RODRIGUEZ REPORTS MATTERS FOR DISCUSSION AT CEMA MEETING

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP06T01849R000200120014-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 4, 2012
• Sequence Number: 14
• Publication Date: January 12, 1977
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/05/04: CIA-RDP06TO1849R000200120014-6
VI,. 14 Jan 77 C U B A
RODRIGUEZ REPORTS MATTERS FOR DISCU33ION AT CEMA MEETING
Havana Domestic Service in Spanish 1145 GMT 12 Jan 77 FL
[Excerpts] Dr Carlos Rafael Rodriguez, member of the PCC Politburo vice
the Council of State and Permanent Cuban representative to CEMA, has announpres
ceddattaof
news conference that important matters concerning national development will be discussed
at the 79th CEMA Executive Committee meeting to be held in Havana 18-19 January.
The Politburo member said the upcoming 79th CEMA Executive Committee meeting is an indi-
cation of the
preferential attention which member countries are giving to development
needs of the Cuban economy, He also said at the news conference that during the meeting v
several topics will be discussed especially concerned with relations of cooperation with
our country.
Deputy prime ministers of CEMA-member countries and Yugoslavia, an associate member
which participates in Executive Committee activities, will attend the 79th session to
be held at the Habana Libre Hotel. CEMA Secretary Nikolay Fadeyev will attend the
meeting in the company of experts and members of the CEMA Secretariat.
Matters concerning Cuban economic development, among other matters, will be exam'
the '9th CEMA Executive Committee meeting. first ad at
explained, the construction--with resources of member countries_Coflas new Rabl nickel dplantz
in the Las Camariocas region in the northern part of the eastern provinces. Other mat-
ters to be examined include the status of research being conducted for the utilization
of surplus bagasse from the sugar industry in the manufacture of
which will not only serve to cover our requirements but also to crpulp white
eate and
export.
surplusespforr
There is also interest in assessing during the 79th CEMA meeting the possible complete
participation of member countries in our country's citrus fruits development with a
view toward satisfying the domestic market and supplying fresh and processed fruits to
CEMA-member countries. Along with these plans that are already under wa
Rodriguez explained, the consumption of Cuban s y, Carlos Rafael
discussed as well as possibilities for making the Cuban sugar industry a source of col
Reports on Cubats Achievements
Havana International Service in Spanish 0000 GMT 13 Jan 77 PA
[Text In a news conference held Tuesday, Dr Carlos Rafael Rodriguez reported that the
agenda for the 79th meeting of the CEMA Executive Council, to be held in Havana 18 19
January, includes important topics connected with national development. Dr Rodriguez
is a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of
vice president ' the Council of State and of the Council of Ministers and Cuba's pe,
manent representative to CEMA.
per-
Asked by Havana Radio about Cubats most important achievements since it joined CEMA,
Carlos Rafael Rodriguez answered: [begin recording] When we in the
decided to join CEMA, we knew that the benefits would not be immediate because a obviously
we were not prepared to take advantage of all these benefits due to the differences I
have just mentioned.
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VI. 14 Jan 77
CENTRAL AMERICA
Last night, the PILAU decided to withdraw from the Advisory Council to the chief of and the gover,
state in view of that body's lack of to make decisiofarthern saway from publ Yt's
refusal to heed its recommendations drifts
announced commitments for the benefit of the people.
During a press conference at PILAU headquarters today, the members of the national leadership defined the Advisory Council as an organization obeying those already
in power.
National stu delegate el Andonie Fernandez said the party did not believe it had
lost a position from where ere it could voice its opinions and recommendations. The
ThrreThere
fi , powers; Advisory Council has of thefchief of stateaconcerning natneitheionalrproblemsis it determining
factor in the decisions pointed out that i was
it t cannot t serve a as a a basis asis of political support. Andonie
necessary for the government to appoint an integrated cabinet since thnext 3 years
will be years of transition; that in order to lead the country a truly
constitutionality it is necessary to unite its people. valdo Waleska Pastor Melghem said that when the s ilitaa b gove was heh ated by Osution of r and more Lopez Arellam , it supported reforms and believe there would be no
wealth through specific work plans which made many people return to the past.
act, Jose Toribio Aguilera pointed out that second stage of the military
re this rasp has shown a marked tendency toward
the social gains. He said the government
the rightwing. by It is pen Juan even trying o to e~ stroythe
law and has abandoned the Natic~iDeM amenlt
is
is planning t to amend the agrarian
There is growing immorality among civilian and military
also. u and even provokes the public sectors.
also neutralized the educational reform,
Another PILAU member, Rodolfo Iona Moran, said the National Development Plan was
ease the demands for social justice
nothing but a myth used by the government to app to
of the Honduran people who, after Lopez Arellano's reformist attempt, refuse
return to the past.
sweakened
Finally, Jorge Ramon Alcerro discarded claims that
ththe Advisory Counncil wil be
and the withdrawal ath which Hondurans may follow without fear of making a mistake on
and t to open
their way to development.
civilian-mi3,its.rytlj1a~ta,ebutlinidefinir-g a transirtionment
All participants at the press conference
stage is not in establishing a
program promoting unity.
They added that to them unity does not mean the mere distribution of government posts;
that, in fact, the PILAU members working in the cabinet--Enrique Aguilar Paz, healh
minister, and Leonardo Callejas, natural resources minister--were free to continue
in their posts.
we know they are aware of their political positions aand nd8ehatuthlliillavoluitarilfunction
quit their posts whenever l they are
said.
in the government, migu
national leadership pointed out that the task of returning the
The members of the PILAU that the identification registry
country to a constitutional order will not be easy,
system is not trustworthy, and that the task ahead will therefore be most difficult.
reed that the political institutions and electoral bill will not be passed
They even ag the Armed Forces Superior Council and
as submitted as t$is issue will be decided by
the government cabinet.
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VI. 14 Jan 77 Q 2
In practice, CEP:A began as an organization of socialist countries which, although with
different levels of development--the level of development of Romania, Bulgaria, the GDR
and Czechoslovakia, not to mention the USSR, is not the same--had already taken very
important steps toward industrialization, including those countries which were somewhat
behind.
Therefore, the programs CEMA had already prepared and had underway were programs in which
we could not be included on a short-term basis. But we viewed our participation in CEMA
as an inexorable consequence--and this is the way we said it then.-of our bilateral re-
lations with CEMA member countries. These relations were already very extensive, but
called for a further step because in many cases bilateral relations required
the participation of other countries and bhus led to multilateral relations. Thus it
became advisable to frame these multilateral relations within CEMA. Furthermore, this
decision was a result of our socialist political inclination.
For this reason and although not really prepared for it, we took this stop knowing that
in the longrun it would be beneficial. We also realized, and this is one of the most
obvious results, that Cuba's mere participation in any of CEMA's commissions or subcom-
mittees would give our cadres and our industrial and national economic leaders very
direct knowledge of the realities, problems and possibilities connoted with CEMA, as well
as the techniques for the building of socialism. Cuba, by itself and isolated, could not
try to formulate all the solutions, especially since it has never been advantageous to
discover something which had already been discovered. We were not planning to spend our
time digging where others had already found the treasures and could easily transfer their
experiences to us.
Let us recall that CEMA has 25 commissions, it I remember correctly--is it only 23
CEMA has 23 commissions, there has been a reduction in the number. Most of these
commissions are currently discussing very advanced programs. There are commissions
for the chemical industry, the ferrous metal industry, the nonferrous metal industry,
the energy industry and for the principal branches of current industrial, technical
and scientific activities.
Naturally, many of these commissions deal with problems which are completely alien to
Cuba, and on occasion we do not participate. But we participate in most commissions
and we have participated in most of them to our great advantage. Since the time we first
Joined these commissions, our cadres have been receiving the benefits of their scientific
and technical discussions, learning the methodology used to solve certain problems of
either the Soviet or Cuban chemical industries, no matter how difficult. Our cadres
have been receiving the benefits of their scientific and technical discussions, learning
the methodology used to solve certain problems of either the Soviet or Cuban chemical
industries, no matter how difficult. Our cadres immediately began participating in
problem-solving through the research of subjects which are of interest to us. They
were also provided with the opportunity to keep abreast of all the problems which sooner
or later must be solved, even it on a smaller scale, in our country.
We have taken yet another stop. In many of these commissions we are already participating
in order to receive direct benefits, be it in the energy or chemical industry. We have
requested participation in several of these commissions. For instance, we are already
members of an institution which operates with the member countries [words indistinct]
of CEMA,. It is the one concerned with electronics and electronic computation. As is
known, Cuba has had some experience and has made important achievements in this field
through the digital research center, which built the minicomputer used in various areas
of the Cuban economy. Cuba is getting ready to participate in this field and to contri
bute effectively to the manufacture of minicomputers for all the member countries. So
this is one very concrete achievement.
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PI. 14 Jan 77 Q 3
The immediate
Now, when we first joined CEMA, we raised the problem of the nickel industry.
and concrete result has been the signing of a general agreement among member countries.
Practical steps are being taken, and there is a new Soviet plant in Punta Gorda in northern
Oriente Province which is expected to produce some 30,000 tons of nickel. Nearby, in the
Canarioca region in the same mining area of northern Oriente, construction of a CEMA plant
will begin. This will be our country's fourth nickel plant. Once it is fully operational,
it will increase, together with the other plants, production figures m0l above 100,000
tons of nickel. So these are some of the results.
There is a wide
In addition, there is a committee for technical and scientific cooperation.
range of subsets in this area which
the cooperation of Memberountriescountriescients
erit~t8roved of interest to them and we are developing them and technicians. [end recording]
SOLIDARITY COMMITTEE CONDEMNS PUERTO RICO STATEHOOD PROPOSAL
Havana Domestic Service in Spanish 1300 OMT 13 Jan 77 FL
[Text] The Cuban Committee of Solidarity with Puerto Rican Political Prisoners hastates
the attempts of U.S. President Gerald Ford to convert Puerto Rico into the 51st
that nation. In a communique released in Havana, the committee asserts that the U.S. Presi-
dent's proposal is obsolete since the world currently is aroused by the struggles being
waged by peoples against the last vestiges of colonialism. The communique closes
reaffiriming Cuban solidarity with the fraternal Puerto Rican people in the face of such
a condemnable imperialist attempt.
CPUSTAL Condemns Proposal
Havana Domestic Service in Spanish 1030 GMT 13 Jan 77 FL
[Text] The Executive Secretariat of the Latin American Workers Permanent Congress for
Trade Union Unity, CPUSTAL, has released in Havana a communique of solidarity with the
Puerto Rican people and especially with the United Labor Movement in the face of President
Gerald Ford's attempts at annexing that country to the United States. Gerald Ford's proposal
violates thePuerto Rican people's rights to their independence and self-determination and
demonstrates the cynical colonialist position of Yankee imperialism, the communique says
in one of its paragraphs.
The CPUSTAL Executive Secretariat concludes urging its affiliate labor federations to intensify
their protest actions against the U.S. Government, develop the most comprehensive solidarity
the the ae axation and demand the release of
with the Puerto Rican struggle agast
Puerto Rican political
WFTU, CPUSTAL DELEGATIONS VISIT TRADE UNION SCHOOL
Havana Domestic Service in Spanish 1404 GMT 13 Jan 77 FL
[Text] The delegations from the World Federation of Trade Unions and have to ericansWorkers tro
Permanent Congress for Trade Union Unity currently in our country president and
Pens [Labor] Cadre School. Enrique Pastorino and Pierre Gensous, WFTU ave P
secretary general, respectively, PCCnCentral SCommit ee member Ursinio Rojas. CPUSTAL
were accompanied during
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