Raul Castro: Cuba must put land to better use

HOLGUIN, Cuba — Cuban President Raul Castro said Sunday that the global economic crisis means tougher times ahead for Cuba, but the country has no one to blame but itself for poor farm production that leads to frequent shortages of fruits, vegetables and other basics.

In a speech marking Revolution Day, Mr. Castro said the island can’t pin all its problems on Washington’s 47-year-old trade embargo. He implored Cubans to take better advantage of a government program begun last year to turn unused state land over to private farmers.

“The land is there; here are the Cubans,” he said, pounding the podium. “Let’s see if we get to work or not, if we produce or not, if we keep our word.”

The line did not get much of a response from a crowd not thrilled about working under the island’s scorching tropical sun, but the 78-year-old Mr. Castro called agricultural production Cuba’s top priority and a matter of national security.

“It is not a question of yelling, ‘Fatherland or death! Down with imperialism! The blockade hurts us,’” he said, referring to U.S. sanctions begun in 1962. “The land is there waiting for our efforts.”

He made almost no other mention of the United States.

Three years since the last time his 82-year-old brother, Fidel, was seen in public, the younger Mr. Castro showed signs he is getting more comfortable with national addresses, opening with a joke about how whoever designed the stage failed to provide any shade for the speaker or the crowd. He later harpooned his own Agricultural Ministry, asking how previous Cuban generations managed to ever grow even a single mango tree if all state advisers do today is say there’s no money for reforestation.

Tens of thousands of supporters, most wearing red T-shirts or caps, filled a grassy plaza dotted with red-and-black “July 26” flags. Revolution Day, the top holiday for the communist government, commemorates the date in 1953 when the Castros led an attack on the Moncada army barracks in the eastern city of Santiago. The attack was a disaster, but Cubans consider it the beginning of the revolution that culminated with dictator Fulgencio Batista’s ouster on New Year’s Day 1959.

Unlike in his last two holiday speeches, Mr. Castro did not address the crowd with a sculpture or banner of his brother’s face nearby.

Instead, an eight-story-tall banner on a building behind the crowd featured a picture of both Castros thrusting their arms skyward under the words “The Vigorous and Victorious Revolution Keeps Marching Forward.”

Despite Cubans’ hopes for change after Mr. Castro formally took over as president in February 2008, economic reforms that were supposed to ease life on the island have been slow to come. Meanwhile, Cuba’s economy has been hammered by the global economic crisis, and U.S. relations have not improved much under President Obama.

The president “was working to improve things, but with all that’s happened with the economy in the world, the effect has been minimal,” said Silvia Hernandez, a retired commercial analyst for a state-run firm in Holguin, where Mr. Castro spoke.

Mr. Castro has asked Cubans to be patient as he implements “structural changes” to a struggling economy more than 90 percent controlled by the state. He also has said he would be willing to meet with U.S. leaders over any issue, including the country’s political prisoners and human rights record, though he did not mention that Sunday.

Officials from Cuba and the United States discussed immigration this month for the first time since 2003. The Obama administration lifted restrictions on Cuban-Americans who want to travel or send money to the island, but Washington has said it wants to see small political or economic reforms before going further.

“The other side doesn’t want to do anything,” said housewife Elena Fuentes, 73, referring to the Obama administration. “We’ve been like this for 50 years. That’s too long. They talk about ‘change,’ but the change we want is for things to get better with the United States.”

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