Speeches
No place is more representative and symbolic for awaiting the start of the “Year of Education” than this camp, which has been transformed into the Ministry of Education, an educational campus (APPLAUSE) and the residence of many university students (APPLAUSE). It will also become a great center of educational research.
This is the second time we gather at this very corner. The first time was in the aftermath of that terrorist act that cost the lives of almost a hundred workers and soldiers.
After three sessions where this issue has been discussed, when many interesting things have been said; and knowing many of them have been discussed even though others have been left unanswered for the moment -- although it was materially impossible to addressed each and every one the matters brought to these meetings--- It is now our turn out of necessity, not as the person most qualified to speak about this matter, but considering this is been a meeting you and us, to express here certain points of view.
This General Assembly is meeting for the second time today, as the sovereign organ of the Cuban people's will and it is meeting to give a full response to the maneuver, the conspiracy, the plot of our enemies in Punta del Este.
We have been honored tonight. Not I, I wear this medal on my breast in the name of the people! Not I, it is the people who have received this medal, it is our Revolution, it is our revolutionary, Marxist fatherland, which has received this medal which bears the name of "Lenin Peace Prize"!
Esa Ley marcó el inicio de la lucha del imperialismo yanki contra nuestra patria; es decir que la Ley de Reforma Agraria fue el motivo de la guerra que los monopolios norteamericanos desataron contra nuestro país. Más tarde vinieron una serie de leyes; pero la Ley que marcó el momento del inicio de las hostilidades contra nosotros fue esa Ley. La razón, fácilmente comprensible, estaba en que las compañías norteamericanas eran propietarias de grandes latifundios, sobre todo latifundios azucareros: la United Fruit Company, que tenía 10 000 caballerías por ejemplo; la Atlántica…
A people like that are an invincible people. A people like that, who in that manner so calmly, so admirably, confront such situations, are a people who have the right to win what they aspire to, which is peace, respect, dignity and prestige because we have long-range moral missiles that cannot and will never be dismantled. And that is our most powerful strategic weapon, for both defense and attack. That is why, here and now, I want to express my admiration for the Cuban people.
All the nation has received with joy and enthusiasm the news of the constitution of our Central Committee. The names of the comrades which make up this committee as well as their history are well known. If all of them are not known by all our people, all are known by a large and important part of the nation. We have committed ourselves to choosing those who in our judgment represent in the most complete manner the history of our Revolution. Those who in addition to the struggle for the Revolution, as well as the struggle for the consolidation, defense, and development of the Revolution have…
It was a day in the month of July or August of 1955 when we met Che. And in one night - as he tells in his accounts - he became a future expeditionary of the "Granma". But at that time that expedition had no ship, no weapons, no troops. And it was like this, along with Raúl, Che joined the group of the first two on the list of "Granma".
We have learned that lesson through historical dialectics, because in our march along a path full of difficulties and struggle our people has grown into a great people; while coping with great obstacles, great difficulties, the conscience of this country, the dignity of this country and the strength of this country have expanded. Just as the heroic struggle of other peoples against the imperialist enemy makes them evolve and become stronger, because that is a law of human society, that is a law of history.
As of the second half of this year, the home-building effort will increase substantially across the country. But, where are we going to make the main emphasis? Our main emphasis will be made in the countryside, I mean the focus of our housing construction effort. And we will prioritize the construction of housing for the people who work in the People's Farms.
It goes without saying that your presence here was a great honor for us. I hope that our people has conveyed to you in a thousand different ways its warmth, its appreciation and sympathies. We were highly honored to have this meeting here of worthy, prestigious men and women whose work is known perhaps more than you can imagine. We will remember forever this great honor! This feeling expresses the feelings of the Revolutionary Government, the feeling of our Party and the feeling of our people. With these sentiments of friendship, brotherhood and affection I am closing this Congress.