"The most important thing about the Olympic movement is the conception of sport as a instrument for education, health and friendship among peoples; a real antidote for vices such as drugs, smoking, abusing alcoholic beverages and the acts of violence that so affect human society".
"No citizen is discriminated against in Cuba. All citizens are provided with free health services some of which would cost thousands, and sometimes tens of thousands of dollars in US hospitals; also provided are high education services for the youths -- whether they have a relative abroad or not -- which would also cost hundreds of thousands of dollars".
“Sometimes the ignorance in some far-off corner of the country is such that people don’t know that there is a social security service or that it is possible to receive the care needed; but, in fact, there is a team that finds these people, weighs them, measures their frame to check that they are of the right weight and size for their age group: these are the social workers.”.
“Social security covers 100% of the country’s citizens”.
"Venezuela has the potential to become a model of socialist development with the resources formerly extracted by the multinationals from its rich nature and the efforts of it manual and intellectual workers. No foreign power shall determine its future. The people are the masters of their destiny and they march on to attain the highest levels of education, culture, health and full employment."
“(…) the smoking habit which is being reduced and will be reduced even more. Or at least anyone who smokes should do so at home or in some place where he or she is alone and not where 30, 40 or 50 people are gathered together”.
“When I speak of internal threats, I am only thinking about social or moral dangers than could affect our people and jeopardize their safety, education or health. It is well known how hard we have fought against the habit of smoking, and how it has been greatly reduced. We are similarly fighting against alcohol abuse, or the unfortunate practice of its consumption during pregnancy, which can lead to the birth of children with mental retardation or other serious physical disabilities”.
"Our firm unity and the nature of our social, economic and political system will make it possible to reach the goal we have set ourselves.We shall certainly be the first in the world in the health field, and its noble and human benefits will be within reach of all of our compatriots in health centers of excellence where they will not pay a penny".
“I have always thought that education is one of the noblest and most human tasks to which anyone can dedicate their life. Without it there is no science, no art, no literature; there isn’t nor would there be today any production, nor economy, health nor wellbeing, quality of life, nor recreation, self-esteem, nor any social recognition possible.”
The name of Cuba will go down in history for ever because of what it has done and is still doing for humanity in the fields of education, culture and health in the most difficult period that our species has known.