Sunday, August 02, 2009

Raul Castro: Cuba will slash social spending

Raul Castro: Cuba will slash social spending
Still defiant about socialism's future, even after 'death of Fidel and
all of us'
updated 11:15 p.m. ET Aug. 1, 2009

HAVANA - Raul Castro announced Saturday that Cuba will cut spending on
education and health care, potentially weakening the building blocks of
its communist system in a bid to revive a floundering economy.

The former defense minister who took over the presidency last year
called state spending "simply unsustainable" and said the cash-strapped
government would reorganize rural schools and scrutinize its free health
care system in search of ways to save money.

But he vowed that the island will not see fundamental change even after
he and his older brother and predecessor Fidel Castro are gone.
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"I wasn't elected president to return capitalism to Cuba," Castro said,
"or to surrender the revolution" — the armed uprising that toppled
dictator Fulgencio Batista a half-century ago.

"I was elected to defend, build and perfect socialism, not destroy it,"
he said to a standing ovation from lawmakers in Parliament.

He framed those remarks as a response to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton, who has said Washington wants to see economic and social
reforms in Cuba before doing more to improve bilateral relations.

Castro also reiterated his willingness to negotiate improved relations
with the United States and acknowledged a "decline in the aggressiveness
and anti-Cuban rhetoric" during the Obama administration.

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He said he was ready to talk about "everything here, but also everything
there," referencing Washington's 47-year-old trade embargo and the U.S.
naval base at Guantanamo Bay.

Castro made an unusual mention of the mortality of his ailing,
82-year-old brother — something top officials almost never do in public
— scoffing at those who think Cuba's political system will crumble after
"the death of Fidel and all of us."

"If that's how they think they are doomed to failure," Castro said.

Raul Castro: Cuba to slash social spending - Focus on Cuba- msnbc.com (1
August 2009)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32254224/ns/world_news-americas/

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