Chairman of Cuban parliament, third man in Cuba after Fidel and Raul Castro, RICARDO ALARCON, is interviewed in Moscow.
Photo: Grigoriy Sobchenko
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“Fidel is a man of very good health”
Chairman of Cuban parliament, third man in Cuba after Fidel and Raul Castro, Ricardo Alarcon, arrived to Moscow yesterday. Before negotiations with his Russian colleagues, he met with Kommersant’s correspondent Mikhail Zygar and told him that Cuba’s major problem is foreign mass media.
- Naturally, the first question is about Fidel’s health.
- It is all right. Last Saturday he appeared on TV, explaining that he is undergoing a recovery stage. It is not very easy. It is the process of post-surgery convalescence, and Fidel’s state is satisfactory.
- When will he be able to return to his duties?
- In fact, he never abandoned state affairs. The only question is when he will come back to official work. Yet, it depends on doctors. They explained, taking into account the experience of other cases beside Fidel’s, that the recovery after such kind of surgeries takes quite a long time. Surely, much depends on age peculiarities, but Fidel is a man of very good health.
- Bolivia’s President Evo Morales said recently that Fidel will return to work already in 2 or 3 weeks. So, was he too fast?
- I can’t say exactly what Evo said. It is hard to make such estimations. On the other hand, what does it mean “when will he return to work”? During his illness, Fidel received statesmen. He had work meetings. Naturally, it was not so intensive as before. Before, he could talk to people for several hours. Now, he has to limit himself. It is hard to say when he will come back to his usual tempo. Perhaps, Evo is right saying 2 or 3 weeks. On the other hand, I have recently heard someone saying that Fidel is already taking walks through the streets. This surely is an exaggeration. Yet, it is absolutely clear that he did not die – there were statements like this as well. Some journalists wrote that he suffers terrible pain. There is nothing of the kind.
- US mass media state that he has cancer.
- It is not true. Being a journalist is a very honorable job, of course. You are a journalist, for instance. If you feel unwell, you won’t go consult another journalist, you’ll go to a doctor, right? It is not the press who gives the diagnosis, is it?
- Have any changes in Cuba’s political power occurred since Fidel fell ill?
- Well, when he announced he would step down to have the surgery, he delegated his duties to other comrades who had been elected just like him. When Fidel Castro was elected as the chairman of the state council, Raul Castro was elected as Fidel’s deputy vice chairman. Naturally, Raul carries out those duties now. Fidel delegates his other functions among other comrades. If there were any reshufflements of ministers recently, it has nothing to do with Fidel’s illness. Ministers used to change before, too. In our system, minister-changing decisions are taken not individually but collegiately, regardless of who heads the state council.
- Does Raul Castro’s governing style differ significantly from that of his brother? They are such different people.
- All people are different. No, there has been no imitation. Yet, there is no divergence between Raul and Fidel on key issues. Surely, everyone has his own style and manner, but the main thing is the government’s alignment, the ideology, the philosophy. If there exist two men believing in same ideas and principles, it is Fidel and Raul Castro. They work together for over 50 years.
- Don’t you consider it a problem that most Cuban leaders are very elderly people already?
- I think the problem is in mass media. Especially, in foreign press. The average age of the members of parliament which I head is 45 years. So, if there are people aged 70-80, and the average is 45, then every mathematician will tell you there are people younger than 40 or 30. The same applies to municipal assemblies, even to the council of ministers and the central committee of the party. Finally, there are thousands of young politicians in the country, and millions of Cubans know their names. The fact that they don’t appear on CNN or in other mass media does not mean they do not exist. Mass media distort the reality. For instance, foreign countries expected some disorder after Fidel fell ill. But no one in Cuba expected such events. Mass media is trying to show there is only one man in Cuba – Fidel Castro. And only one man by his side – Raul Castro. However, if it were so, everything would deteriorate should either of them fall ill. Yet, it is not true, and this became quite obvious after July 31.
- You must have heard of the crisis in Russia-Georgia relations. Russia recently put an embargo against Georgia, which is sometimes compared to US embargo against Cuba. What do you think of this comparison?
- I do not know the details of Russia-Georgia situation. But I would like to point out that US embargo against Cuba is more than just an embargo. It appeared long before you were born. Long before most Cubans were born. It is not just an embargo, but an economic blockade. It is not only the breach of US-Cuba relations, but US attempts to prevent any country in the world from having relations with Cuba. They do not want anyone to have trade with Cuba. (Turning to the photographer.) What is the brand of your camera?
- Canon.
- Two or three weeks ago a Cuban boy won a UN-organized children’s drawing contest. One child from each continent was awarded a prize, and a Cuban boy became the winner from Latin America. The awards ceremony was held in Algeria. All children came there, and Nikon company decided to give a camera to each of them. However, when it turned out that one of the children is Cuban, Nikon company said to the UN that it cannot make the gift to the boy. Nikon is a Japanese company. Yet, one of the camera’s details is produced in the U.S., and the U.S. prohibit foreign companies to sell or give any goods, at least 10 percent of which are US-made, to Cuba or Cuban citizens. Technically, Nikon company was right. But can you imagine what kind of blockade this is, if they are trying to fight even against children! It is genocide.
- You came to Russia from Minsk. What do you think of Belarus and President Lukashenka?
- Belarus is an example of the policy of independence. That country has preserved all the achievements it acquired during the Soviet regime. Health care and education remain free. Social security level is high. They managed to save the values they achieved in Soviet times, and to restore their economy. Despite all difficulties, they carry out the policy of independence. Belarus is the only European country which is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement.
- What would you say of Russia-Cuba relations? Have they changed after Mikhail Fradkov’s recent visit? Who will you meet with in the course of your visit here?
- I’ll meet with Fradkov. His visit to our country was very good both for Cuba and for Russia. I will also have meetings in Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the State Duma. Russia-Cuba relations are going very well. It is easier to hold talks with Russia than with other countries, because we already have the previously established relations. Many Cuban factories use Russian machinery, so we need Russia’s help for their modernization.
- How strong is Cuba’s energetic dependency on Venezuela?
- We import oil from Venezuela, but it is not our only source. We have our own oil fields under our shelf sea. India, Spain, China, and Canada help us with the development of those oil beds. Extraction of our own oil and natural gas covers about the half of our needs.
- Do Russian companies take part in oil production?
- No. But there is nothing to prevent them from doing it.
All the Article in Russian as of Nov. 03, 2006
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