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Comrades in arms….Fidel Castro(left) the late Hugo Chavez (centre) and Raul Castro.

HAVANA – The President of the Councils of State and Ministers of Cuba, Army Raúl Castro Ruz delivered the opening speech of the Second CELAC Summit in which he lamented the physical absence of Hugo Chavez Frias, for whom he requested a minute of silence after calling him a tireless fighter for unity.

In his words, Raul described last year as a complex one in which, however; step by step, they are creating a Community of Latin American and Caribbean States that is currently recognized in the world as the legitimate representative of the interests of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Cuban President said that some of the key issues of this process were the priority of creating a common political space where they could move forward to the achievement of peace and respect among their nations.

After an extensive explanation of the social situation in the region and specifically on the state of education and poverty, in which he quoted numbers released in ECLAC’s researches, he said that the peoples of the region require a better wealth distribution, distribution of wealth, full employment, better salaries, the eradication of illiteracy, the establishment of a true food security, health systems for all, the right to decent housing, and fresh water.

In mentioning that 11 percent of the population of Latin America and the Caribbean live in extreme poverty and the huge differences in wealth distribution, Raul said that the region has what it takes to reverse the current situation.

The abundance of natural resources, was one of the factor he cited to reverse the situation of poverty in the region: “With slightly more than 15 per cent of the earth’s surface and 8.5 per cent of the world’s population, our region possesses a substantial percentage of the most important non-renewable mineral reserves; one third of the fresh water reserves; 12 per cent of the arable land; the world’s biggest potential for foodstuffs production and 21 per cent of natural forests.”
And it is precisely all that wealth that should become the driving force to eradicate inequalities.  Our imperative and challenge is being able to transform that natural capital into human capital, economic infrastructure and diversification of production and exports, in a way that it decisively contributes to a true development process.

Looking toward regional integration and co-operation, the two bases of the birth of CELAC, Raul called to establish a new regional and international cooperation paradigm.

In the context of CELAC we have the possibility to create a model of our own making, adapted to our realities, based on the principles of mutual benefit and solidarity.

The Cuban president spoke about the situation of the Small State Islands of the Caribbean and mentioned the economic crisis and the devastating effects of natural disasters. He said it was a moral obligation of the community to continue making a contribution to the comprehensive development of the Republic of Haiti.

Raul also shared some important ideas on the need that the people and governments of the región be on the alert in the face of the attempts of interference. “Regardless of our progress, we continue living in a world governed by an unjust and exclusive international order, under which the threats to peace and foreign interference in the region still prevail,” he said.

He also mentioned the global communications espionage system implemented by the United States as well as the use of the information systems to attack other countries. However; Raul said: “the only way to prevent and cope with these new threats is through the joint co-operation of all states, which will be equally useful to prevent cyberspace from becoming a theater of military operations.”

Regarding the declaration of the region as a zone of peace, a topic that has been advanced in meetings with the press, he said: “to eradicate, once and for all war, the use or threat of force; a zone in which any dispute between our countries could be resolved by ourselves, through peaceful ways and negotiation, in accordance with the principles of International Law.”

Raul Castro also made reference to the situation of Puerto Rico. He quoted the verses of Puerto Rican poet Lola Rodríguez de Tió, who said: “Cuba and Puerto Rico are the same wings of a bird,” and said that the community would be incomplete as long as the seat of Puerto Rico remained vacant.

Raúl expressed his fullest solidarity of the Community with the Republic of Argentina in its claim for the Malvinas Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and their adjacent seas.

And, he thanked all the expressions of solidarity against the criminal blockade imposed on Cuba by the US and the inclusion of Cuba in the State Department’s list of countries that sponsor terrorism.

At the end of the speech, Raul declared inaugurated the Second CELAC Summit with the best wishes of success for all the heads of state and government meeting in Havana until January 29. – Cuba-CELAC.