Raul Castro Summarizes Actions of the Cuban Parliament

CUBA, July 11, 2008. Cuban President Raul Castro called on teachers and professors who are no longer working to return to their noble profession of teaching, especially retirees with the capacity to contribute their professionalism and experience in the classroom.

While summarizing the sessions of the National Assembly, President Raul Castro explained that before the beginning of the upcoming school year, the parliament will propose the authorization of the reinsertion of teachers at their full salary, which will not affect their retirement pension.

In his speech, Castro also referred to a declaration in support of five Cuban anti-terrorist fighters who have been unjustly imprisoned in US jails, and added that this statement is another action in the struggle for their freedom.

Raul Castro talked about the national life expectancy and birth rate, and their effects on the working force, a fact that backs up the necessity of modifying current Social Security law.

The Cuban President reflected on the need for workers to feel themselves as owners of the means of production, which do not depend only on theoretical explanations.

The worker’s income must match their output and their workplace’s fulfilment of its social purpose, which was the reason for its creation –  to attain the level of productivity or services previously established, he affirmed.

“Cuba has to reverse, once and for all, the trend of the decreasing cultivated land area, which between 1998 and 2007 was reduced by 33 percent, a fact that greatly influenced the limitations imposed by the economic crisis,” said Raul.

“In other words,” he added, “we have to go back to the land! We have to make it produce!”
 
Raul Castro said that in the future, legal regulations will be approved to start giving idle land to those capable of making it produce immediately, as he mentioned other measures that will be taken in relation to agricultural activity.

Another topic mentioned by Castro was the price of oil. While in 2003 it was around 28 dollars a barrel, and this same time last year it oscillated between 70 and 80 dollars a barrel, just a few hours ago it surpassed 147 dollars a barrel in Europe. This increase —along with the impact of bio-fuels, speculation and the devaluation of the dollar— have sent food prices skyrocketing.

The Cuban President recalled the valuable experiences accumulated by the Cuban Armed Forces (FAR) in the planning and production of food, and affirmed that today’s preparation for defence is more effective than ever. Arms have been modernized, thanks to the efforts and intelligence of the engineers and workers at several state companies, he noted. (Cubaminrex - ACN)