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Fidel Castro: No Latin America
Illiteracy
Cuban President Fidel Castro
said in this central Argentine
city that if MERCOSUR is
determined to do so, this
continent´s illiteracy could be
eradicated in three years.
During an event parallel to the
Summit of the Southern Common
Market (MERCOSUR), held on
Friday night at the National
University of Cordoba, the Cuban
statesman noted that it is
incredible that there are still
50 million illiterate people in
this hemisphere.
"It is unjustifiable that there
are so many Latin Americans who
cannot either read or write,"
stressed the revolutionary
leader in a three-hour speech
before a crowd that he himself
estimated at 100,000 people,
mainly youth.
Fidel Castro, who on Friday
received a standing ovation at
the maximum meeting of MERCOSUR,
with which the Island signed an
Economic Complementation
Agreement, shared the event with
his Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo
Chavez.
Regarding Cuba´s deal with the
South American bloc, Fidel
Castro said that his country
will import about 300 million
dollars in food from the member
states of MERCOSUR.
He pointed out that those sales
transcend the merely-economic
aspect of the deal and are
Cuba´s contribution to
consolidating the main mechanism
for South American integration.
"We do this with the will, the
need and the duty to make a
modest contribution to this
customs union," he stressed.
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