The Sea is Boiling
A speech by Carlos Rafael Rodriguez* expressing Cuba's views on A Study of the Capacity of the nited Nations Development System (The Jackson Report) under discussion by the UNDP...
...Unfortunately, multilateralism, as it is implemented now, is more nominal than real...
...The first deals with the nature of the sacrifice supposedly made by irJustrialized countries through their financial contributions to development...
...At the First UNCTAD Conference (Geneva 1984) the underdeveloped countries made a detailed analysis of the situation, which was backed up by the technical studies submitted by the official Conference apparatus...
...UNDP cannot afford to engage in this type of competition, because such a method, rather than supplying it with the type of technicians it needs, would instead fill the technological aid payrolls with career men for whom tLe country they are working in means nothing but a springboard toward a better personal future, It is obvious that it is a good idea - in fact,'necessary - to pay technicians and ade- quate salary and to create ever better living condi- tions for them and their families...
...It must be clear, however, that the governments must have the final say in program planning - not only because problems of sovereignty are involved but also because the receiving country should, in th final analysis, be the one to pick what is most appropriate for its development plans...
...according to another widely disseminated opinion, causes ascribable to the very people nhabiting those countries, were unable to follow a rhythm of eco-e nomic growth similar to that which le other countrie3 - those which today enter the category of "develoFd" - to their present stage...
...rating, because in u.e final analysis the people do act...
...Those who follow the path of enterprise are capable of facing mud, heat and lack of hygiene, but their purpose is to get rid of them as oon as possible, to climb on toward less and less uncomfortable and better and better paid jobs...
...The Resident Director could be in charge of applying the System's resources and, in add tion, be - as it is proposed - "the only official channel of communication between the government and the System on all problems concerning programs and projects financed by UNDP...
...monopolies rather than reserves for the development of national and regional industries...
...But Cuba would also be remiss if it did not mention that its own experience confirms many of the criticisms included in the Report with regard to the deficiencies found among the personnel whose duty it is to relay the new technology to our countries...
...The Cuban Gov- ernment is proud of its record in this connection, a record which is recognized by all specialized organiza- tions...
...We deem it unnecessary to go into the premises of this position, since, in several international meetings similar to the present one, the Cuban delegation and numerous delegations from underdeveloped countries have presented sufficiently eloquent figures with respect to the net result of private invest- ment in the economies of underdevelopd coun...
...Cuba has ample reasons to distrust the benefits of multilateralism...
...Nether can the socialist countries be vewed, with respect to their duty toward the struggle against underd velopment, from the same perspective that which we employ to udge the old colonialist pow-ars ar.J the modern neo-colonialist powers, as they bear no responsibility for the situation of our peoples...
...Their unwarranted sense of superiority makes it impossible for them to admit this...
...this would be markedly lighter, to the po'nr that the International Association for Development calculates on its own account that, due to the fact that the greater part of the aid is conditioned ad - that is,oblies th recipient country to spend the resources recived for the purchase of U.S products and services - less than 20% of these disbursements would represent for the United States a net outflow of foreign exchange...
...consequently, even though the industrialized capitalist and socialist countries allotted one percent of th'ir GNP to transfers of funds for development, the deficit would still continue to be considerable...
...It would also b a good idea for every national program to be based on a socioeconomic study of the country and on the development plan of the country in question, if such exist...
...These are not, of course, merely political pecul- tions...
...Needless to say Cuba's sand on this issue is of total opposition to the inclusion of private invest- ments as forein financial contributions to the devel- opment of backward countries...
...For reasons too well-known to be gone intoin this report, multilateral mechanisms, those of the United Nations and of those financial institutions created by the UN - rincnal, the World Bank and its group - have ad to labor - and it could' hardly b otherwise given pesent world conditions - under the political cont-raictions typical of ou t'm...
...Those countries living in the most intolerable backwardness have not reached that situation as a rrsult of neglect or incapacity on the part of their people, but rather, as we have repeatedly said, as a result of the exploitation to which they have been subjected for long periods of history, even when national minorities who lived with their backs turned to their own people's fate, were also accomplices in the exploitation...
...Nixon in this sense, called them "he saddest change in international politics in recent years...
...The representatve could form part of - in his own right and also as an obligation of the system - the apparatus working alongside the Resident Director and would have the opportunity of contacting the government directly, if the government so requested, as well as through the Resident Director in such cases where the agency representative requests the contact...
...Th's service - provided overlapping with similar activities by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs is avoided - could very well become a dynamic center for novel theoretical ideas based on practical needs, contributing to a reduction In the excessive degree of abstraction so often found in writings on development originating in the UN...
...However, the scheme out- lined aims toward that operational universality and contains a number of elements which, in Cuba's opinion, would contribute - once such universality was achieved - to the socialist countries' having guarantees that would permit th-m to mak- a broader contribution to the System without their resources being used - as would be the case now, moreover, with the undesirable presence of the World Bank- to finance projects with orientations which are contrary to their ideas on development...
...In Cuba's opinion, at least the prsentatlon of the objectives of aid should be altered...
...It is obvious that such ultranational programs as those under discussion have a logical application in those aspects of science and technology calling for large-scale investment resources and which, by con- centrating allotments in one or another country and making use of already-installed facilities in the great developed countries, could avoid a diso3ion of resources that would lead to isolated, inefficient installations...
...It is not merely - or even mainly - a question of the verse effect of the blance of pay- ment...
...The mst erious of all this is the lack of id:atlfilcn with the desire for development...
...At any rate, we understand that whatever tensions which have existed - which we cannot ignore - must be settled through a mechanism understood and accepted by both parts...
...velopng country itself even though it be with foreign financial aid), since that title is sufficient to differentiate such projects from the "Studies," "Experimental Research," etc...
...Cuba does not oppose, in principle, the concepts of regional coordI- nation and integration in their various possible dimensions...
...And it is also why there is no reason whatever for underdeveloped countries to confront the proce= of collaboration for development from a subaltern position or afflicted by feelings of inferiority...
...Bcause, now, the sea is really boiling...
...The term - which does not appear to be employed accidentally - reminds u that most of those who examine underdevelopm-nt fom a capitalist pont of vew p resent i t a nothing more tn a delay" suffered by a group of countries n what would be their normal course toward development...
...There we fnd almost all the faults - all of which, in more than one case, may be encountered in a ingle expert, although, in other cases, they would b only partially applicable to the majority of them...
...Cuba supports this idea, albeit pointing out that it must include the absolute guarantee that each country in the region be able to enjoy an equal share of te centraized resources...
...But at the same time Cuba will do everything possible to ke:p her attitude from helping those who try to sow illusions among the people by the mere expedient of reforms...
...Moreover, Cuba's expriitures in technical aid amount to 40 times over what Cuba receives from the United Nations in technical aid...
...THE CASE OF THE LESS-DEVELOPED AMONG DEVELOPING COUNTRIES The Capacity Stt.dy, in Paragraph 83 of Chapter IV, states a principle with which the Cuban delegation agreed in full: "Assistance is neither a reward nor a charity...
...It is evident that the attitude of certain large powers toward the underdeveloped countries is similar to that of Carroll's Walrus toward the oysters, as quoted by Sir Robert Jackson...
...remedies that may dissimulate t, can Sir Robert Jackson's Report, with Its organizational recommendations for improving the System's capacity as requested by the Director of the United Nations Development Program and his Governing Council, be effectively carried out: By advancing ts opinion on the Jackson Report in the's analyss, the Cuban delegation does not mean to deny the relative mportance which multilateral aid can have in development efforts nor the good will of a group of countries in which developed capitalist countries are included, some of wh'chsuch as Sweden and Canada, as we have mentioned before - have no colonies and are not characterized by extensive foreign investment policies in their bilateral and multilateral aid to the developing countries...
...Noth:n would stand in the way of the presence of an agency's representative whenever the agency were called to put into effect, within a country program, a volume of projects that makes such presence justifiable...
...Such a cautious and conse vative paper as 'ro Finane'al Thies, commenting on the recent decisions taken by Mr...
...All those present here are specialists in the problem...
...On this point it Is...
...elimination of import duties on their key raw material exports and a policy of stabilization and increased prices paid for them in order to put them in harmony with the rices of the industrial products which they mport from the bg powers, to the adoption of generalized pr...
...The Jackson Report admits that the principal objective was not, original ly, to foster development...
...nterestng to refer to an analysis made in a document qute above any uspicion: t analysis published in 1986 by the Organization for Cooperation and Economic Devzlopment under the title Efiorla at Politique d'Adi au Dveloppament, which includes the report presented by Willard L. Thorp, President of that organization's Committee for Aid to Develoment, in which the main capitalist developed countr:3 are rouped...
...It is not considered oportune to adopt it at the present time andCuba agrees with this decision...
...Until that revolution arrives, Cuba w;11 not hesitate to contribute to whatever may mitigate the trag dy of hundreds of millions of victims of underdevelopment and to favor those reform which consttute a stp forward toward that profound and inevitable change...
...tional elements in this analysis concerning so-called aid...
...It wouMi suffice to reply that the profits reavt3d will determine new outflows of foreign exchange in the future in th, form of additional profits and return of invested capital, that the promo- tion of exports rarely brings favorable net results to the nat onal economies In question, inasmuch as the main benefits are absorbed by the foreign company mak'ng the investment, and that, in addition, it Is well known that the policy of large corporations from the investing countries 3 to devote th .r capital Investments precisely to local investments which generate the exportAtion of primary products from the underdeveloped countries which are then acquired by the investing companies at low prices as raw material for their processing Industries ocatrJ in the metropol...
...The colonialist tradi- tions in which many technicans have been educated cause them to assume an attitude of detachment, if not one of scorn, toward the peoples to which they are assigned...
...It is obvious that when specialized agency has the main responsibility in he technical excution of a project, it should in turn oe responsible for its action before the UNDP Administrator and the Governing Council...
...Perhaps Mr...
...of determ'ning whether this In...
...been these countries' more or less sustained rowth and, by Jiverse methods of despoliation - always coercive and brutal during the period of colonialism, and no less coercive, but more subtle, in the neocolonialist stage - perpetuated underdo- velopment as a means for taking the greatest advantage of and ntensifying such despoliation...
...We believe that the title of "Development Projects" would serve to ncludJe those requiring additional subsequent investments (which, in our opinion, should be carried out by the de...
...people cannot b given the alternative of this long delay, bcause the explosion we'lll occur first...
...There is nothing wrong with the method, However, Cuba would like to take advantage of this opportunity to express Its ideas on the use of "preinvestments as it hCe b en appled up to now...
...The "ideal" model is one which would be a unveil and effective method to help development...
...By this we mean that the Resident Representative - in the case that, as we will discuss later, he is the highst ranking UNDP representative in the country - and other representatives of UN setors and other specialized agncies should not have veto rights on the final proposals of the government...
...It seems desirable that UNDP assume, firmly and at all levels, management of the operational programs of the System...
...For that very reason, Cuba supports the idea that, in assigning resources for technological aid, special attention be given to the probem of those countries which are less developd...
...THE FIRST TWENTY-FIVE YEARS Examination of the "eneral framework of aid for development" with which the Jackson Report begins its analysis of the first 25 yara of the program of international contributions to dveloment brings out an imp.ratlve need to previously inpo'nt the very concept of "aid" and defrne to what extent some of the financial contributions supposedly aimed at the objective of fostering development can n reality be strictly attributed to such purpose...
...We share the opinion of not creating, for the time being, any mechanism at the regional level and of directing the regional projects from headquarters themselves for te time being...
...Now we must add that the methods by whtch the countries of our world trad: their products constitute, as we said bfore, an additional means for exploitation that results in the lose of large amounts of resources that could be used for development...
...But if these matters are not kept n mind,- 19 - if the f;nancial contributions of the more powerful countries are viewed as charitable donations and if the apparent "beneficiaries" continue to maintain an attitude of uncritical acceptance, the situation will remain unchanged: the decision-making monopoly will remain in the hands of the big donors - if not of the bggest donor - and the opinions of the recpients either will not be given or will be given in uch a timid manner that their impact on deci- sion will b very slight, to say the least...
...Such an evaluation, needless to say, does not imply cmplete agreement with the .Capacity Study...
...We have already referred to the results of direct exploitation of the natural resources of the undrdeveloped countries by their former colonizers or by th- Investing monopoles of modern times...
...In our opnion, this is not the best way to go about it The attitude of "enterprise men" is radically Jif- fernt from that which must be adopted by the "System's men," entrusted with the difficult task of promoting development...
...The report by the Commission for International Development (Pearson Report) is no less explicit in thi connection: " . A cons.'J rab': portion (of the aid) was earmarked on the basis of essentially po- litical criteria with no consideration whatsoever as to whether or not th3 recipient mad., effective use of it and without consideration as to the general handling of the funds...
...However, such measures should be looked upon as a eonad'toio to be met rather than as an Inatsument for luring the specialists we need...
...The Capacity Study sizes up the problem of orga- nization with a necessary dose of realism We consider wise the pragmatic judgment of taking advantage of the positive elements w already have, the Capacity Study's "keeping in its sights the ultimate objective to which the various modifications ought to aspire cumulatively over the longer perspec- tive...
...Th:re is no doubt that if multilateral financing were organized on a truly multilateral and equitable basis this would constitute the most efficient method for thc3e countr:e3 with the most financial resources to channel their aid for development...
...And, even though the trade credits granted by the Soviet Union and other countries have somewhat alleviated the austerity made necessary bv this high percentage of investment, the voluntary sacrifice being made by the people of Cuba by devoting to development what coud have been used for increas- ing consumer goods should not be overlooked...
...We are in complete agreement with the basic objectives stated in the Study, to the effect that the new organization operate in conformity w'th clearly- defined policies established by its Member States...
...he balance sheet of the First Dcade demonstrates the failure of attempts at reformist solution...
...we understand to what degree the System was handicapped from ts first moments by concepts then prevailng - and apparently still prevailing - in the most influential delegations of UNDP (because of the importance of their donations to the System) on the role of foreign inveatmeat in development...
...Were it possible for us to present here the balance sheet for Cuba of almost s'x decades of U S. investments prior to the revolutionary process of 1959, we would have an accurate picture of what happens, almost without exception, in the countries that have undergone or are undergoing tha situation from which our country freed itself by revolutionary methods...
...Because the sea is boiling...
...From this it should be clear that our contribution to all development activities is not a result of national egoism but rather a result of a full awareness of their importance...
...This is quite clear if, as s recognized in the Report almost 90% of the export earnings of the davelop'ng countries comes from the export of raw materials and almost half of those countries derive more than 50% of their foreign exchange ncome from a ingle raw material...
...And we, gentlemen, should pause to think a bit of why the sea is boiling...
...We also know that the sums destined for the financing of projects in the underdeveloped countries have been considerably increased under the new administration...
...Nothing favorable happened at the Second UNCTAD, and, in consequence, the Latin-American countries, in a new document, the "Vifia del Mar Consensus," addressed their demands directly to the United States Government, which responded evasively in the Rockefeller Report and n a speech by President Nixon...
...On the American continent the example of Canada offers evident proof of this...
...However, neither would it b . advisable to completely renounce examination of it...
...We do not object to the functions assigned to the Resident Director in the project (Paragraph 77) or t9 th, supply of personnel proposed...
...It is not a question, as the Report points out, of assigning aid on a priority basis to the best endowed and best equipped" countries...
...We also agree with the tact that the national plan cannot be considered only as a plan amed at the growth of economic activities...
...tries...
...They will be the ones who...
...No reference is made, however, to the fact that that Plan was a hrge-scale political operation...
...ing to the U.S...
...Cuba believes that only if the problem of deovelopment aid is framed in a way that takes into consideration the factors pointed out by the Cuban delegation, which are by now common to any analysis of underdevelopment carried out from the point of view of the countries which suffer from It, a-.d that seeks to probe its real causes and not merely to find transtory...
...It is well known that, for Cuba, there Is no other way to completely el !mnate underdevelopment than through profound changes in the economic and social structure - or, to use less elusive words, through revolutionary changes...
...We firmly reject the assumption that the World Bank and its grouo are the "most important element" in the making of these studies...
...Such universality will, of course, be partial as long as the People's Republic of China, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the German Democratic Republic and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea are arbitrarily excluded from the United Nations...
...Among the services proposed at headquarters level - which, in general, we approve of - Cuba dee it important tht UNDP b provided with what the Study refers to as a "brain" to keep abreast of all new approaches in development theory and practice and exercise imagination in introducing innovations...
...In the case referred to by the Pearson Commission, the investment policy of an nternational agency (the International Fnance Corporation) is criticized, but analysis of the investment policies of the large private monopolic3 reveals that their deforming effects are much more serious...
...For this reason, we propose that previous to the next meeting of the Governing Council a meeting be held between the Council and the Mixed Advisory Board to discuss those probems involving the greatest discrepancy...
...Ths would be in no way a reduction of the Government's authority to contact the UNDP directly - the Administrator or the Council,as the case may be...
...Euality does not consist of treating unequal things equally, but rather, as Karl Marx pointed out, consists o treatingg un.qual th'ng3 unequally...
...Such an adverse effect ex'stq, and all official data show that in the period 1931-67 a total of 27 960 million dollars in the form of investment returns, interest and other benefits derived from private investments moved from the underdeveloped countries Into the great capitalist countries, while, in the same period only 15 530 million dollars entered the underdeveloped countries In the form of investments - direct, planned, etc...
...be directly accountable to them...
...O'h...
...The Jackson Report itself, referring, practically at its outet, to countries that have not achieved development, calls thm "less-prIvileged counties...
...No other cou:ltry in the underde- veloped world can show a record of struggle aa'nst undeioevelopment as decisive as that of revolutionary Cuba through its eleven year of Revolution, not only from the point of view of both orderly.program- m'nq and strategy for development, but also with respect to the people's participation and sacrifices aimed at attaining this great objective...
...Neither scientific standing nor tech- nological experience will suffice for collaboration in development...
...Those not spiritual- lv prepared for such sacrifices will end up by evading their duties and adopting a bureaucratic attitude, safely ensconced in the capitals...
...sion b the then Cuban and today universal voice of Malor Ernesto Che Guevara), which would have served to eliminate or at least reduce the existing situation of inequality, and which received at that time te support of the socialist countries, were not supported by the countries which are the main i mporters of products from Third World countries...
...In the long run, only the growth of their trade with other countries together with a growing capacity to replace mported goods with locally produced ones will allow the developing countries to grow without concessional aid financing...
...McNamara aims, through the use of this cover-up, to make us forget the bombings of Vietnam but, when we look at the facts of the new policy, the feeling remains that the spirit behind it is not very different from that of the policy of total and implacable war aga'nst the heroic Vietnamese people...
...PREINVESTMENT" AND INVESTMENT The Jackon Report (Paragraph 61 and following, Chapter III) considers, with regard to the results of tho Special Fund proects that can be qualified, strictly speaking, as preinvestment - and this is quite natural - that the results of the projects should be, in this case, measured by the real investments which th^ projects lead to...
...But our wo-k with fiures, tendencies and indexes cannot hide from us the deen human drama underlying them...
...The description given by Tanzania's delegate, which is included in the Report, constitutes an ex- treme case of such defciencies...
...however, t Is once again necessary to defne what underdevelopment consists of...
...we could do much more if we we:e associated at the formulation stage arid if our requirements could be taken into account.'" We need say no more...
...We should not ignore Sir Robert Jackson's warning against the danger of considering geographical regions as homogeneous since they encompass diverse national and socioeconomic formations...
...For example, the proj- ects now being carried out in Cuba are so small that the introduction of such a complex mechnism would be unnecessary...
...THE SEA IS BOILING In one of his very ingeniously employed quotations, Sir Robert Jackson alluJes to the episode from Carroll's fascinating tale in which the Walrus tells the oysters that the time has come to talk of many things: "of sho:s - and ships - and sealing wax - of cabbages - and kings...
...Almost all of the work ass'gncJ to the specialists of the System entails working knee-deep in mud and under a blistering sun, lacking adequate t:.ansporta- tion, often sleeping practically in the open and confronting unsanitary conditions...
...Act for International Development, which controlled the activities of Point IV, the Report states that the Act itself defined its motives as "charitable, economic and strab'" (our emphas's...
...This is what we must not forget in our discussions of assistance to development...
...Thence, the origin of so many faults mentioned in the complaints expressed to Sir Robert and his aides during their preparation of the Study...
...Shortly after Its' initial tatemenbs, and refer...
...the Central Committee of the Communist Party- 17 - Itf the concept of "aid" is, itself, debatable, the origin of and motivations for o-called "aid for de- velopment" is no less suspect...
...Before the Second Conference of UNCTAD, the Algiers Charter, which was the result of the meeting of the Group of the 77 - in which, paradoxically the voice of Cuba, the country in te vanguard o the worldwide struggle against the positions of impa3r;jlm, is no lon r represented - was modified so a not to leave the slightest shadow of doubt about the need for change...
...The term "native," wth its burden of implicit inferiority, constitutes an expression of this phenomenon...
...Furthermore, it would also be a good idea always to sp"-Ifv the level of technicians needed...
...As the Report points out, their btsic expenses are always m t by private enterprises -almost always governments or para-governmental Insttutiors - and such "corps" are noth ng but well- designed instruments to serve the objectives and policies of the entities and governments which organ- e them...
...commercial exaction aris'n3 from the disparity in terms of exchange and from the utilizat on of the natural resources of our countries for that end...
...The aparatus that has been proposed is costly, and the mechanism complex...
...This is an idea that corresponds fully with the viewpoints and practical orientation followed by revolutionary Cuba in its strategy to achieve de- velopment...
...Mer;'v to correct that dttortion requires considerable economic and social effort from coun- tres, such as Cuba, which liberate themselves...
...Thorp reports that the Brookings nstitution, of the United States, and the British Ministry for the Development of Overseas Countries, in evaluating thO toal effect of forein aid on the balance of payments of the contributing country, came to the conclusion that almost two thirds f the additional aid given by the United Kngdom returns in the form of export of "British products" and that all the additional aid would place a marginal net burden of less than 50% on the balance of paments...
...Cuba therefore proposes that the Govern'ng Council submit to the General Assembly, through the Economic and Social Council, that a specially created group or some of the already existing mechanisms beg'n the study of the usefulness of this "ideal system" with a future use in mind which does not necessarily have to be immediate...
...and as a result of re- investment of profits...
...And we consider it necessary to warn those responsble for underdevelopment of the danger of taking no measures to prevent the s tuation from deterio...
...We believe that the service that is being proposd will be attractive for all those who have a real desire to join the battle against underdevelopment...
...We don't pretend to tach an thing about the tragedy of underdevelopment to this meeting...
...Ido I 1, \ - ras thorough a trainng as - and sometimes even more thorough and profound than - they...
...Cuba, on the other hand, is confident of having begun an irreversib:X process of changeover from underdevelopment to development...
...The data of all of the most recent studies Indicate that the most exasperating and gave aspect of this situation is that, in spite of concern about "developmen'," the gap that separatrs the developed from the underdeveloped countries, far from being rued, Is growing wider and dec per with each passing day...
...This is why Cuba is completely in agreement with giving development assistance a character of program- ming coordinated with national plans...
...When we recall the criticisms that have been levelled at the Investment policy of the so-called international financial institu- tions, when we recall the role played by private interests in those investments, the same private interests that are nvolved by these institutions in any of their foreign nvestments, it Is clear that the Report's proposals on this subject - which are presented w th the declared aim of making the Special Fund projects more efficient - far from contributing to the development of those countries, will Increase the structural deformations that are the result of that kind of foreign Investment...
...Therefore, we consider - and propose - that the category of Resident Director with all the elements with which the Study has invested that post be established in a country only when the volume of projects for a fveyear period exceeds the sum of five million dollars in eoiubu s from UNDP...
...Cuba will not oppose any measure to accelerate the progress of those countries, even at the cost of Cuba's own interests, as long as the projects in question are really oriented toward that end...
...Whereas political orientations constitute the point of departure and men are the decisive element, organization is the vehicle for the implementation of those orientations and for the work of those men...
...Let us state briefly Cuba's views in this connection...
...Close consideration will have to be g'ven to the suggestion of creating a small standing committee of experts as an adjunct of the Council...
...The same Report mentions the Marshall Plan, accurately describ'ng its aims...
...At the same time that it exalts th" role of interna- tional private investments and recommends that de- veloped countries str.ntthen Incentives for these investments, the Pearson Commission criticizes opIn- ions concern'n the impact of foreign investment's on the balance of payments and comparisons such as we have ust mae between the "new flow of capital" and total benefits derived from fore!sn investments accumulated in a country...
...We refer, above all, to ths well-known polemic with regard to private investments Only a few weeks ago, in the meeting of the Inter-American Economic and Social Council th^ representatives of the United States kept Insisting, despite contrary opinions of the representatives of Latn-Amercan governments pre- sent at the meeting, that private investment figures continue to be counted as part of "aid for develop- ment...
...These "less privileged countries...
...That is why, when the Capacity Study states that: "The UN system should not smply constitute one more channel for givin aid, but universal and mutual co-operation in the true sense," Cuba can only consider that definition as a great goal to be attained...
...We agree that it is necessary for "the shortest and clearest line of authority to be drawn from the gov- erning executive organs at the top to the country level where action has to take place...
...Th's preliminary digression with respect to the concept of international "aid" is nec-ssary b- cause aburrJant international literature exists aimed at creating the idea that in the struggle to overcome underdevelopm nt the financing institutions from developed capitalist countries, and, above all, those of the United States, are a decisive factor...
...Sufficent infor- mation on this matter circulates freely in the halls of the United Nations...
...Very often, it is not those countries which launch themselves with more determination into the struggle for development...
...Many are the specialists who fail to see that in the countriein n which they work there are scientists, technicians and officials - small minority though tev may be - who have received Ver Para Creer Por VILO &., fVII% DAN CUCKA 0E Lo QUZ ?A5A AS st~z or SU FP P12A . ,PP-OWMIZA t INeJ t ~ ~~~ ~ - {I\ \tlRI...
...In several international conferences we have af- firme that, without planning, there can be no de- velopment, adding that, since planning is impossible as long as the government does not control the fundamental levers of the economy, neither will de- velopment be possible unless, along the way toward development, the nationalized resources at the disposal of the state for the execution of the plans be ever greater and more significant in the entire economic process...
...But, as serious as the financial consequences are, still more serious are the structural deformations caused by private investments in our economies...
...It is for this reason that what Cuba wishes to see eliminated from the Special Fund is not its nvest- ment-promoting activities, but rather the concept of "preinvestment" that has been linked to all Special Fund projects...
...And the tme has yet to come when unity o opinion among the de- veloping countries is ufficiently solid and powerful to b ab'e, supported by the most progressive forces In the industrialized countries, to bring about, in those institutions, a policy that is both equitable and truly aimed at overcoming underdevelopment...
...rhat is why, with reference to those great powers which ben.it from such exploitation, the term "aid" is rather hyperbolic...
...In order to -Jo this...
...And later: "Aid has been a'med at the promoting or financing of exports from tb3 developed countries with little regard for the developmental objectives of the recipient countries...
...Relating the initial aim to UNRRA action, Sir Robert Jackon states that ho main goal at that time was relief, followed by assistance in the work of reconstruction and rehabil- itation after the devastation of war...
...And this is really not because - as the Report states - global straegy "must be made up of the anm [our emphasis] of the national strategies," but rather because it should be the result of a coordination, more than of a Iwn, in which the overall character contributes to making the com- bined value greater than that of the sum of ndividual developments...
...Whoever fails to udratand the tragedy of the backward countries and does not fully share their asoprations will not b able to help them emerge from their ignorance...
...Correcting such cruel inequalities constitutes a moral obligation to which those countries that have succeeded in passing that stage must contribute, even if this meahs renouncing part of the international contribution so necessary for their own urgently needed progress...
...What brings us together here is pec'sely the drama of underdevelopment, and we a here to discuss one of the aspects of the struggle to eradicate it from our planet...
...form it judges most compatible with its national interests...
...It is also our opinion that the concentration of funds should be the result of process...
...More than once, n some cases to ustify reductions In those financial contributions, ms'nly those carried out through multilateral mchanisms, and very especially through the UN Development Program, problems of balance of payments suffered by the cotributing countries are mentioned...
...WFP and UNICEF have been functioning to the satisfaction of many countries, and therefore, we favor, not the- 23 - elimination of their autonomy but rather a coonlination between them and UNDP...
...In the last few years, 30 percent of the gross national product has been allotted to necessary investment...
...But if an honest analysis is made, or, even without that if we merely examine existing literature o the subject, we m- mediately see that for both the investing countries and the country initiating a project, "preminvestment" in moot cases m ans encouragement of a foreign investor to undertake the investments to which the project leads...
...And when the Report presents as "another major step" what it describes as President Truman's "historic address" of 1949, which led to the creation of the "Point IV Program" and, later, to the enactment of the U.S, Act for International Development, we can no longer agree with Its analysis...
...It is our opinion that the Report is too restrictive a to the role of the representatives of the specialized agencies at the local level...
...And it is these social reations, in a developed society, that have transferred to a large number of experts those characteristics that nterfere with their tech- nicalefficiency when it comes to pssing it on to our pople...
...Only little more than half a century ago the "realists" did not take into consideration a Russian exile who felt the international revolution was close at hand at a moment when the world was agonizing in the First World War...
...Our revolutionary and scientific view of social reality convinces us that the leap of these peoples out of underdevelopment will not take place without resort to violence and to an nevitable quantity of bloodshed and suffering, which will In the fnal analysis save greater bloodshed and suffering...
...We do not envisage such "firm management" as an exclusive job of the Administra- tor's but raher as the result of joint work by the Administrator and the Council...
...No instrument that would maintain friction or make it inevitable would be successful...
...v.dw - .- . a A I - The second point we must clear up is the one dealing with the effect on the situation of nondeveloped countries of the exchange relationship and general trade disparity...
...The Report outlines what in the opinion of Sir R. Jackson and consultants would constitute an "ideal operational model...
...Cuba would b committing an injustice If it failed to mention in th's meting its gratitude toward so many of those officials and experts in whom Cuba has found an understanding of its poblems and a dedication in connect on with the efforts that the Cuban people have ben putting forth...
...promoting" policies that have held the greater part of humanity in backwardness...
...Alleged "defense against communism" served as a pretext for that battle...
...That comparison fails to take into account," it says, "both reinvestment of profits carried out by fore'_n investors in the host country and the impact of foelgn Investments on the promotion of exports and the saving of imports...
...By this we mean that the global consideration of the matter should, by itself enrich the various na- tional units that go to mate it up...
...The fact is that those who are known as "volunteers" in international circles very rarely are that...
...Since we have never expected solutions from this source, we are not surprised, but meicly find confirmed the conviction that led Che Guevara to predict the failure of the "Alliance for Progr-.ss" on the very day and very site of its apparently splendid creation...
...We deem it worthwhile to studv the aid that the various regional commissions could give to the projects and to the development of this new program...
...Now as the Second gcts under way, we again hear talk o "longrun hopes...
...W hat would arouse our unshakable opposition is any attempt t9 associate these non-country actions with such prolects of false regional integration as those to which we have expressed our opposition, or any attempt to distribute regional allotments in keeping with arbi- trary political segregations not corresponding to the universality guaranteed by the United Nations Charter, and that would mean, in the case of Latin America, the implementation of orders issued by a continental power of the kind that in the past led to the OAS agreements to "expel" Cuba from the Latin-American scene and blockade us economically - agreements which are now bcoming irritating and uncomfortable for those who humbly agreed to put them into practice...
...It Is imperative to clear up these points, since any real analysis of the content of "aid for development' also requires a distinction to be made btween what really constitutes genuln- or potential "collaboration for development" - which, as we naid before, is restitution rathr than aid - and what does not...
...In our opinion, the relations between the UNDP and the specialized agencies and the rights and rela- tive rank of these agencies within the Systm call for vcry carefull consideration...
...The decision on this score rests with the- 24 - highly developeJ countries, and especially with those great colonial and neocolonial powers that have, as we have said, the greatest responsibility for the problem of underdevelopment...
...In practice, it is an attempt to return, too little and too la.e, on a small scale an over too long a period, what was syphoned off both in the past and in the present, on a large scale and at a rapid pace, from those same "iess-privleged" countries...
...Naturally, if any country, in exercising its sovcrign prerogatives - which are decisive at all times - should choose World Bank specialists to make the socioeconomic study in its country, we would not oppose this...
...And we must say, rudely, because there is no other way to put it, that, while the exploiting countries continue to extract new riches, the financial contri...
...We have already stated that Cuba is beset by serious misgivings with regard to the possibility of obtain- ing the necessary resources, in view of the tendency, already examir.ed, of those - as the United States - that possess the greatest possibilities and at the same time the greatest share of responsibility for underde- velopment to reduce rates of delivery...
...It is for the foregoing reasons that the Cuban Government considers the Report's basic orientation to be mistaken as to the way it proposes for correct- ing the project personnel's shortcomings and raising the level of those technicians in UNDP headquarters and specialized agencies whose job it is to draw up the work plans...
...This Is why the Cuban representative on the Governing Council, upon examining the problems of international contributions to development, repeats what he has said on more than one occasion in other it national meetings: the contributions made by past and present mperia!t powers In favor of some limited aspects of the economic rowth of underdeveloped countries constitute a "restitution" rather than an "aid...
...A country with such an international record in the struggle against underdevelopment has only received, In its first ten years, 4.6 million dollars in project aid from the United Nations Special Fund and, up to now, has received approval for only four projects...
...In short, the diagn3is according to which uderdvelopment is nothing but a consequence of colonialism and imprialism becomes more and more rrefutable as time goes by...
...ling...
...It is thus evident that the Special Fund projects and the technical aid activities stemming from the application of the Expanded Program of Technical Assistance already constitute a part of our country overall planning...
...However, we believe that the unity of command and operation should not transform the specialized agncies into simple dependencies, subordinate to the tUNDP Admnistrator...
...And it aJds that: "As one large non-UN provider of capital said to the Commissioner: 'We are ready to finance a larger number of UNDP pre-investment projects, but we hate to jump onto a running train...
...By this we riean that, in assigning interna- tional resources for development, the efforts made by the various countries toward their economic advancement despite the difficult conditions imposed by the very nature of underdevelopment must be taken into account...
...THE SYSTEM'S ORGANIZATION Our document offers a detailed analysis of the organizational problems which appear in the Report...
...For the same reasons, we deem it convenient to maintain the Advisory Board with at least some of the functions it now discharges...
...We believe it would be premature to discuss In detail the plan for the application of the new System as long as we do not come to at least preliminary agreements on the main changes to be introduced in the System itself...
...We don't think it is necessary to insist on this topic...
...product:v tv and enthusiasm of the former would more than make up for their lower scientific level as compared with that of their col- leagues who enjoy g eater reputations but are less devoted to the task of transmitting science and tech- nology...
...In fact, the Report insists, above all, on securing top personnel through the offering of attractive salaries - in competition with private enterprises of _rester economic power - and the Improving of living conditions for the visiting expects in those countries to which they are assigned...
...As the Cuban delegation sated at the meeting of the Economic Commission for Latin America hld in Lima in 1969, not all industrialized capitalist countries share responsibility for the "underdevelopment...
...But, if this is accepted, we should point out that, with regard to the making of the socioeconomic stLdy, every country should have the right, stemming from its national sovereignty, to do this in th...
...As the Commission for Social Development as already begun to point out- 20 - in relation to the proposals now under discussion in Geneva, it is imperative - and it is from this point of view that Cuba has ben approaching th problem for quite some time - that development be conceived of as an entirety of economic and social processes in which the problem of cJucation, professional training and health protection are essential elements...
...Many of the functions in the projects would be mo-e effi- ciently discharged by spec alists in the inte-rmed'ate stage of their scientific or technological lives than by more outstanding personalities possess ng graer experience, since th...
...in later Latin-American regional conferences, of the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA , Inter-American Economic and Social Council (IESC) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAQ), the Latin-American countries rcp ted their demands to their main mporter, the United States...
...Point IV, far from beinl an attempt to help backward countries, was simpy one eleamnt in the United States' strategy to impede postwar national revolutions that would have led the countries of the vast underdeveloped world to the independence and structural transformation that constitute the first stage of development...
...We feel Juyv-bound to b crystal clear, and the limits between crystal clearness and aggressiveness are not always very strict...
...In this way, to the direct exploitation of cheap labor in the underdeveloped producing coun- try is added th...
...The political reasons behind such inequality in the allotment of resources are obvious...
...ON THE RECOMMENDED MODEL At this time we should like to express some views on the main points of the recommended model...
...But, in our opnion, the background of the IBRD and the Inter- national Monetary Fund are sufficiently well known to establish that the views of its leaders and of the power that has the greatest influence in the voting - and, as such, in the decisions of those agencies: the United States - would influence these socioeconomic studies...
...And, although assistance is not a reward, nevertheless it should be utilized as a punishment to chastise the backwardness or indifference of those who, urged to work toward development, refuse to- 21 - do so...
...Even though uch opinions contnue to prevail in certain international circles - principally in those seeking ideological ustification for the gross inequalities of the contemorary world - it is by now ractically indisputab.-a that underdevelopment is a istorical phenomenon mpose upon the countries of the vast urilerdeveloped world by those powers which, from the outside, interrupted what might ha...
...Member of and chief economic advisor to of Cuba...
...THE COMPREHENSIVE COUNTRY PROGRAM CONCEPT In its appraisal of the recommendations contained in the Capacity Study, Cuba attaches special signifi- cance to the concept of a comprehensive country program to serfe as a focal point for a series of transformations in the concept of aid to develop- ment...
...We have recall.l the hundreds of millions of people who live in near starvation outside the limits of the so-called "society of abundance," the scores of millions of children who will not rach adolescence, while man nears the other planets...
...I goes on to say immediately: '"Other programmes adopted one or more of these ai their leoftmo'v...
...A global strategy that opposes and hinders national development would not be acceptable...
...It is true that the concept of reinvestmentn" does not nevitably mean prepara- tion to receive foregn investment...
...Moreover, divisions such as those which some try to establish between rich and poor countries, between northern and southern countries, are artificial divisions...
...Resolution 1240-XIII of the General Assembly that in 1958 established the Special Fund, states that the technical aid' program will facilitate new investments of all forms of capital by creating the conditions that make these investments more feasible and efficient...
...Both the Jackson and Pearson Reports - despite the latter's attempt to provide solution wth'n the framework of the present soco-economic struc- turc and to recommend measures that Imply no threat to the present international preponderance of the great monopoles - through their a lalyses ari their use of objective figures serve to show that, even if we con- sider international private investments as an eement of the so-called aid, the total amount of international financing is meager, tends to diminish and, in addi- tion, represents only an exiguous part of the whole investment effort of the countries desperately trying to advance.- 18 - At any rate, It is imperative to examine two addi...
...Some saw It as a means of exerting political, strategic, economic or cultural influence, or of fndns new markets for their own expanding economies...
...Wa also agree, for reasons that need not be ex- plained in detail, with the elimination, as proposed tn the Report, of another four possible models ex- amined in Paragraph 34 of Chapter VII...
...For this reason, neither is our country hostile, in principle, to UNDP financng of such "non-country" actions as those mentioned in Paragraph 76 and following paragraphs in this chapter...
...Cuba believes that the above considerations should be taken into account as the prem se for the changes proposed and as a starting point for a possible "career service...
...We deem it necessary to discuss only when there should be a Resident invested with the duties that have been proposed he d:acharge...
...It is of little avail that Sweden, Canada and oer industrialized countries increase their contributions to development if the greatest power, the United States, the principal party responsible por exploitation, reduces its portion, revealing still more the tendency that has already alarmed many who felt confidence in this path as the way to eliminate underdevelopment...
...and be centered unequivocally on the needs of the individual countries, without neglecting the requirements of those regional and world policies that may be ap- proved...
...Moreover, every specialized agency should be gven the right to bring the matter before the overning Council or some other United Nations body such as the ECOSOC in the event of any discrepancies as to the application of a project within th country program...
...They are obliged to contribute to the solution of the problems of underdevelopment but that obligation stems from the very nature of their regimes and the implic i t aims of socialism...
...A speech by Carlos Rafael Rodriguez* expressing Cuba's views on A Study of the Capacity of the nited Nations Development System (The Jackson Report) under discussion by the UNDP Administrative Council --- reprinted from GRANMA (March 29, 1970) THE GOVERNMENT of Cuba has g'ven close attention to Sir Robert Jackson's Report, which, as our representative to the Council's 9th Session pointed out, constitutes a thorouahoin and realistic analysis not lacking in intellectual aidacty...
...COUNTRY PROGRAM It is indisputable that the country program should be the result of coordination between the representatives of the United Nations Developmtent System in each country and ts government...
...in the last analysis, will determine the success or failure of international cooperation for development...
...But Sir Robert inter" rupts the quotation at the point at which the Walrus is also proposing a discussion of "why the sea is boiling hot...
...but it was Lord Kevnes who recalled that "In the long run we are all ead...
...Heroes of the stature of Lumumba, Camilo Torres and Che Guevara do not die in vain...
...The preceding words, from the Pearson Report, will help u to analyze some of the serious problems outlined by the Chilean delegation n considering the Jackson Report...
...For example, in Paragraph 104 of Chapter III, in its discussion of th- weaknesses of the projects, the Report states: "It is often difficult, for instance, for a financing institution to follow up the findings of the pre-investment stage...
...Thus it s no surprise that the Pearson Report recommends the adoption of a goo part of the measures which the underdeveloped countries have been demanding since the Geneva Conference, from th...
...Development is much more than economic growth...
...From the standpoint of lobal contribution, Cuba ranks among the lowest, and from the standpoint of allotment of resources on a per capital basis our country ranks next to the last among the Latin- American countries...
...evitable social explosion can be moderated or whether it must inevitably take on catastrophic dmensions...
...however, its uefulnss would derive from th fact that the Council carry on, as is evidently desirable, a more continuous work and have more direct particpation than it has up to now in the control of UNDP...
...ferential and nonreciprocal policy for manufactured and semi-manufactured products from the developing countries...
...Its principal objective was to collaborate not In reconstruction but rather in "the struggle against communism" - In which struggle it constituted an instrument...
...At headquarters level, the Administrator should be, without the slightest doubt, "the sole executive official," as indicated...
...The so-called government level of the System proposal, that is, to establih the Economic and Social Council, as the "single focal point" of control, and develop its line of authority through the Governing Council to the UNDP A 'n'strator - meets the requirements...
...There is no need to dwell on this subject, but the example of the notorious "Peace Corps" agents and the incidents caused by their presence in many countries would suffice to invalidate the Idea proposed...
...They lament thir sad fate and will even help to fatten them, but only in order to eat them...
...HUMAN RESOURCES The Sstem's deceive force is to be found in the thousands of men and women who make up its staff of officials and experts...
...Furthemore, Cuba will ma:ntain a determined op- position to the so-called volunteers...
...THE NEXT TWENTY-FIVE YEARS The Report quotes from the Preliminary Framework for an International Development Strategy a definition we support, to wit: "The most effic.ent technical co-operation mchanism is that which succeeds most often in providing the developing countries with precisely those resources they need, at the proper time and at the least overall cost...
...What would be neither understandable nor equitable would be to give equal treatment to those countries which - through their peoples' sacrifie - work dramatically in an effort to emerge from underde- velopmcnt and those which do not take the pertinent measures to do so...
...In this sense, we should just like to point out that the Pearson Report is unable to refute the validity of these crticsms, although t tries to reduce the magnitude of the problem There we read that "Part of the need for aid derives from the insufficiency of foreign exchange earnings and the difficulty of increasing them...
...We are all familiar with the fact that, under growth conditions similar to or even better than the present, the deficit in internal savings in relation to necessary investment would fluctuate by 1980 be- tween 17000 million and 34000 million dollars, and that, by the same date, the deficit in foreign exchange needed for foreign trade and investment would reach a figure of from 27000 million to 32 000 million dol- lars...
...Or, as a lesssophisticated Spaniard put it, "A hundred years from now we'll all be bald...
...At this very moment, in the most important task of the first phase of our development - the production of ten million tons of sugar in the current 1970 harvest - nearly 300000 Cubans of all ages, men and women from the cities - students, industrial workers, govern- ment officials and housewives - have concentrated their efforts on the cutting of sugarcane and other agricultural tasks, fully aware that the future of our economic development depends on the achievement of that oal a the success of the ag-icultural projects that constitute the basis of this initial stage...
...On the basis of what has been said on the matter of opanization we may deduce that the leadership position would be held by the Resident Director...
...buttons with which these same countries seek to mitigate the drama that they themselves have created are threatened with reduction...
...If Christ, who became the symbol of meekness, said to his disciples, "I come not to bring peace, but a swoxl," it would be perhaps too much to ask a spokesman for a revolutionary state to substitute an olive branch for the sword...
...due to accidental historical causes or...
...effectively marage the operational activities of the System...
...It is from this position that we have examined the Capacity Study ari in this spirit that we state our disposition to contribute to the efforts called for by the Report to improve the United Nations System in its posible contribution to development...
...We know that th new President of the World Bank has proclaimed policies which will, supposedly, put that agency at the service of the interests of dvelopment...
...The measures proposed by the underdeveloped countries (supported on that occa...
...Its best guarantee is the willingness, fervor and high awareness of those hundred- of thousands of Cubans head by Fidel Castro who are now engaged in an all-out effort to produce the fifth million ton of sugar to round out, with the tenth, the first phase of our development strategy, founded on the elimination of illite acv, th~ growth of the infrastructure of development in the form of thousands of miles of roads and highways, the doubling of our electric network and construction materials industry and - last but not least - the advances already achieved in culture, public health and sports, all indicating a new society in process...
...Sir Robert Jackson recalls Protagoras' dictum: "Man is th2 measure of all things," but we must also recall Karl Marx, for whom man is only the product of his social relations...
...It seems opportune that there be regional executive offices with the work program assigned to them...
...In any case, Cuba rejects the possibility that the financial agency that has served to introduce new forms of foreign exploitation in so many develop- ing countries should be in charge of deciding, with its studies on the economies of our countries, the policy that should be followed for multilateral development contributions...
...Many such discrepancies - some of them major - are expressed in the document we shall present - of which these words are only a rsum - whose purpose stating, in a more complete form than is possb e n isolated debstes, a coherent and broadest possible exposition of Cuba's opinions...
...t cannot be nored, however, that the impulses of human soll- arity were quickly interrupted for less than philan- thropic reasons...
...When we examine the objectives set forth for the Special Fund from its beginning...
...To every socialist country, working toward the eradication of inequality constitutes a part of ts own deological program...
...For that reason, planning and prospective guide- lines for development are of dcisive Importance in Cuba's strategy for development...
...Th7 determ'n ng thing is the expert's a'ttud...
...As the Capacity Study so correctly points out, the dichotomy that some have sought to establish between this country approach to UN cooperation in the struggle for development and the concept of global strategy - in the sense of universality, which is foreseen in he work of the Second Development D:cade - does not ex'st...
...But it is a case...
...Although the Revolutionary Government of Cube has, on more than one occasion, expressed Its reser- vations with regard to so-called regional integrations, principally those proposed for Latin America, because the concept lends Itself to other deas that would make it possible to transform those expanded regional markets into rich hunting grounds for US...
...One o its merits lies in the fact that its examination methods nc'te to analysis and invite discrepancy of opinion...
...Since Cuba plans to fully discharge its responsibili- ties on the Administrative Committee by working together with all those countries, developed or not, that are truly interested in finding far-ranging solu- tions, it has judged it opportune to make an explicit statement of its views on this matter...
...Today, however, all humanity celebrates the centennial of the birth of Vlad:mir Ilyich Lenin, not only as the creator of the world's first socialist state, but as the prophet of a social upheaval that has brought socialism to a thousand million people and now raises the hopes of all of the Third World...
Vol. 4 • February 1971 • No. 10
