Havana, Cuba.- The creation of events on Globalization and Development Problems was an original initiative of the economic thinking of Fidel Castro, said one of his collaborators today.
These meetings represented a unique type of event involving specialists from different economic and political currents, including Nobel Prizes, recalled José Luis Rodríguez, who collaborated for 25 years, from different responsibilities, with the historical leader of the Cuban Revolution, deceased in 2016.
In an exhibition of over two hours at the Cuban Journalists Union (UPEC), Rodríguez, former vice-president of the Center for Research on the World Economy (CIEM), said that Fidel created this academic institution to study world economic issues.
He recalled the then president of that center, Osvaldo Martínez, collaborated with the revolutionary leader as advisor and analyst of economic issues, a job of great responsibility, he said.
Highlighting Fidel’s interest in issues related to world economy, he evoked moments before the Summit of Non-Aligned Countries held in India, in which Cuba presented the book The Economic and Social Crisis of the World, to make it available to the countries.
It was a very intense work and Fidel reviewed word for word of each chapter of the book, in which the prologue recognized the work of CIEM and other institutions that collaborated with its content, he said.
The revolutionary leader was not satisfied with any kind of response, he had to know the issues well, and he (Fidel) tried to get people to dominate them, he observed.
Rodriguez, current advisor to ICES and former Minister of Finance and then of Economy and Planning in the years of the Special Period (economic crisis that disrupted the country’s economy after the extinction of socialism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union), commented as an element showing Fidel’s extraordinary political vision, who warned, several years before its occurrence, the possible disappearance of the Eastern European Socialist community of nations. The specialist referred to the hard years of the crisis, in which the country lost its traditional business partners, and had to face a drastic reduction in fuel consumption as a result of this phenomenon and other major economic difficulties.
He recalled the extraordinary sensitivity of the ruler, and how his leadership shone in the numerous meetings held with businessmen and social leaders, to analyze and solve problems.
It also meant the role of the so-called Workers Parliaments, an initiative that brought raised over 500 thousand opinions in search for solutions to difficulties, from those meetings held throughout the country in 1994.
He also highlighted the participation of Fidel, with original responses in the inevitable processes of the time, the solution to the shortage of drugs caused by the crisis, as well as in the issue of blackouts (electrical interruptions), when several thermoelectric plants were paralyzed and only It had 38 percent of the electricity generation capacity.
He also referred to the tremendous humanity and sensitivity of the leader of the Revolution, very attentive to the problems of the population and those who worked with him and the difficulties of these and their families.
The talk was headed by UPEC president Ricardo Ronquillo, Rosa Miriam Elizalde and Ariel Terrero, first vice president and vice president, respectively.