JUVENTUD REBELDE
We Will Take the Revolution into the Future
The Young Communists League has won a respected and prestigious place in Cuban society, says the first secretary of the organization
2007-04-04 |
17:45:27 EST
http://www.juventudrebelde.co.cu/cuba/2007-04-04/we-will-take-the-revolution-into-the-future/
Photo: Calixto N. Llanes
Julio Martinez repeats it over and over, as if his listeners could not understand the real meaning of his words: «The league is my life. » And it is not hard to believe when we find out that his story began as an instructor in a municipal committee and continued as he took over as the national secretary of the organization after 20 years serving as a leader of the Young Communists League (UJC in Spanish).
If someone asks him about the happiest moment in his life, he immediately replies: «The day my twin girls, Ania and Anay, were born. A year ago, when they turned 15, they brought me joy when I saw them join the Young Communists League. »
When he is asked about his most intense moments, he says: «When I have to give answers about crucial matter of the youth to the top leadership of the Revolution and the party. Not because I’m afraid of being pointed out, but because I always want to be a fair representative of our youth and our organization. »
Perhaps this latter reason is what made him respond to our questions during this exhausting period. Julio Martinez is in charge of the celebrations for the 45 anniversary of the Young Communists League and the 46 anniversary of the Jose Marti Organization of Elementary and Secondary Education Students.
The dialogue began via e-mail and ended up in the conference room of the editorial department of the Juventud Rebelde newspaper. Martinez was willing to reflect on complex questions, knowing that the answers to the youth can never wait.
—Some people have been talking in the last few years about a «crisis of values» in our society, whose effects influence the youth. Do you share this opinion?
—I don’t think the country is going through a crisis of values. I think that there is a deterioration of some values conditioned by the global and one-sided world we’re living in, where capitalism has smashed the most authentic values of humankind.
«Obviously, we don’t live inside a bubble. We don’t have a filter to separate out those influences. Nor can we forget that after the collapse of the socialist bloc, our country was required to adopt economic measures to save the Revolution, knowing they would be at an ideological cost. It was the only way to get over the crisis.
«Both factors took their tolls on people’s behavior. Many of them have adopted an attitude which is not in concordance with our social mission. Our work also includes paying attention to these people.
«Nonetheless, this is not the situation of most of our youth, otherwise it would be impossible to have them committed to the many vital programs of our country.
—What values do you think emphasis should be made on?
—Work and honesty are the values requiring more attention among the youth. We have to face the symptoms of double standards and the absence of spirit to struggle against what is wrong.
«We have to pay attention to these negative tendencies because they affect essential values of the construction of our socialist project.
«Grassroots committees have to break with schematic work methods in the formation of values, so these can be appreciated and implemented in our daily life.
«Our strategy of work is meant to reinforce values like patriotism, humanism, work and other values in each of our activities. »
—There are instances of young people having all the qualities to join the Young Communists League; however, they don’t want to become members of the organization because they don’t see the distinction that it represents.
—Unfortunately, there are grassroots committees with very schematic approaches to work that do not correspond with the position that the leadership of the UJC is trying to adopt in the current circumstances. When this happens, young people who don’t belong to the organization feel they are not represented.
«What is worse is that these young people are forced to make a distorted evaluation of what being a member of the UJC really means, because they have to base their assessments on the work of their local committee.
«We face now the challenge of channelling and representing the interests of all Cuban youth, not only of our members. And we must be able to summon everyone with our wok. »
—How does the UJC pay attention to the worries of Cuban youth about their social and personal economic situation? What is your opinion about the emergence of expressions of individualism and doubt?
—We are taking care of getting increasingly involved in the economic life of our country. Our youth has a high level of instruction and are able to analyze our society in depth. But if there’s something that has allowed us overcome the obstacles of the Special Period, it’s that we have never doubted of our goals, and we have never doubted that the capitalist system does not have the solution to our problems.
«The deep human character of the Cuban people, which distinguishes us in the world, doesn’t offer stark individualism as a prospect. We live in a system that takes care of finding solutions for everybody – from setting up a school with a computer and a teacher to give classes, to one child living at the top of a mountain, to renovating polyclinics and providing them with new services in all the municipalities of the country.
«There are still some displays of selfishness, but the UJC promotes exchanges on a daily basis with youth. This helps decrease existing worries. »
—A recent series of articles published in Juventud Rebelde was about useful, instructive and healthy recreation. These seemed to have caused more worries than satisfaction.
—Recreation is for us both a command and a commitment. Young people have a variety of demands we are paying attention to. A number of material aspects affecting this issue and other aspects depend on efforts to improve recreation services.
«Recreation is a necessity that cannot be postponed. There are many ways taking part in recreational activities, but sometimes we get stuck with narrow ideas, and if these ideas failed, the goals fell short. That’s why we’re insisting on moving in all directions, because there are lots of places that can be used and they don’t require large investments, only a bit of creativity, good taste and will to do things right.
«The Revolution has created a number of recreational programs and facilities, but they are not properly used all the time. We must highlight camping sites, which have room for more than 20,000 people, the 600 computer sciences clubs, the 320 video rooms and the 215 facilities for elementary school students, among others.
«These are only a few examples of the things we pay attention to in the UJC. Our organization is not the only one responsible for this important matter, and we work under the direction of the Communist Party to bring all organizations together.
«We are aware of the priority this matter deserves, and most recently we’ve been promoting activities at all levels. These range from the tours around the country by big names in Cuban music and national culture, the movement of dancing groups, to the activities we conduct in neighborhoods.
«In the last few years, a number of non-institutional recreation initiatives have emerged. They are not designed for the majority of the youth and they have for-profit purposes. Only a well-designed, scheme-free, institutionalized initiative could counteract these other initiatives. »
—A figure poorly spread though worrying was known recently: Cuban people have begun to decrease. What projects is the youth creating or promoting to help change this number?
—The demographic situation of the country is an extremely complex matter. Cuba is a third world nation with the demographic measures of a developed country. The most important thing is that the birth rates are lower than they should be, which brings about a series of consequences, including the ageing of the population.
«This matter is not only of interest for the UJC, but everybody. The first thing to do is to raise the awareness of its complexities, and based on this we must create policies, orderly and in agreement with the programs implemented, where we put all the efforts needed.
«The UJC is stimulating the role of the family as the fundamental base of society, promoting active positions towards the family among our members to make them feel their responsibility in the comprehensive development of the family they belong to.
«Recently we devised some lines of work, such as the design of a strategy for communication and publicity about ageing and to stimulate fertility. In this campaign the Juventud Rebelde newspaper and April Publishing House will play an essential role. »
—There are people who have questioned that while a set of programs of intensive training of professionals, like teachers, have been created, the reasons why these youth drop out of these programs are not being evaluated.
—The solution to the causes of drop outs of this kind doesn’t depend only on the UJC, but we are actively taking part in their evaluation.
«With the emergence of the programs for intensive training in different professions, we have a great deal of responsibility in the recruitment and follow-up of this valuable human capital. It’s true that some people have left the programs, but for different reasons.
«At all times and in all the alternatives promoted by the state, there have always been people who don’t follow through with their commitments. Nonetheless, the vast majority have continued in their post assuring the development of the tasks born in the wake of the “Battle of the Ideas” educational programs.
«We have to increase our efficiency in the follow-up and upgrading of these young people. We have to talk to them and motivate them morally, in front of their families and with their peers. »
—Some academics think that one of the contradictions of Cuban society is the that created between the level of education —along with the expectations created by them— and the real situation of country where they have to work. Do you agree with this consideration?
—It would be an error to fall in a simplistic analysis of such a complex topic. We have to evaluate the Cuban situation objectively. We are a country living in special conditions, forced to develop while confronted by the hurdles of a fierce economic, financial and commercial blockade. Our field of development would be a lot wider without that obstacle in our way. But the knowledge and the instruction of our human capital is something they can’t impose a blockade on.
«For these reasons we have the contradiction of highly prepared professionals who sometimes cannot develop all their potentials because they are missing some equipment, resource or up-to-the-minute technology.
«It would be a mistake to stop. It is necessary to increase their preparation because it is unavoidable that the blockade will become more obsolete with time, and our development will be faster. The challenge is to find alternatives for the highly qualified corps of technicians now developing.
«The challenge is to instill in our youth deep sentiments of patriotism, to make each of them feel the need to put their effort at the service of the country. »
—Fidel gave a shock to our consciousness when, on November 17, 2007 at the University of Havana, he spoke of the reversibility of socialism. How did the UJC understand this dilemma and what is it doing to avoid it?
—Those were reflections of great depth, and consequently we have been thinking about their meaning in depth. We’ve been encouraged by the fact they were done in a youthful environment, full of university students and at an emblematic place [the university’s main hall].
«We immediately took these reflections to debates in our classrooms and grassroots committees, looking for an exact understanding of the challenge we are facing in the historical continuity of the revolution.
«Fidel’s ideas gave us important tools to do our work, especially a more objective approach of our problems and our role in leading youth.
«The results of those discussions confirm the historic commitment we are adopting, no matter the costs. »
—A number of people have talked about the divergence between the official data and the real number of unemployed young people. Does the organization share this concern?
—We have never been content with the existing data on youth unemployment. Fidel taught us that the best statistic is the one collected person by person, problem by problem. That’s why we went out and interviewed all the young people who were not studying or working, and according to these interviews we have taken some actions. Many of these individuals have now enrolled and others will thanks to the options provided by the Revolution.
"We are not completely satisfied. We adhere to the revolutionary principle that in our society no human being can have more than enough; for that reason we are working in a joint way with other organizations built from the grassroots level. The most important thing is that we are attacking the causes that generate problems; these are what compel young people to drop out from studying or quit working."
- What do you think are the indispensable qualities of a youth leader?
- Above everything else, they should have a high level of political commitment to the Revolution and the party. To be a leader, one must be an example to all those around. One can never be satisfied with the results of their work. In addition, one must know how youths think.
- Which are the most severe criticisms that Fidel has made of the organization?
- Having believed that our responsibility was only to assist our membership. He taught us that our commitment must be to all Cuban youths.
- Which has been Fidel's greatest encouragement?
- The trust that he has always granted to the youth.
- Does a left movement exist among youth in Latin America and the Caribbean?
- Latin American youth on the left received a hard blow with the fall of the socialist camp and the disappearance of the USSR. This was suffered across the continent in the form of political dropping out, division and discouragement. Today we live in a much better time; and it’s necessary to recognize that the immense majority resisted and remained devoted to socialism; they were inspired it by the resistance of the Cuban Revolution.
"Today a more organized and structured left youth movement exists that is growing in sustained way, and this is not only linked to the traditional political parties on the left. There are many youths involved with social movements that defend socialism.
"The Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela, the victories of Evo Morales and Rafael Correa, and the return to power of the Sandinistas are expressions of the consolidation of these ideas and a permanent inspiration to the youth on the continent."
- Do you believe that the UJC has arrived at its 45th year of existence with sufficient leadership to continue shaping the dreams and aspirations Cuban youth amid the enormous ideological challenges of the world?
- I think that the organization, a real leading figure over these past 45 years, has a place of prestige and respect within Cuban society, and especially among its youth. This has been won with the contributions of many, and has resulted in the strengthening of the UJC.
"I must particularly point out the effort of our staff and leaders, who have always been the spine of the UJC. They are making great sacrifices and contributions.
"Recently our fifth plenary of the National Committee agreed to work to promote into our leadership those individuals who have been involved in work collectives, teaching and services for at least five years. This will strengthen the UJC.
“Only as a consequence of the cultural and political development of the Cuban people will we be able to continue to unite the next generation and represent their interests...We are convinced that this is the guarantee to the historical continuity of the Revolution."
Julio
Martinez presents Army General Raul Castro 
Photo: Calixto N. Llanes
Photo: Calixto N. Llanes