MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Castro praises Latinamerican unity

Cuban leader Fidel Castro who was the main attraction of the Friday Cordoba Mercosur summit said that the group has never been so united and “is far more united than other regions”.

"Our peoples are more united than in other regions", not only because of their common heritage, tradition but the language, said Castro. "We all speak the same language", he insisted and recalled that in other summits in the world, with multiple languages, "unity is more complicated".

"But of course they all get along in English; and not only do they speak in English, most of them think in English", he added ironically

"On coming here and reading the press I though I was coming to a big complication, everybody squabbling. Nothing of the sort, this region has never been so united and we are facing a small revolution that is set to change the course of history", he insisted.

Further on the Cuban leader made everybody laugh by telling how he finally arrived in Argentina (in a convoy of three aircrafts and transporting his own armored limousine). "This is the only meeting where no attacks against me have been planned" he said in reference to the secrecy surrounding his overseas trips and alleged "over 600 US attempts" on his life.

"I even had to misinform friends about the trip?sometimes I think nobody knows whether I'm travelling?not even myself", he underlined ironically.

However Cordoba holds a special significance for Castro. The Argentina province was the boyhood home of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, the Argentine who gave up a future in medicine to join Cuba's revolution.

Castro strongly supported Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, "my almost best pupil" and Bolivia's Evo Morales and his struggle to liberate his indigenous people.

"Banning coca plantations is like banning coffee from US or Brazilian consumers, which I believe must be more harmful than coca tea", he said adding "I'm talking about coca, not cocaine, let's make it very clear. Evo has correctly insisted in the big difference, coca the traditional millenary infusion of Indians in not cocaine".

"By the way alcohol kills more people that cocaine but no one is proposing to ban alcohol or the cereals it's made out off", he emphasized.

Finally the Cuban leader highlighted that "our integration has centuries old enemies and they are certainly not happy when they hear about this meeting".