Raul Castro At The UN, From Delirium To Sanity

Raul Castro At The UN, From Delirium To Sanity / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar
Posted on September 26, 2015

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 26 September 2015 — On Monday
September 26, 1960 Fidel Castro gave a memorable speech at the United
Nations General Assembly of nearly 5 hours. The anti-imperialist
rhetoric of the bearded leader shocked representatives of Third World
countries with lapidary phrases such as, "Let the philosophy of plunder
disappear, and be gone the philosophy of war!" or that other one, "to
his lordship the delegate of the United States, I take advantage of this
opportunity to say that there are many mothers in the Cuban countryside
and many mothers in Cuba, still waiting for their telegrams of
condolence for their children murdered by American bombs." In his
defiant speech the commander mentioned the name of his neighbor to the
north 148 times.

Fifty years and three days later, on another Monday, Raul Castro will
rise to the green marble podium where his brother railed against
president Eisenhower and the presidential candidates Nixon and Kennedy.
But this 28 September the Cuban president's tone will be less bellicose
and, without a doubt, much briefer. The blockade, the Guantanamo naval
base, compensation for the damages and injuries and an end to the
broadcasts of Radio and TV Martí will be the high points of his agenda
as conditions for the normalization of relations with the United States.

The Soviet Union no longer exists and Cuba is the only dictatorship in
Latin America, where the last guerrilla has promised to lay down his
arms. There are no colonies in Africa, and the greatest danger facing
the developed countries of the western world is not communism, but
Islamic fundamentalism. All the world's leaders are closer than ever to
reaching a global accord to save the planet from its environmental
hazards. It is a different world today and Cuba cannot remain the same.

The meeting, which will last three days and includes the participation
of 150 heads of state and government, has as its goal to discuss the new
objectives of sustainable development; it opened with the speech of Pope
Francis and in the course of it the proposals of Vladimir Putin and
Barack Obama will be heard.

The presence of Raul Castro interrupts a 15-year absence of a Cuban
leader in the General Assembly and will be the prelude to what will
happen next month, when this forum of the United Nations again votes a
resolution against the American embargo of the island. It has been
speculated that the US delegation will abstain, which would be
unprecedented in American foreign policy.

Most likely among all those present none are left of those who witnessed
Fidel Castro's marathon dissertation. Nor have the promises made that
day, to make Cuba an island of hope, survived. The task of Raul Castro
will be to erase the delirium and demonstrate sanity.

Source: Raul Castro At The UN, From Delirium To Sanity / 14ymedio,
Reinaldo Escobar | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/raul-castro-at-the-un-from-delirium-to-sanity-14ymedio-reinaldo-escobar/