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Neoliberal globalization will only last a decades

• Sooner or later, it will have to come to an end

CLOSING SPEECH GIVEN BY FIDEL CASTRO RUZ, PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCILS OF STATE AND MINISTERS AND FIRST SECRETARY OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF CUBA, AT THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF ECONOMISTS, IN THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTER, ON JANUARY 22, 1999, YEAR OF THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF TRIUMPH OF THE REVOLUTION.

(TRANSLATION OF THE TYPESCRIPT OF THE COUNCIL OF STATE)

Distinguished delegates, observers and invited guests:

Since you are doing me this honor, I am not going to make a speech; I will restrict myself to expounding a paper. (APPLAUSE)

I shall do it in the language of dispatches and, to a large extent, it will be a dialogue with myself.

July. Meeting of Latin American and Caribbean Economists. Theme: a grave world economic crisis in sight. Need to convene an international meeting. Central point: the economic crisis and neoliberal globalization.

Extensive debate.

All schools.

Confronting arguments.

Labors were in that direction.

Maximum possible reduction of costs for everyone.

Working morning, noon and night.

Exceptional seriousness and discipline have reigned in these five days.

Everyone talking with absolute freedom. We have achieved that. We are gratified.

We have learnt a lot listening to you.

A great variety and diversity of ideas. Extraordinary exhibition of spirit of study, skill, clarity and beauty of expression.

We all have convictions.

We can all influence each other.

In the end, we will all come to similar conclusions.

My profoundest convictions: the incredible and hitherto unknown globalization that concerns us is a product of historical development; a fruit of human civilization; it was attained in an exceedingly short space of only 3000 years in the long life of our antecedents on the planet. They were already a completely evolved species. Contemporary humans are not more intelligent than Pericles, Plato or Aristotle, although we do not yet know if they are sufficiently intelligent to solve the extremely complex problems of today. We are betting that they can achieve it. Our meeting has been about that.

One question: is it an irreversible process? My answer, the one I give myself, is: no.

What type of globalization do we have today? A neoliberal globalization; that is what many of us are calling it. Is it sustainable? No. Can it survive for much time? Absolutely not. A matter of centuries? Categorically not. Will it only last a few decades? Yes, only decades. But sooner or later it will have to come to an end.

Maybe you think I’m a kind of prophet or fortune-teller? No. Do I know much about economy? No. Virtually absolutely nothing. To affirm what I said it’s enough to know how to add, subtract, multiply and divide. Children learn that in elementary school.

How is the transition going to come about? We don’t know. Through widespread violent revolutions or great wars? That would seem improbable, irrational and suicidal. Through profound and catastrophic crises? Unfortunately that seems the most likely, almost, almost inevitable outcome, and it will come about in many diverse ways and through many forms of struggle.

What kind of globalization will it be? It couldn’t be any other than jointly shared, socialist, communist, or whatever you want to call it.

Does nature and, with it, the human species, have much time to survive the absence of such a change? Very little. Who will be the creators of that new world? The men and women who people our planet.

What will be the essential weapons? Ideas; minds. Who will sow them, cultivate them and make them invincible? You. Is this about a utopia, one more dream among so many others? No, because it is objectively inevitable and there is no alternative. It was already dreamed not so long ago, only perhaps prematurely. As José Martí, the most enlightened of the sons of this island, said: "The dreams of today will be the realities of tomorrow."

I have concluded my paper. Now I am at your disposition, if you’d like to ask questions.

(OVATION)