeat of this project of annexation, that confront this miscarriage that is against the interests of the Latin American peoples.
The government of the Bolivarian Revolution of Venezuela has also forcefully rejected the neoliberal content of the FTAA. It has expressed its readiness to submit this project to an official referendum if necessary. The government of Brazil, for its part, has refused to accept negotiations on the unilateral terms put forward by the United States. Together with Argentina, it has defended a common position as Mercosur.
It is for all these reasons that we vehemently denounce before this Seminar the FTAA and all that it means. We request all parties present here to join us, in one way or the other, in this battle against the savage neoliberalism and the imperial dominance in our region.
Finally, I would like to thank the Workers’ Party of Belgium for its consistent position of solidarity with the Cuban Revolution, at a time when the demented government of the United States, in its electoralist and terrorist course, is openly threatening with a new aggression against my country, in cahoots with the Cuban mafia based in Miami.
Cuba does not want war. We have done a lot to avoid war. But let it be clear that we will never allow them to take away our sovereignty nor our right to choose the road that we deem the most appropriate, and that we well defend until our last drop of blood, if need be. We can only continue to go forward in our battle against the empire, against the intimidation based on military might. In the end, we can only continue to fight so that our peoples may have the future of peace and dignity that every man deserves.
Thank you very much.