Proclamation of the Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro Ruz to the Cuban people.
Because of the enormous effort I have made at visiting the Argentinean Córdoba City, participating at the meeting of MERCOSUR, participating at the closing of the Summit of the people in the historical University of Córdoba and at the visit to Altagracia, the city where Che lived when he was a child, and together with this my immediate attendance to the commemoration of the 53rd Anniversary of the attack to the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Garrisons, on July 26th, in Granma and Holguín, and days and nights after a continuous work without sleeping, brought about a wane of my health, which has resisted a lot of proofs, and my health got stressed and is having problems.
It caused me a high intestinal crisis with a continuous bleeding which obliged me to face a complicated surgery. All the details of this health accident are in radiographies, endoscopes and filmed materials. The surgery obliges me to stay in bed for several weeks, away from my responsibilities and charges.
As our country is been threaten nowadays by the Government of the United States, I have made the following decision:
1) For the time being, I authorize Mr. Raúl Castro Ruz as Second Secretary to take the charge of First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party.
2) For the time being, I authorize General of Army Mr. Raúl Castro Ruz, to play the role of Commander in Chief of the heroic Revolutionary Armed Forces.
3) For the time being, I authorize Mr. Raúl Castro Ruz as Vice-president to take the charge of President of the Council of State and Ministers of the Government of the Republic of Cuba.
4) For the time being, I authorize Mr. José Ramón Balaguer Cabrera as Member of the Politic Bureau and Minister of Public Health to take the charge of main impeller of the National and International Program of Public Health.
5) For the time being, I authorize Mr. José Ramón Machado Ventura and Mr. Esteban Lazo Hernández as Members of the Politic Bureau to take the charge of main impeller of the National and International Program of Education.
6) For the time being, I authorize Carlos Lage Dávila as Member of the Politic Bureau and Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers to take the charge of main impeller of the National Program of the Cuban Energetic Revolution and the Program of Collaboration with other countries in this field.
The corresponding funds to these three programs: Health, Education and Energetic, shall continue being managed with priority as I have personally done until now, it will be carried out as usual by Mr. Carlos Lage Dávila, Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers, Mr. Francisco Soberón Valdés, Minister and President of the Central Bank of Cuba, and Felipe Pérez Roque, Foreign Minister, who have been with me in these affairs and shall constitute a commission for fulfilling this objective.
Our glorious Communist Party, held on mass organizations and people, has the mission of assuming the assigned duty in this Proclamation.
The meeting Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, which will take place between September 11th and September 16th, shall receive the best assistance of the State and the Cuban Nation so that it can be held brilliantly on the date that was set.
The 80th Anniversary of my birthday, which thousands of great personalities gently agreed to celebrate next August 13th, I beg you to postpone it for next December 2nd of this year, on the 50th Anniversary of the Landing of ‘Granma’.
I ask the Central Committee of the Cuban Party and the National Assembly of the Popular Power the firmest support to this Proclamation.
I have no shade of doubt about the fact that our people and our Revolution will stand up until death for defending these and other ideas and measures that will be necessarily taken in order to protect this historical process.
The imperialism will never defeat Cuba.
The Battle of Ideas will go on.
Long life the Homeland!
Long life Revolution!
Long life Socialism!
Until Victory forever!
Fidel Castro Ruz
Council of State and Ministers of the Republic of Cuba, Comander in Chief, President Fidel Castro Ruz.
July 31st, 2006
6:22 p.m.
Proclama del Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro al pueblo de Cuba
31 de julio de 2006 22:26:01 GMT
Con motivo del enorme esfuerzo realizado para visitar la ciudad argentina de Córdoba, participar en la Reunión del MERCOSUR, en la clausura de la Cumbre de los Pueblos en la histórica Universidad de Córdoba y en la visita a Altagracia, la ciudad donde vivió el Che en su infancia y unido a esto asistir de inmediato a la conmemoración del 53 aniversario del asalto a los cuarteles Moncada y Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, el 26 de julio de 1953, en las provincias de Granma y Holguín, días y noches de trabajo continuo sin apenas dormir dieron lugar a que mi salud, que ha resistido todas las pruebas, se sometiera a un estrés extremo y se quebrantara.
Esto me provocó una crisis intestinal aguda con sangramiento sostenido que me obligó a enfrentar una complicada operación quirúrgica. Todos los detalles de este accidente de salud constan en las radiografías, endoscopías y materiales filmados. La operación me obliga a permanecer varias semanas de reposo, alejado de mis responsabilidades y cargos.
Como nuestro país se encuentra amenazado en circunstancias como esta por el Gobierno de los Estados Unidos, he tomado la siguiente decisión:
1) Delego con carácter provisional mis funciones como Primer Secretario del Comité Central del Partido Comunista de Cuba en el Segundo Secretario, compañero Raúl Castro Ruz.
2) Delego con carácter provisional mis funciones como Comandante en Jefe de las heroicas Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias en el mencionado compañero, General de Ejército Raúl Castro Ruz.
3) Delego con carácter provisional mis funciones como Presidente del Consejo de Estado y del Gobierno de la República de Cuba en el Primer Vicepresidente, compañero Raúl Castro Ruz.
4) Delego con carácter provisional mis funciones como impulsor principal del Programa Nacional e Internacional de Salud Pública en el Miembro del Buró Político y Ministro de Salud Pública, compañero José Ramón Balaguer Cabrera.
5) Delego con carácter provisional mis funciones como impulsor principal del Programa Nacional e Internacional de Educación en los compañeros José Ramón Machado Ventura y Esteban Lazo Hernández, Miembros del Buró Político.
6) Delego con carácter provisional mis funciones como impulsor principal del Programa Nacional de la Revolución Energética en Cuba y de colaboración con otros países en este ámbito en el compañero Carlos Lage Dávila, Miembro del Buró Político y Secretario del Comité Ejecutivo del Consejo de Ministros.
Los fondos correspondientes para estos tres programas, Salud, Educación y Energético, deberán seguir siendo gestionados y priorizados, como he venido haciéndolo personalmente, por los compañeros Carlos Lage Dávila, Secretario del Comité Ejecutivo del Consejo de Ministros, Francisco Soberón Valdés, Ministro Presidente del Banco Central de Cuba, y Felipe Pérez Roque, Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores, quienes me acompañaron en estas gestiones y deberán constituir una comisión para ese objetivo.
Nuestro glorioso Partido Comunista, apoyado por las organizaciones de masas y todo el pueblo, tiene la misión de asumir la tarea encomendada en esta Proclama.
La reunión Cumbre del Movimiento de Países No Alineados, a realizarse entre los días 11 y 16 de septiembre, deberá recibir la mayor atención del Estado y la Nación cubana para celebrarse con el máximo de brillantez en la fecha acordada.
El 80 aniversario de mi cumpleaños, que tan generosamente miles de personalidades acordaron celebrar el próximo 13 de agosto, les ruego a todos posponerlo para el 2 de diciembre del presente año, 50 aniversario del Desembarco del Granma.
Pido al Comité Central del Partido y a la Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular el apoyo más firme a esta Proclama.
No albergo la menor duda de que nuestro pueblo y nuestra Revolución lucharán hasta la última gota de sangre para defender estas y otras ideas y medidas que sean necesarias para salvaguardar este proceso histórico.
El imperialismo jamás podrá aplastar a Cuba.
La Batalla de Ideas seguirá adelante.
¡Viva la Patria!
¡Viva la Revolución!
¡Viva el Socialismo!
¡Hasta la Victoria Siempre!
Fidel Castro Ruz
Comandante en Jefe
Primer Secretario del Partido y
Presidente de los Consejos de Estado y de
Ministros de la República de Cuba.
Julio 31 del 2006
6 y 22 p.m.
Cuba, the largest island in the Caribbean, was discovered by Christopher Columbus during his first trip, on 27 October 1492. He wrote in his diary that "never human eyes had set on such a beautiful land ".
Cuba is an independent republic located in the Caribbean Sea. It is one big island with some smaller ones nearby. The capital is La Havana. Most people in Cuba speak Spanish. This is because Cuba was settled by people from Spain. It is not only a beautiful country, but it is an important country as well. It visited by thousands of tourists from different cultures. The Cuban people are friendly and that is the reason for the Cuban nation so beloved.
Though people in Cuba eat, work, and go to school like you do, life in Cuba is unique. When someone thinks of Cuba, he thinks of old cars, music, ‘mojitos’, cigars, tropical beaches and old colonial cities. Many kinds of fruits grow in Cuba. Bananas, pineapples, oranges, and mangoes are favorites. Yucca is a plant that people eat as a vegetable. In the country, there are large farms. The workers there grow sugarcane and tobacco. There are also farms for vegetables, such as lettuce, onions, and carrots.
Cuba's beaches are good for swimming and boating. People also like to dive and fish. Cuba's biggest celebration is called Carnival. It is held on July 26. People dance and sing at this festival. Cuba is unique in the world. Travelers to Cuba cannot help but have all their senses overwhelmed.
It is quite important to point out that when someone thinks of Cuba, he thinks of revolution, Fidel Castro and ‘Che’ Guevara. It is a beautiful country, with a long and turbulent history and after years of economic and political isolation. In 1959, a band of revolutionaries led by young lawyer Fidel Castro defeated the then regime and installed a Revolutionary Government. Foreign assets were nationalized. An agrarian reform law was also issued, along with laws offering all Cubans such rights as education, health and social security. These measures led to a confrontation with the United States and to an alliance with the Soviet Union, which, in turn, opened the way for increased co-operation with the Eastern European block. The Government of Washington D.C. has maintained an economic blockade on Cuba for almost four decades. In the 90's the disintegration of the USSR and the collapse of COMECON resulted in a severe economic crisis known as the "Special Period", from which the country is progressively recovering.
