On 8/1/06, Dan Scanlan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Translation: The official Cuban proclamation
Proclamation broadcast on Havana radio, read by Carlos Valenciaga,
Fidel Castro's secretary.
Proclamation by the Commander in Chief to the people of Cuba:
<snip>
1. I delegate, on a provisional basis, my functions as First
Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba
upon the Second Secretary, comrade Raul Castro Ruz.
2. I delegate, on a provisional basis, my functions as Commander in
Chief of the Heroic Revolutionary Armed Forces upon the
aforementioned comrade, Army Gen. Raul Castro Ruz.
3. I delegate, on a provisional basis, my functions as President of
the Council of State and Government of the Republic of Cuba on the
First Vice President, comrade Raul Castro Ruz.
4. I delegate, on a provisional basis, my functions as principal
promoter of the national and international program of public health
upon the member of the Political Bureau and Minister of Public
Health, comrade Jose Ramon Balaguer Cabrera.
5. I delegate, on a provisional basis, my functions as principal
promoter of the national and international program of education upon
comrades Jose Ramon Machado Ventura and Esteban Lazo Hernandez,
members of the Political Bureau.
6. I delegate, on a provisional basis, my functions as principal
promoter of the national program of the energy revolution in Cuba,
and cooperation with other countries on this field, upon comrade
Carlos Lage Davila, member of the Political Bureau and Secretary of
the Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers.
The funds required for these three programs -- health, education and
energy -- must continue to be managed and prioritized, as I have been
doing it personally, by comrades Carlos Lage Davila, Secretary of the
Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers; Francisco Soberon
Valdes, Minister-President of the Central Bank of Cuba; and Felipe
Perez Roque, Minister of Foreign Relations, who accompanied me in
these tasks and who must form a commission for that purpose.
Fidel is a great man, perhaps the ablest socialist leader in history,
and certainly the most charming, but no man -- not even the best --
should have held so many offices himself, and for so long.
Will Chavez seek to govern beyond the next term, which he is sure to
win this December?
On one hand, two terms of six years each may be indeed too short a
period to make progress in a revolutionary process, so it's
understandable if Chavez wants to run again. Besides, it's possible
that only a man of Chavez's charisma can move the process forward by
turning the next political setback or economic downturn into a
paradoxical opportunity to do so.
On the other hand, I don't want Chavez to emulate Fidel on being the
head of state for ever (though that would be the only way a majority
of Americans would get to remember his name and pronounce it
correctly).
--
Yoshie
<http://montages.blogspot.com/>
<http://mrzine.org>
<http://monthlyreview.org/>
