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President Raúl Castro attends closing
of Writers and Artists Congress
President of the Councils of State and Ministers,
and First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba
Central Committee, Raúl Castro Ruz, congratulated
the executive committee elected by the Union of
Cuban Writers and Artists (UNEAC) 8th Congress,
including Miguel Barnet who was re-elected as
president of the organization, and, in particular,
the delegates participating in the event, which held
its closing session the evening of Saturday, April
12, in Havana's Convention Center.
"I have been following all the opinions, some of
which I do not share, but do respect. I am an
absolute enemy of unanimity; differences should be
expressed in meetings whenever necessary. The
problems presented here must be discussed and
solutions found; you can not arrive at the next
Congress and present the same," Raúl said during the
closing session.
The President received two pieces of artwork by Juan
Quintanilla from Miguel Barnet and sculptor José
Villa - one for himself and one for the historic
leader of the Revolution, Fidel Castro - as
expressions of UNEAC members' respect.
The event's closing comments were made by Vice
President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, with many
national and Party leaders in attendance, including
Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, minister of Foreign
Relations; Julián González Toledo, minister of
Culture; Abel Prieto, Presidential advisor; Roberto
Montesinos, from the Party Central Committee; and
families of the Cuban Five.
Díaz-Canel commented, in reference to the
implementation of 6th Party Congress Guidelines,
"We are living during a transcendental moment in the
country's history. The updating of our model is
being undertaken at the same time as the functioning
of the economy, and the daily lives of 11 million
Cubans, are assured, in the context of international
crisis and an evermore restrictive blockade. We are
right now approaching the most difficult tasks - the
transformation of our socialist enterprises and
monetary-exchange rate unification."
In his remarks, the Vice President addressed "the
new modalities of subversion being attempted by our
enemies, whose principal strategy is the
implementation of a program based on neoliberal
thinking, and the restoration of neocolonial
capitalism, targeting the very essence of the
Revolution, with an attempt to create an ideological
rupture between generations - all of which
represents an attack on the values, identity and
culture of our nation."
The recent revelation, he said, of a plan by the
United States government to promote subversion in
Cuba is a clear expression of these sinister
intentions.
"Identifying the forces we can count on to confront
these challenges, the President mentioned, first of
all, our intellectuals and artists, whose commitment
to the nation is unquestionable, as is that of the
great mass of our people."
"The UNEAC Congress debate has taken place,
beginning at the local level, in this spirit,
reaffirming that culture must be part of efforts
being made today to mobilize the productive forces,
as well as the moral resources of the country, to
achieve a prosperous and sustainable socialism, in
which what distinguishes human beings is not their
material possessions, but rather the wealth of their
knowledge, culture and sensitivity," he said.
Díaz-Canel emphasized the need to more effectively
defend the country's national identity and promote
the authentic values of Cuban culture, to ensure
that they are assimilated by younger generations.
He said that we cannot ignore the fact that the
principle instruments of domination available to
imperialism are cultural and mediatic.
Cuba is subjected to this influence, which is
directed toward intellectuals and artists, among
others, with the goal of drawing them away from any
social concerns or intentions. Imperialism thus
hopes to implant banality and a frivolous point of
view among artists, drawing them away from political
and social commitment, to create chaos and
confusion, he said.
Díaz-Canel reiterated that this is why it is so
important for the nation to have an artistic
vanguard such as UNEAC, which can make a decisive
contribution to the cultural battle, confronting the
colonizers' plans and U.S. subversion.
The principal challenge, he said, lies in the battle
against pseudo-cultural messages, insisting that "We
must better prepare ourselves to confront ideas, to
defend our socialism, and its improvement, as the
only way to save our culture, one of the principal
conquests of the Revolution."
"This means seeking economic development and growth,
but with our souls replete with feeling and
spirituality. This is accomplished by saving our
culture, which is the same as saving the homeland,
the Revolution and socialism.
"The artistic vanguard must defend our truths, Even
as new technologies allow people to decide what to
consume in terms of culture, we must differentiate
public venues from private ones.
"Our cultural policy is one of the Cuban
Revolution's principal conquests, and its
implementation is the responsibility of the state
and its network of institutions, with the
participation of our revolutionary intellectuals."
The Vice President said that popular tastes must be
influenced "not with prohibitions, but by designing
coherent policies."
He described the Revolution's fundamental strategy
as unity based on the convergence possible among
various points of view, and called upon the
delegates to, "Defend this unity, absolutely
necessary to guarantee the continuity of the
Revolution. You can rest assured of the Party and
the national government's support."
"Given the outcomes of this Congress, we can affirm
that the genuine vanguard of our writers and artists
exists, lives, conscious and committed to its
Revolution," Díaz-Canel concluded.
Prior to the closing of the gathering, journalist
Magda Resik presented the new UNEAC executive
committee, which included audiovisual artist Luis
Morlote, as first vice president; Arístides
Hernández, Digna Guerra and Pedro de la Hoz (vice
presidents); Omar Felipe Mauri and Nieves Laferté,
as secretaries. Also announced were those elected as
members of provincial committees and the presidents
of national associations representing different
artistic expressions.
Also on the final day of the Congress, delegates
received messages from Armando Hart and The Cuban
Five.
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