The Cuban delegation is happy to congratulate the President, on his well deserved election, and wishes him the greatest success in discharging the duties of his office.
2. The general debate of this eleventh session of the General Assembly has begun at a time when the international situation is such that even the most optimistic could not describe it as satisfactory. The Government and the people of Cuba are extremely concerned over the attempt being made to set up a policy that disregards the principles of international law and the obligations arising out of treaties as well as out of agreements reached by the Security Council and the General Assembly of the United Nations. We insist, and we shall always insist, that all Member States must fulfil their international obligations and comply with our resolutions, whether these are to their advantage or not; any other course would reduce the United Nations to an impotent body without authority before the peoples of the world.
3. It is clearly fitting that I should say, in this connexion, that it is not enough to demand rights, it is also necessary to fulfil the obligations which the Charter imposes on all Member States; and, until we all agree on that, we cannot say that the United Nations is truly living up to the purposes -for which it was established.
4. In the view of the Cuban delegation, there are two current problems of special gravity and importance, namely, the so-called Suez question, with all it implies, and the case of Hungary. We have already explained our position on these questions in the Security Council and in the General Assembly, so that we shall confine ourselves here to a few brief remarks.
5. We feel that the Suez problem is the outgrowth of a situation in the Middle East which cannot go on indefinitely. We are not taking a position or prejudging the outcome, but we must point out that that part of the world will continue to be a threat to world peace so long as the situation is not settled by peace treaties among the parties concerned. To consider any other solution possible would, in our opinion, be a serious mistake.
6. In the Security Council and in the Assembly’s first emergency special session, we voted in favour of all the measures adopted to end the state of hostilities between Egypt, on the one hand, and the United Kingdom, France and Israel, on the other. We did so in compliance with the clear and positive precepts of the Charter, and our action had the merit of being that of a country which not only enjoys friendly relations with the people of Egypt, but also has ancient bonds of all kinds, including very important commercial relations, with the British Commonwealth, France and Israel. We hope and desire that all Member States realize that our combined efforts must bring about a lasting peace through the recognition of the legitimate rights of the States concerned.
7. The situation in Hungary, as we have said repeatedly and say again, constitutes a disgrace to mankind. Recent history records no act more illegal or unjust than that perpetrated by the Government of the Soviet Union and its mighty army in Hungary. Nobody can condone such acts, for they are contrary to civilized behaviour and to the most rudimentary principles of the coexistence of peoples. The Hungarian people were entitled to establish the form of government they wanted. The intervention of Soviet troops — as a result of which 65,000 Hungarian citizens have been killed, twice that number, including women and children, seriously wounded, and those taken prisoner deported to Siberia — is a serious violation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the principle of self-determination and non-intervention, which constitute the very corner-stone of our international Organization.
8. The Cuban Government again protests most vehemently against those excesses of the Soviet troops, and publicly states that it will continue to insist that the right of the unhappy people of Hungary to live in peace without the illegal intervention of foreign troops should be recognized.
9. The economic items on our agenda are of great interest to the people and Government of Cuba and, unquestionably, to the other countries of Latin America.
10. The cause of the domestic problems in the Latin- American countries is clearly economic, and those who do not realize that fact are in error. We can state, without fear of contradiction, that the economic development of our countries is not keeping pace with the growth of our population, As a result, the economic situation is steadily deteriorating and is breeding a discontent among the people which cannot be dispelled merely by political formulas.
11. We have often said, and we repeat it now with full conviction, that the flow of private capital alone to our countries, without the assistance of international public capital, is inadequate for our economic development. The reason is obvious. Private foreign capital is directed to investments yielding better returns than are obtainable in the countries of origin, and it is not invested in undertakings that are not self-amortizing but yet, in most cases, are indispensable to the prosperity of our countries.
12. We should not forget that Latin America is today the largest and safest repository of strategic materials and of all types of commodities in the world. We might add that Latin America is potentially able to supply the whole free world with fuel. To recognize that fact and to make the necessary capital investments is the best way to guarantee an honourable and stable peace.
13. Consequently we, the peoples of Latin America, welcomed with deep satisfaction the statements made at the Panama Conference of Heads of State, held in July 1956, by the President of the United States, Mr. Eisenhower, in which he urged closer economic co-operation among all the peoples and Governments of this hemisphere. The Government and people of Cuba are convinced that the forthcoming meetings at Washington of the representatives of the heads of American States will have incalculable benefits if, as President Eisenhower said, current problems are examined honestly and candidly and with a firm determination to solve them in a manner that is fair to all the parties concerned.
14. The economic problem of Cuba is very similar to that of most Latin American countries. For reasons beyond the control of our Government, it has proved impossible to expand our sugar industry, which is our chief industry, to meet the requirements of our increased population. Our main market, the United States, has set up systems of import quotas, protective tariffs and subsidies, in order to increase its own domestic production. That is the example set by the country with the highest level of living in the world. Countries lacking sufficient currency reserves to pay for their imports automatically reduce their purchases of sugar. Cuba must consequently develop other sources of production and wealth if it is to maintain its economic activity at a satisfactory minimum level.
15. A programme of diversification is, however, imperative not only as a means of increasing our economic activity at a rate commensurate with the growth of our population, but also to enable us to make drastic reforms in the structure of our economy,
16. In the past, Cuba’s economy was based on a single export commodity, and consequently suffered from that structural defect. Our wealth would rise to abnormal heights in times of war; war and sugar prosperity went hand in hand. At those times, our volume of production rose tremendously, our foreign exchange followed a similar course, and inflation was rife. The opposite would take place at the end of a war, when countries began to produce their own sugar and dispensed with imports. As a result, the price of sugar would go down, and our volume of exports would reach its lowest level. The economy of the country would thus fluctuate between prosperity and extreme poverty. That is how the Cuban economy came to be called a kind of “lottery” economy. Sometimes it won first prize and became rich, but it paid for the lottery ticket in the many years in which there was no return at all. As a natural consequence, the Cuban economy was unstable from 1902 to 1952. Its import economy suffered from the same lack of stability.
17. To illustrate the tremendous efforts made by the Cuban Government to resolve its economic problem, we point to the programme of economic and social development that was inaugurated in 1952 and has been continuing ever since. The basic objective of the programme is to achieve the diversification of Cuban production. The President of Cuba, Mr. Batista, was the author of this initiative, and he had the vigorous backing of our National Bank, headed by Mr. Martinez Saenz.
18. Within the limits of this statement, I should like to give the Assembly a comprehensive picture of what we have accomplished. I do this, not in a spirit of idle boasting, but to show that if we have not resolved our problems entirely, it is because under-developed countries cannot do so alone, without the help of the more developed countries. Let us bear in mind the principle that, just as peace is indivisible, so must the prosperity and well-being of the masses of the people also he indivisible.
19. Under the economic development plan, the following are the principal legislative measures that have been adopted to promote our economic activity. The Act to encourage industry provides that new industries established in Cuba shall be exempt, for a period of five to ten years, from duty on machinery, equipment and raw materials imported for the use of those industries, as well as from national and local taxes, including profits taxes.
20. Another law is intended to encourage the investment of foreign capital and gives investors the privilege of withdrawing their money from the country free of tax; it guarantees parity of Cuban currency with foreign currency at the same rate at which the foreign currency was changed into Cuban currency. It might be useful to note here that our peso has the same value as the United States dollar.
21. The impetus to our law for encouraging the construction of medium and low-cost housing was given by the Banco de Hipotecas Aseguradas [Mortgage Insurance Bank], which is conducted on the same lines as the Federal Housing Administration in the United States and is intended to provide employees and workers with funds to build their own homes. We have also enacted a law on what is known as “floor-occupancy” ownership, an arrangement that makes possible the acquiring of a single apartment in an apartment building.
22. There is also a very progressive law on petroleum, under which loans are granted for oil-prospecting, and other substantial benefits are conferred. We are happy to be able to state that, as a result of this legislation a great deal of prospecting is now being done in Cuba by local and foreign companies, which in some cases are meeting with success. We have also set up a fund to promote the production of rice, coffee, beans and maize, with the result that our output of these commodities is the highest ever recorded, and we are now exporting coffee and maize.
23. We have set up an Instituto Cubano de Investigaciones Tecnologicas [Cuban Technological Research Institute] to facilitate the study of new uses for local products and the possibilities of developing new products.
24 Another new Act authorizes the National Bank of Cuba to promote the exploitation of local gold mines, a number of which are in private hands but for one reason or another are not being worked. Lack of capital is believed to be the real reason for inactivity in each case. The Act has solved the problem by making operation of the mines compulsory but tax-free.
25. A number of specialized credit institutions have been set up to facilitate the granting of loans for economic activities. One of these is the Financiera Nacional de Cuba [National Finance Agency of Cuba], the purpose of which is to finance self-amortizing public works carried out by State and municipal authorities. The Government has made possible the execution of a large number of major projects such as the tunnel beneath Havana Bay, the expansion of the Havana water-supply service and the expansion of the programme of the Compañia Cubana de Electricidad for increasing the supply of electric power.
26. We have also established the Banco Cubano de Comercio Exterior [Cuban Bank for Foreign Trade] with a view to finding new markets for local products and solving the problem of exporting them to customers in countries with depreciated currencies.
27. There is also the Banco de Desarrollo Economico y Social [Bank for Economic and Social Development], set up to act as the Government’s financial agent for the placement of bonds issued in pursuance of the law on economic and social development, to provide facilities for the discounting by commercial banks of long-term bills for economic development along the lines of what is done in commercial practice by the National Bank of Cuba, and to grant direct loans to private companies and government agencies in connexion with agricultural, industrial and mining programmes. There is also a Fondo de Seguro de Depositos [Deposits Insurance Fund], with an initial capital of $10 million, that is to be supplemented by an additional $5,400,000 in the form of annual contributions from the National Bank of Cuba and the associated private banks. The news of this fund’s establishment has greatly increased the use of banking facilities, and especially of savings accounts, which were previously insecure and unproductive.
28. We have also set up a Comision Ejecutiva National de Cooperacion Agricola y Minera [National Executive Committee for Co-operation in Agriculture and Mining], with an initial capital of $6 million derived from the economic and social development programme. The purpose of this agency is to help provide small farmers and mining operators with equipment at moderate cost. This is one way of increasing agricultural and mining production in our country, for small investors are thus able to start producing without having to lay out large sums on equipment.
29. The effect of all these efforts on Cuba’s economy has been considerable. One striking example of the success of the programme just referred to is the investment of $10 million for the purchase of new equipment for the Compañia Cubana de Aviacion [Cuban Aviation Company], including two “Super-Constellations” for the international routes to Madrid, Mexico and New York, and four “Viscounts” for the Havana-Miami and local routes. We have spent $20 million in cash for purchase of the shares of the Ferrocarriles Unidos de La Habana [United Havana Railways], which operate Cuba, from the former British owners and for the immediate rehabilitation of the network. In other words, we have nationalized these formerly British- owned railways and paid spot cash.
30. We have spent $10 million on the purchase and installation of RCA FM [Radio Corporation of America, Frequency Modulation] telecommunication equipment, with the result that Cuba is the only country in the world today having its entire territory served by a modern telecommunication system of this type. A sum of $6 million was used to set up the first newsprint factory to use bagasse of sugar cane as its raw material.
31. Our total electricity output rose from 164,000 kW in 1950 to 267,000 kW in 1955. This represents an increase of 63 per cent, which was brought about at an investment cost of $74 million. A new five-year programme to increase the production of electric power, and calling for the investment of $147 million, will result in a still further increase to 549,000 kW by 1960, or a rise of 335 per cent over the 1950 figure. The financing of the programme has been made possible through the co-operation of the Import-Export Bank of Washington and the Financiera Nacional de Cuba, and the help of local and foreign investors.
32. We have begun work on the construction, for completion in 1957, of a hydroelectric plant on the Hanabanilla river in Las Villas province which will have a probable output of 20,000 kW and will cost 14 million pesos. Two other electric-power projects are under study; one is a 20,000 kW plant for eastern Havana and the other a plant on the Toa river in Oriente province.
33. Cuba’s petroleum production, though still very low, rose from 48,600 barrels of forty-two gallons in 1953 to 307,852 barrels during the first half of 1956. This development of our petroleum output and the possibilities of a further increase have spurred investments in the construction of refineries. The Esso Standard Oil Company, for example, has invested $30 million, the Texas Company $14 million, the Compañia Petrolera Shell $24 million and the Compañia Nacional Petrolera de Cuba $10 million.
34. As regards public works completed by the Government, the figures are: 108 new highways with a total length of 1,380 kilometres built, and 128 rebuilt or repaired; 953 secondary roads or by-roads with a total length of 6,538 kilometres built; 126 bridges built and 23 repaired or improved; 32 aqueducts built and 10 repaired or improved; 693 sewerage and drainage systems installed; 23 kilometres of new streets and pavements built at Havana alone, and 112 kilometres rebuilt or repaired. In addition, 8 hospitals have been built, 8 have been enlarged and 2 have been rebuilt or repaired; and 5 large schools have been built and 1 rebuilt. Other projects carried out under the economic and social development programme include the construction of 5 new airports and the reconstruction of a sixth.
35. The Government is at present engaged in building 55 new roads with a total length of 1,700 kilometres, repairing 33 with a total length of 141 kilometres and extending another 2 with a total length of 23 kilometres. Other new construction includes 461 main afid secondary highways with a total length of 2,877 kilometres; 35 bridges; 14 aqueducts; and 170 sewerage systems. In addition, 7 new hospitals are being built and 4 repaired; 4 large schools are being built and 5 repaired; and 3 new airports are being built and 5 repaired. In addition, plans are being completed and will shortly be put into effect for building 23 roads with a total length of 675 kilometres, for repairing 7 roads with a total length of 64 kilometres, and for building 3 bridges, 5 aqueducts and 10 hospitals.
36. As can be seen, we have striven to check the depressive forces resulting from the decline in our sugar output and the smaller income from sugar sales, and so head off a deflationary process which would lead to a crisis, and to develop our economic structure so that through a programme of diversification it might be less dependent on fluctuations in income.
37. The reason why I have taken up your time with this part of my statement is to support my previous assertion that, despite all the efforts and sacrifices made, we still need the co-operation of the more developed and wealthier countries if we are to achieve the minimum standard of living to which our people aspire. I have also done this to forestall the argument that each country should work out its own economic Salvation. Such an argument is not entirely true, for interdependence is a phenomenon which is more strongly apparent day by day, and an increase in Cuba’s production for export is out of the question unless we can count on markets which will take our products at reasonable prices.
38. The agenda for the eleventh session of the General Assembly contains a number of items that come under the category of colonial problems. The Cuban delegation has voted for their inclusion, thereby modifying its previous stand in certain cases. Our action on this score warrants a brief explanation, so that our vote in favour of the inclusion of these items may not be taken as prejudging our position on their substance.
39. In the statement made by the Cuban delegation at the special session held at San Francisco to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the United Nations, the attention of Member States and of world opinion was drawn to an irrefutable fact. We said that whereas the United Kingdom had recognized the independence of many of its former colonies, such as India, Pakistan, Burma, Ceylon and Nepal, without acquiring any others; whereas France had done likewise with regard to Cambodia, Laos and Viet-Nam and, just recently, Tunisia and Morocco; whereas the Netherlands had permitted the establishment of the Republic of Indonesia; and whereas the United States had, after an irreproachably conducted plebiscite, granted to Puerto Rico the status of a free and associated commonwealth and had conferred independence on the Philippines; the Soviet Union, by contrast, had engaged in a policy of naked colonialism, of economic and political imperialism unprecedented in the history of mankind. Suffice it to say that in Europe alone it has conquered 1,187,252 square kilometres of foreign territory and enslaved 98 million human beings without justification or reason. This is without counting North Korea, Northern Viet-Nam, Outer Mongolia or Communist China.
40. It is extraordinary, to the mind of the Cuban delegation, to find fiery statements being made and strongly worded draft resolutions submitted on the question of colonialism, without any mention of the present-day colonialism of the Soviet Union. Such a procedure, we feel, amounts to an attempt to dwell on ancient history and to overlook what is going on around us.
41. The Cuban delegation will maintain its stand against colonialism, as has been demonstrated time and again, but it will consider the cases now before it on their merits and in the light of the present world situation. We reject transfers of sovereignty which completely disregard the will of the people concerned, and even more so the dual standard of being an anticolonialist in one part of the world while observing with unconcern the bitter sufferings inflicted on certain peoples by the militant colonialist policy of the Soviet Union.