Articles of Brazil

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Words at the ceremony unveiling the bust of Simón Bolívar, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

Raúl Castro

Starting early in the morning tomorrow, I shall be beginning an official visit to Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, and when we have concluded this ceremony we shall be going there; therefore, I shall speak very briefly to you; I don’t speak as much as Chávez does, because Chávez is more vigorous, he’s younger. It is true that I told you, as we were coming up here, that he was in prison at the time the Third Ibero-American Summit was being held in 1993, with Fidel and other heads of state participating.

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Speech at the Extraordinary Summit of the Rio Group. Salvador, Bahía, Brazil

Raúl Castro

I hope that Lula, comrade and dear friend, does not protest, because I speak less than Chávez does. (Laughter) Very simply, I had planned on asking to speak so that I could thank everyone, those who have spoken and those who haven’t spoken, all those who have been in agreement, this exemplary unanimity they have shown on the subject of Cuba’s entry into the Rio Group. I don’t know what you are thinking, but for us this is a very important moment in our history.

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Speech at the Latin American and Caribbean summit on Integration and Development. Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

Raúl Castro

The road to this gathering has been long and difficult. It is unquestionably transcendental that for the first time the leaders of Latin America and the Caribbean are meeting in a forum guided by noble and just aspirations, without exclusions and without the presence of countries from outside the region. We feel that adequate conditions prevail to turn this solemn conclave into the starting point of a process of remarkable strategic significance for the destiny of our region, in a world where there is hardly any space for isolated actions that disregard the common challenges decisively thrown on us by globalization.

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Address in the MERCOSUR summit. Costa de Sauipe, Salvador, Bahía, Brazil

Raúl Castro

I appreciate the invitation extended to us to take part in this MERCOSUR Summit. First, allow me to convey the special greetings of comrade Fidel Castro who accompanied you during the 2006 summit held in Argentina. On behalf of Cuba, I reiterate our people’s friendship and solidarity. It is with justified optimism that we have closely followed the commendable efforts of the nations in the south of the continent towards integration, economic complementation and in defence of their regional space.