Raul Castro Calls For
More Effort to Develop
Country
HAVANA - Cuba's acting
leader Raul Castro
called for more effort
to develop the country,
as Fidel Castro
reiterated he won't
cling to power.
In a speech to the
closing session of the
National People's Power
Assembly, the nation's
legislature, Raul Castro
slammed the "dangerous
triumphalist tendency"
and called on leaders to
make problems public
realistically,
critically and with
self-criticism.
"There are no magicians
and no one can pull
resources out of a hat,"
Raul Castro said, adding
that "the person who
plays the role of
director needs to know
how to listen and create
the atmosphere so that
people can express
themselves with total
freedom."
Raul's remarks coincided
with those by Fidel
Castro in a written
message to the meeting
that he is not clinging
to power.
"My duty is not to hold
on to titles," Castro
said, adding that he did
not wish to stand in the
way of younger people
but only to pass on
experience and ideas.
On Dec. 17, Fidel Castro
said in a letter read on
national television that
he did not intend to
cling to power or block
the rise of younger
generation.
In late July 2006,
Castro, 81, handed over
power on what he then
described as a
"temporary basis" to his
younger brother Raul,
75, to undergo an
intestinal operation.
The legislature is
currently holding its
second ordinary meeting
of the year, during
which it will review
2007's social and
economic achievements
and approve the 2008
budget.
Cuba's economy grew by
7.5 percent in 2007,
less than the 10-percent
forecast and less than
2006's 12.5 percent,
according to figures by
the Economy Ministry.
At the meeting, Raul
Castro called on fellow
citizens to promote good
organization, planning
and effective control to
achieve better economic
performance in 2008.
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