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FBIS3-10143_1

* Russian Scientists Contracted for High-Tech Research

the selections," said Wanderley de Souza, the molecular biologist who is rector of UENF. He recalled that, with budget appropriations continuing to shrink, "working conditions for Russian scientists in most technological fields are very bad, maybe worse than in Brazil." Boris and Irina, like other married foreign scientists who decided to move to Campos, will be given airline tickets for the entire family, in addition to a subsidy equivalent to two salaries so that they can settle in the city. This benefit is also extended to the unmarried. The contracts are for a minimum of two years. "Institutions in the United States have offered the Russians salaries averaging $5,000, but many opted for Rio de Janeiro, not just out of concern that they might experience discrimination by the Americans, but because of good medium and long-term market prospects for their technologies in Brazil," de Souza said. Along with scientist Alexander Kineo, also contracted by the university, the couple will bring to Brazil advanced techniques for production of reagents to be used in faster and more efficient diagnosis of illnesses like toxoplasmosis, a disease transmitted by a protozoan that attacks the central nervous system and the eyes. The new diagnostic method (at present, this country imports the tests) will be developed by fusing cells that produce antibodies (the body's defense agents) with cells from tumors that have the ability to reproduce themselves on a large scale. This will produce a hybridoma, i.e., a cell that combines the capacity to defend an organism with the ability to multiply itself in large numbers, thereby making commercial production feasible. Transgenics A group of eight Russian scientists, all with doctor's degrees and headed by Oleg Serov and Alexander Kerkis of the Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Academy of Sciences of Russia, will work on development of transgenic animals, such as goats that have been genetically altered to produce milk containing insulin. Other animals with transplanted genes might be used to obtain blood clotting factors that are vital to hemophiliacs. The chief product of the new materials laboratory will be the technology for producing artificial diamonds by compression of carbon molecules. These diamonds are essential to equipment such as dentists' drills, marble-cutting tools, and oil-drilling bits--the latter being one of the region's main economic activities. The technology of the synthetic materials known as "superhards," developed by a group of five Russian scientists that will

FBIS3-10143_2

* Russian Scientists Contracted for High-Tech Research

Alexander Kineo, also contracted by the university, the couple will bring to Brazil advanced techniques for production of reagents to be used in faster and more efficient diagnosis of illnesses like toxoplasmosis, a disease transmitted by a protozoan that attacks the central nervous system and the eyes. The new diagnostic method (at present, this country imports the tests) will be developed by fusing cells that produce antibodies (the body's defense agents) with cells from tumors that have the ability to reproduce themselves on a large scale. This will produce a hybridoma, i.e., a cell that combines the capacity to defend an organism with the ability to multiply itself in large numbers, thereby making commercial production feasible. Transgenics A group of eight Russian scientists, all with doctor's degrees and headed by Oleg Serov and Alexander Kerkis of the Institute of Cytology and Genetics of the Academy of Sciences of Russia, will work on development of transgenic animals, such as goats that have been genetically altered to produce milk containing insulin. Other animals with transplanted genes might be used to obtain blood clotting factors that are vital to hemophiliacs. The chief product of the new materials laboratory will be the technology for producing artificial diamonds by compression of carbon molecules. These diamonds are essential to equipment such as dentists' drills, marble-cutting tools, and oil-drilling bits--the latter being one of the region's main economic activities. The technology of the synthetic materials known as "superhards," developed by a group of five Russian scientists that will work at UENF for two years, reflects the technological strategy being pursued by this institution: absorb the know-how at an advanced point in its development without spending many years on research, so that the technology can be transferred to industry in the midterm future. "The technologies will be intimately related to the vocations of this region," said Gilca Alves Wianstein, president of the State Foundation of Northern Rio de Janeiro, the institution responsible for administration of UENF, which has the flexibility and independence needed to set up commercial and technological partnerships with the production sector. In the vicinity of its 25,000 square meter campus--which during the first semester of this academic year will house 278 undergraduate and graduate students and 50 researchers--the UENF plans to encourage the formation of a high-tech complex sustained mainly by biofactories that produce cuttings for use in growing fruit and sugarcane, and in reforestation.

FBIS3-10152_3

Finance Minister Discusses Economic Issues

we could spend 450 million [currency not specified] on anything we wanted, while the remaining funds available to us would be held in reserve, because we need to have a certain amount for a Brady Plan down payment, which we hope to have by the end of the year. [Vargas] Now it is Augusto Alvarez Rodrich's turn on "Saturday Focus." How are you, Augusto? [Alvarez] Good morning, how are you? There are two topics I would like to discuss regarding the 1994 program, and one of them is taxes. It is clear that Sunat [National Superintendency of Tax Administration] has made an effort, but it is also clear that the effort is still insufficient compared to what is needed and that there is still a knotty side to our economic outlook. I would like your impression of how much headway can be made in the field of taxes, and what can be changed this year -- specifically in terms of those things that have not worked that well? [Camet] Augusto Alvarez has broached a very important topic, and I appreciate the question. Just as last year, when we devoted much attention to inflation, because we believed we needed to reduce it as well as reduce expectations of higher inflation -- which, in our opinion, was one of the main causes of inflation following the cutbacks my predecessors had made -- this year the issue is tax collection. Tax collection is fundamental. In Peru we have a saying: You cannot have belts without leather. Tax collection is critical and basic. Last year, tax collection amounted to about 10.5 percent of the GNP; this year we estimate it at 12.1 percent. Half-jokingly I have said that if Sunat Director Sandro Fuentes only collects 12.1 percent, I will give him a top grade of 10. Nevertheless, Sunat needs to collect considerably more. As a practical measure, we have provided Sunat with two new international experts who are already working -- one in verification and the other in detection -- to cover the most important sources of tax evasion. It is not a matter of raising taxes, which are already high; it is a matter of reducing tax evasion. [passage omitted] [Alvarez] Mr. Minister, I would like to discuss another large issue which, like the fiscal issue, is complex -- namely, negotiating the foreign debt. According to experts, in the next two years the

FBIS3-10168_0

Chamber of Commerce Head Denounces U.S. Unions

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Text] Tegucigalpa -- Eduardo Facusse, president of the Tegucigalpa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIT), denounced yesterday U.S. labor organizations for financing campaigns to destabilize Honduras. Facusse made the disclosure during a speech at the CCIT's ordinary assembly, during which he discussed the problems that manufacturing firms are facing. "Mistaken labor leaders are raising new flags of nationalism inspired and propelled by foreign currency. U.S. labor unions are financing campaigns to destabilize Honduras with results that should worry us all, especially Honduran workers," he said. Facusse said in light of the unions' destructive eagerness, no foreign company will establish itself in Honduras, and those already established here will move to other countries, thus causing us to lose 40,000 jobs. Facusse also said the price of the lempira in comparison to the dollar should fluctuate constantly, as do the European currencies and the Japanese yen. He expressed satisfaction over the decision by President Carlos Roberto Reina's government to officially devaluate the lempira, which, unofficially, remains at two to one. Facusse said the prices of European currencies and the yen "fluctuate constantly on the international market, and I see no reason why the lempira should not do the same; furthermore, this situation is having a tremendous effect on the country's imports, which have been continually subsidized and have complicated Honduras' balance of properties and services, thereby contributing to the continuous deterioration of the lempira." "We must export more but, unfortunately, we have not been doing this due to a number of circumstances. If the lempira is officially devaluated, which may happen, imports will concurrently decrease." Facusse said with implementation of the customs value factor (FVA), which is a fiscal mechanism, the currency has been undergoing continuous devaluations due to speculation. The FVA, he added, "has not been to our advantage; we have used it to promote imports, and the commercial deficit may reach approximately $450 million, which we are going to have to pay, and we lack the foreign currency to do so."

FBIS3-10180_0

National Airline Purchases 8 New Planes

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Text] Through Aviaco, the Spanish national airlines, Cuba has purchased eight planes, two of which are already in the country and soon to be put into service. These are turbo-propelled, twin-engine planes with a functional capacity of between 44 and 48 passengers. The objective is to include them in the national and Caribbean routes. The Cuban airline is responsible for tourism support and for Cuban national and international aviation, which are currently using Russian-made airplanes; that is, manufactured by the former Soviet Union. These planes are very safe, but they have been rendering service to the Cuban airlines for several years and we have been trying to find an alternative solution to these old Soviet-made planes so that national and international air transport will not be impaired by a gradual reduction of their service. The Cuban airline intends to gradually replace these Russian airplanes by others which are more economic and more comfortable for passengers. These are Netherlands-made planes and their brand name is Fokker F-27-600. They are easily convertible from passenger to cargo planes. Aviaco and Iberia cover all Spanish national routes.

FBIS3-10188_1

Editorial Examines NATO Downing of Serbian Planes

United Nations are backed by the force of weapons and the will to use them. The incident served to demonstrate that NATO will not hesitate to use its operational superiority to maintain the exclusion zones established by the UN peace forces free from air strikes. In other words, the determination of one of the parties to comply with the public threats it has made is now known. What is not known is how far the other party will go in this confrontation of wills. Since World War II the Yugoslav Armed Forces, made up mostly of Serbs, have prepared themselves for low-intensity war. This is what the Serbian militias have been doing in Bosnia, never engaging in a frontal battle against a superior enemy and never hurrying to close the siege. The policy followed by the Serbian leader in Bosnia, Radovan Karadzic, is in keeping with this military doctrine. Even Russia expressed support for the NATO action -- without, however, condemning its traditional Serbian allies. Karadzic went to Moscow to hold a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Andrey Kozyrev. They agreed to open as of 7 March the airport of the besieged Muslim city of Tuzla for humanitarian missions. Karadzic is playing the game well. He obeys the NATO ultimatum which had established that date to open the airport; has offered the Russians the chance to once again emerge as a decisive and essential player in any political-diplomatic arrangement in the Balkans; and at the same time he is telling his followers that it is yet not time to end the fight -- to the point that after the downing of the four Serbian airplanes Karadzic's militias bombed Tuzla, aiming at a hospital, a grocery store, an ammunition factory, and one of the landing strips of the airport. The downing of four Serbian airplanes boosts the credibility of President Clinton's foreign policy, but does not represent a guarantee that there is a solution at hand for the Bosnian problem. After two years of hesitation, the Western world powers agreed on something in imposing restrictions on Serbian forces. These restrictions, however, are mild, and do not stop the massacre or the taking over of territory, and much less do they guarantee free traffic for the UN peace forces in Bosnia. There is not enough basic will to impose conditions for a minimally fair and lasting solution to guarantee peace in Europe.

FBIS3-10196_0

Mining Ministers React to Oil Sales To Cuba

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Video report by Raul Gutierrez from the "24 Hours" newscast; passages within quotation marks recorded] [Text] [Gutierrez] While Miami is attempting to boycott Colombian products in retaliation for selling Colombian oil to Cuba, here, the government's decision is considered to be bad business, both economically and politically. Colombian oil sales to Cuba will start in July. We will sell them between 15,000 to 20,000 barrels a day; something like a third of what the island's consumes. [Mines and Energy Minister Guido Nule Amin] "What we are trying to do is establish commercial relations [with Cuba] similar to the ones we have established with other countries in the world." [Gutierrez] People here, however, see several stains on the business, not caused by the black gold per se. Cuba does not have a sound payment capability and experienced oil people do not like the agreement very much. [Former Mining Minister Juan Camilo Restrepo] "Colombia should not subsidize [Cuba] by selling oil cheaper than what can be obtained elsewhere. Second, the sale has to be carried out under strict banking and commercial conditions." [Gutierrez] The Cubans have presented the possibility of refining our oil in their country as part of their payment. [Former Mining Minister Guillermo Perry] "It depends on the efficiency of their refineries, how much they will pay for the crude oil, and the price we will get for products other than the gasoline we need." [Gutierrez] For others who know this business, the oil refinery should be done here. [Perry] "What Colombia needs is to have an export petrochemical refinery, and it should be established in the Morrosquillo gulf where the two oil pipelines merge." [Gutierrez] In addition to the economic issues, the political ones also cast doubts on this business. Colombia is seen as giving oxygen to the Castro dictatorship and this jeopardizes its commercial relations with the United States.

FBIS3-10197_0

Arrested Cali Cartel Leader Has Heart Attack

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [From the "NTC Newscast"] [Text] Alleged drug trafficker Jaime Orjuela Caballero of the Cali Cartel was taken to Shaio Clinic in Bogota following a heart attack. Orjuela was being held at DIJIN [Judicial Police and Investigations Directorate] headquarters after he was arrested during a narcotics operation in Cali. The alleged drug trafficker developed symptoms of angina, which prompted authorities to take him to a cardiology center. Orjuela was admitted to the Shaio Clinic on the evening of 17 February with severe chest pains, nausea, and fatigue. Specialists performed a catheter exploration and found one artery was 90 percent obstructed. Orjuela also suffers from diabetes, which will affect his present cardiac condition. Doctors will perform surgery to remove the obstruction. Orjuela is now in his room in this clinic under permanent DIJIN and Metropolitan Police guard. The only visitors he is allowed are his wife, father, and attorney.

FBIS3-10232_0

Privatization Successes, Future Plans Viewed Where Privatization Now Stands Banks Sold

Language: Spanish Article Type:CSO [Article by Jaime Mejia Mazuera and Clara Ines Rueda of EL TIEMPO's economic staff] [Text] In recent days two of the biggest privatizations ever reported in Colombia have been finalized. The Banco de Colombia [Bank of Colombia] has been transferred to a group of Cali businessmen, and the cellular telephone service was turned over to private operators. These two deals generated revenues of about $1.7 billion for the government. What is this government's record on privatizations? Since early 1991 state holdings in about 15 companies have been transferred to the private sector, earning the state a little over 1.1 trillion pesos. However, these were not large privatizations. In most cases they were small enterprises in which the IFI [Industrial Development Institute] held shares. In the last two years, the IFI sold its shares in six enterprises for approximately 12.398 billion pesos. The state has been successful, though, in turning over to private enterprise some major areas that were traditionally considered the state's responsibility: railways, highways, ports, expansion of the gas system, and social security. It is estimated that in the next few years the private sector will invest close to $392 billion in plans to rehabilitate the railway system, highway construction projects, ports, and the construction of gas pipelines. In addition, for electricity generating projects, private companies plan to invest resources that will easily exceed 592 billion pesos. By doing so, the state will no longer be involved in providing public services and it will turn over shares to private investors, who should apparently be more efficient. That is, in essence, the primordial objective of privatization in Colombia. They want to turn over part of the economy that the state now runs in order to promote competition and the free market. In other Latin American countries, governments have been forced to sell state enterprises to shrink the gap between public spending needs and revenues or to cover massive external debts. In Argentina, for example, between September 1992 and October 1993, 45 enterprises were privatized. This easily produced $7.5 billion fresh dollars for the government. And the government no longer has to transfer about $2.1 billion a year from the budget to prop up bankrupt public enterprises. The Objective In Colombia, privatization was not undertaken to make the state smaller. If that were the objective, the results would be dismal: public spending, 24 percent of the economy's

FBIS3-10248_0

Finance Minister Views Change in `Economic Mentality'

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Text] Havana, 2 Mar (EFE) -- Cuban Finance Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez said today people should not talk about economic recovery yet, rather, that it is a year during which we will change our economic mentality, because "we have gone from an economic certitude to the management of uncertainty." At a conference for Higher Education Ministry officials, Rodriguez said Cuba has an ample level of certitude on imports, exports, and other resources, in addition to its economic planning system. He estimated that the changes introduced in the Cuban economy can be slow according to the people's needs but not according to the possibilities of the island. Among the economic measures implemented since last August, Rodriguez mentioned the depenalization of the dollar, the opening to foreign investments, and the increase of tasks authorized for self-employment. The Cuban finance minister said 1994 will be better than 1993 for Cuba from the economic standpoint, "as it will break the violent economic fall suffered from 1989 to 1993." He based his assertion on the possibilities of having a cheaper sugarcane harvest, the recovery of sugar and nickel prices--two of the country's main economic sectors--and getting tourism to grow 25 percent. Other factors that will mark this year in the Cuba economy, according to the specialist, will be the substitution of imports, the discovery of new oil deposits, the recovery of fuel, and an increase -- although not an extraordinary one -- in agricultural production.

FBIS3-10250_0

UN Diplomat Circulates `Secret' U.S. Document

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Text] In Geneva, Cuba distributed a secret document dictated by the U.S. Interests Section in Havana. The report shows the dishonesty of the allegations made by the so-called human rights organizations on the island. Signed by Joseph Gerald Sullivan, the head of the U.S. Interests Section, the report points out that in the cases presented by the heads of those groups, the subjects are incapable of proving that they have been or are victims of persecution or violations. The text was addressed to the State Department, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and was circulated in Geneva while Cuban Ambassador Jose Perez Novoa responded to the report presented by (Carl Johann Gros), the special rapporteur of the UN Human Rights Commission assigned to Cuba. The official text of the U.S. mission recognizes that the number of political prisoners is very small and that once they are freed, they are not persecuted, discriminated against, or mistreated. Most of them request visas at the U.S. Interests Section to escape Cuba's economic situation, not out of fear. Furthermore, the document points out that many of the members of those groups take that path as the most opportune way to emigrate toward the United States with that country's official backing. The document, signed by the head of the U.S. Interests Section, describes the differences between groups and the need to work harder to identify those who, as demonstrated by their nature, would be most useful in serving the objectives of the United States.

FBIS3-10252_0

Counterrevolutionary Group Threatens Pastors for Peace

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [From the "Morning Information Review" newscast] [Text] Alpha 66, the Miami-based counterrevolutionary group, has threatened to carry out terrorist actions against the group Pastors for Peace, which has organized the Cuba-U.S. Friendship Caravan, if the group continues to travel through U.S. cities. In a letter sent to that ecumenical organization, the terrorists say any person who visits Cuba, holds talks, or supports its authorities directly or indirectly will be declared a military target, regardless of his nationality or nature [as heard] and will suffer the consequences inside or outside of Cuba. Referring to the warnings by the U.S. Government to those individuals or groups preparing terrorist actions against third countries from within U.S. territories, Alpha 66's letter adds it will stop at nothing and will confront the consequences. Meanwhile, the coordinators of the Friendship Caravan have reported the caravan of 70 vehicles traveling through 140 U.S. cities continues to advance satisfactorily. During the travels group leaders give lectures, visit churches, and collect donations. According to plans, the volunteers will reach Laredo, Texas, on 6 March, and three days later they will cross the border into Mexico; they will then take the goods to a ship that will sail to Cuba from the Port of Tampico.

FBIS3-10255_0

Students Clash With Police; 7 Injured

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Text] Santo Domingo, 3 Mar (NOTIMEX) -- Today, authorities reported that university students threw rocks at police during a demonstration against academic reforms, and as a result, seven youths were injured. The police reported that during the demonstration some 2,000 students of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo detonated homemade bombs, destroyed several vehicles, and threw rocks at security units. University Rector Roberto Santana said the students oppose reforms established by university statutes because "they resist change and continue to live in the past." For the past two years, the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo has been among the centers showing the strongest opposition to the regime of President Joaquin Balaguer. This has caused frequent confrontations between students and the police.

FBIS3-10261_2

EZLN Lists Demands; Government Replies

to elevate the quality of public education in the area. [EZLN] That the dialects of all ethnic groups be made official languages and that their teaching be compulsory in all schools. [Government] The topic of bilingual education in the Indian communities will be included in the general law of Indian community rights. [EZLN] That our rights and dignity as Indian peoples be respected, taking into account our culture and tradition. [Government] The demand for respect for the culture and tradition, rights and dignity of the Indian people is the central issue of the general law of Indian community rights. [EZLN] We do not want to continue being the target of discrimination and contempt, which we Indians have always suffered. [Government] Mexican children will be instilled with the appreciation for our origin, respect, and admiration of Indians, and the development of a culture of Indian rights. [EZLN] In view of the fact that we are an Indian people, that we be allowed to organize and govern ourselves with autonomy. [Government] This point is addressed in the general law of Indian community rights, in reforms to the Chiapas State Constitution, and in the new municipalities created in the current territory of Ocosingo and Margaritas. [EZLN] That Indian people administer their own justice, according to their customs and traditions, without the intervention of illegitimate and corrupt governments. [Government] Reforms to the Chiapas State Public Constitution will be bolstered, as will the internal rules of the Chiapas State Legal Branch and police internal rules. [EZLN] Dignified work and fair wages for all peasant and city workers. [Government] To address this, an initial work program will be presented within 60 days. [EZLN] Fair prices for our agricultural products. [Government] The Procampo [Program of Direct Support to the Countryside] program will be implemented in a completely impartial manner in addition to inducements to corn and bean producers. [EZLN] An end to the looting of our Mexican resources and especially Chiapas. [Government] The Federal Government and international institutions, environmental groups and foundations, will respond with coordinated actions. [EZLN] The annulment of all debts incurred due to high interest credits, loans, and taxes. [Government] A Finance and Public Credit Secretariat commission will be established to evaluate the extent of the problem and there will be a reply within 60 days. [EZLN] An end to hunger and malnutrition. [Government] The program will begin within 60 days, under the auspices

FBIS3-10271_0

Roundup of Electoral Developments

Article Type:BFN [Editorial Report] The following is a compilation of reports on developments related to the Salvadoran elections, scheduled for 20 March. Unity Movement presidential candidate Jorge Martinez has advocated the promotion of a moral market economy based on "the ethical values of man that serve as the root for the construction of an economic order oriented toward the promotion of increased national well-being" and which will accomplish this objective "by better distributing economic resources, by securing sustained economic growth, and by an equitable distribution of income." Martinez explained that "the system's stability depends on social justice." (San Salvador LA PRENSA GRAFICA in Spanish 24 Feb 94 p 8) A poll conducted by the Jose Simeon Canas Catholic University and Central American University reveals that the majority of the people have little interest in the elections process, do not trust the elections process or the country's elections, and have no trust in the state's institutionality. The poll reveals that 36 percent of the people have not decided yet who they will for vote on 20 March. The poll reveals that what the people most want is jobs, fighting crime, and the end of poverty. What the people most want, the poll reveals, has to do with the economy, and then with crime. (San Salvador Radio Cadena YSU in Spanish 1800 GMT 24 Feb 94) Nationalist Republican Alliance, Arena, presidential candidate Armando Calderon Sol has regretted the 24 March attack on Miriam Diaz, a leader of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, FMLN. He said: "Violence has been left behind. The Salvadoran people are tired of violence, including verbal violence, to say nothing of physical violence. We regret this event, we condemn it, we repudiate it, and we are asking that a thorough investigation be conducted." He emphasized that attacks are not the road, "elections are the road, democracy is the road." (San Salvador Radio Cadena YSU in Spanish 1800 GMT 25 Feb 94) Arena candidates for the 20 March elections, including the presidential and vice presidential candidates, Armando Calderon Sol and Enrique Borgo Bustamante, respectively, have met in San Salvador to work out the final details of the elections. Arena sources say this is the only party that has representatives in the most remote corners of El Salvador. (San Salvador Radio Cadena YSU in Spanish 1800 GMT 2 Mar 94) Roberto Escobar, the presidential candidate for the National Conciliation Party,

FBIS3-10272_0

Government, URNG Begin Peace Talks in Mexico City

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Text] Mexico City, 3 Mar (NOTIMEX) -- Guatemalan Government and guerrilla representatives agreed that the human rights issue is the first and foremost point in the peace negotiations which began in Mexico City today. Hector Rosada, chairman of the government's Peace Commission, said the human rights issue will be the first point to be addressed in this round in an attempt to resolve it "because it has already been discussed previously." They will also decide on the timetable of the agenda for subsequent meetings. Rolando Moran, leader of the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity [URNG], emphasized that human rights must be "the first point discussed in the meeting. Agreements in this area have already been reached and signed with the previous government. There are a number of points that have already been signed. We have to base ourselves on them and discuss them...therefore, the human rights issue is the first topic to be discussed, mainly because of its importance in Guatemala," he added. The guerrilla leader said human rights are very important, as shown by Argentine expert Monica Pinto's report presented at the Geneva meeting on the situation in Guatemala. Today in Mexico, the government and the URNG General Command resumed talks to end the armed conflict in the Central American nation which has lasted for more than 30 years. The government delegation of President Ramiro de Leon Carpio also includes General Carlos Pineda, deputy chief of staff; Gen. Arnoldo Balconi, Army inspector general; and Gen. Victor Argueta, commander of the Honor Guard. Commanders Gaspar Ilom, Pablo Monsanto, Rolando Moran, and Carlos Gonzalez, and members of the Political-Diplomatic Commission are participating in the guerrilla delegation. Today, UN-appointed mediator Jean Arnault met separately with the two sides to find points of concurrence. In January in Mexico City, the two sides agreed to resume the negotiations after they were suspended for eight months because of former President Jorge Serrano Elias' self-inflicted coup. The government and the URNG held talks for the first time in Mexico City in April 1991. Only relative progress has been achieved to end the conflict that has caused more than 100,000 deaths and left 50,000 missing.

FBIS3-10273_0

French Official Says France Supports Peace Process

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Report by David Flores Castillo; quotation marks as published] [Text] In an analysis of her visit to Guatemala, Lucette Michaux-Chevry, French minister delegate of humanitarian action and human rights, noted that her country supports the pacification process that is being advanced here although "one of the main obstacles to attain peace is the refusal to hold talks." "I have seen, however, that there is hope, dedication, and work among Guatemalans. That is very important, but I think 30 years of internal armed struggle is too much for a multi-ethnic nation, although I must make it clear I did not come from France to pass judgment or teach lessons. Based on her country's experience, where there was slavery and exploitation, "one never achieves a perfect democracy; one always has to move to strengthen it," and that is the role Guatemala must play, "because that commitment exists among Guatemalans, and my country, France, supports that initiative." Based on her experiences in Ixcan, Quiche, she stated the Guatemalan people's spirit is always high because they are ready to obtain a better future through work and respect for their human, economic, and social rights. "The basis for a solution to the nation's problems and the strengthening of democracy constitute the fundamental pillars to building peace for the peoples, especially for the people of Guatemala and Latin America where exploitation and poor distribution of land is almost a widespread problem. The French official added: "When I return to my country, I will report that the people of Guatemala want to have the right to work and live." Michaux-Chevry's remarks coincide with the United Nations call to the government and Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity to resume their peace talks on 3 to 7 March.

FBIS3-10274_0

Human Rights Associations Denounce Army's Forced Recruitment

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Text] Guatemala City, 2 Mar (NOTIMEX) -- Human rights associations today denounced the Guatemalan Army's reinstating in the past days "the capture or hunting of youths" as part of obligatory military recruitment. The National Commission of Guatemalan Widows [Conavigua] said Army troops have been visiting villages in the interior of the country since last February to recruit youths. Conavigua stated in a communique: "The mothers, sisters, and wives of Guatemala protest once again against the abrupt, indiscriminate manner in which the Army is implementing an obligatory recruitment." According to the report, youths are "captured" when they leave school, mass, the market, or when walking in the square. Conavigua has referred to the Army's recruitment as a "brutal hunt." Conavigua also criticized the Army's never telling families their sons have been taken to military detachments for recruitment; therefore, relatives are kept in the dark for quite a while regarding their whereabouts Conavigua stated the persecutions were conducted such municipalities as Coatepeque, Momostenango, Totonicapan, Patzite, and El Estor, and in the country's interior, as well as in other municipalities in the central Department of Chimaltenango and the western Department of Quetzaltenango. International human rights organizations such as the Guatemalan Human Rights Ombudsman's Office, which is the independent human rights UN specialist in Guatemala, and the Guatemalan Mutual Support Group [GAM] have requested the government regulate or ban the current recruitment practices. GAM consists of Colombia, the United States, Mexico, Norway, Spain, and Venezuela.

FBIS3-10276_1

Congress President Views Currency Devaluation

any further currency devaluation. The only thing devaluation causes is negative collateral effects. For example, it generates more inflation. As we have already stated, inflation is one of the most vulgar taxes we can impose on the Honduran people. In this respect, what should prevail is a willingness to seek different options, which are available to us and will provide more stability to the lempira. Instead of believing we are going to have a lempira that will be constantly devaluated, what we should try to ensure is a more stable currency. We should also seek to implement the most effective measures and join efforts in a national project that will encourage production, increase our exporting capability, stimulate investment, and provide more confidence to the economic sector as well as strengthen our markets. The objective of all of this is to more perfectly ensure economic stability. [Valdez] The devaluation factor will be eliminated, which would entail an official devaluation. What is Congress' position with respect to this? [Flores] With respect to this issue, I believe that since, at this time, the currency is subject to market fluctuations, what should currently prevail is an attempt to strengthen the currency. In other words, the fact that the National Congress has taken steps to approve changes in the customs devaluation factor is aimed more towards eliminating devaluation effects on the country's currency. In other words, what we are attempting to do is make the lempira more secure, confident, and stable. We must try to implement the necessary measures so as to provide the country with more economic stability. [Valdez] Will the National Congress accept any initiatives aimed at devaluating the currency? [Flores] National devaluation is not an initiative that must be presented before the National Congress. Neither is it an initiative which, as rumors says, the Honduran Central Bank expects to take. Currency devaluation occurs in terms of what takes place in a market, like the one that is currently operating, which is precisely a supply and demand market. In reforming the decree, we have attempted to control the customs devaluation factor. We have done so to such an extent as to indicate that before changes are made the National Congress must first approve it. The objective of all this is to inject confidence into the market and to say that far from depreciating the currency, what we want is more stability. Now, the

FBIS3-10286_0

Roundup of Economic Reports

Article Type:BFN [Editorial Report] The following is a compilation of reports on economic activities in Argentina monitored through 3 March. Argentina registered a record production of gold and silver in 1993 with the exploitation of the Agua de Dionisio reserves in Catamarca Province. A total of 605 kg of gold and 6,800 kg of silver were mined in 1993, as compared with 1992 when 406 kg of gold and 5,617 kg of silver were produced. (Buenos Aires NOTICIAS ARGENTINAS in Spanish 0024 GMT 3 Mar 94) The consumer price index was 0 percent, and the wholesale price index registered a 0.2 percent decrease in February. Economic Program Secretary Juan Llach said that February inflation was similar to that reported in December. He said that retail prices had increased 5.9 percent and wholesale prices 1.7 percent over the past 12 months. (Buenos Aires NOTICIAS ARGENTINAS in Spanish 1701 GMT 3 Mar 94) Aerolineas Argentinas, Malaysia Airlines, and the South African Flitestar airline have signed an agreement on the opening of the first route linking Argentina, South Africa, and southeastern Asia. The new route will be inaugurated on 27 March. (Buenos Aires NOTICIAS ARGENTINAS in Spanish 1423 GMT 3 Mar 94)

FBIS3-10291_25

Wasmosy Gives State of Nation Address

be summarized in the following strategy: On the one hand, state reform, which by doing away with the privileges and concessions that characterized past policies, will enable efficiency and the solution of our social problems. On the other hand, the privatization of the economy will grant the private sector an increasingly leading role in the production of goods and services. This will be made by furthering environmentally sound technologies that increase productivity and enhance the quality of life for all citizens, especially those in the social strata and regions that have for centuries been excluded from the benefits of social and economic development. The Social Situation Our most difficult heritage -- all of us know this -- is poverty, unemployment, and educational inequality, with their painful burden of injustice and frustration and their harmful consequences of beggary and crime. Ours is a small community living in a generous land, which is generous because of its size, of the quality of its soil, and its abundant natural resources. We should have long ago become a model society living in well-being. Yet some essential factors of our territory still remain unknown to us. We are still working on the preparation of maps for the classification and use of soils, for drainage, infrastructure, and zoning. We are still distributing land without the basic data from a land survey registry, the preparation of which we are promoting, after awarding the respective contract through an international call for bids, with World Bank financing. That is why I would like to reiterate before this honorable Congress that education is a true obsession for me. This obstinate idea stems from the fact that I am convinced that the limitations of our educational system are, beyond all doubt, the biggest barriers that we have to overcome in order to achieve development. Consequently, education is our first strategic choice, because we consider it a vital factor for the production of wealth. [passage omitted] Another inherited obligation compels us to provide drinking water, highway infrastructure, electric power, sanitary services, and medical assistance to many towns. As you, Messrs. Deputies and Senators, know, our resources are scarce, and have so far been improperly allocated and improperly used, despite the corrective measures that we have begun to adopt. I am in no way trying to sing a litany of pessimism and hopelessness to this honorable Congress. What I did decide to do,

FBIS3-10291_29

Wasmosy Gives State of Nation Address

is in the under 20 age bracket; 26,000 children and teenagers are working on the streets of Asuncion and in the metropolitan area; and 2 percent of the children living in Asuncion are in a high risk situation. Eighty five percent of these children attend school irregularly, while the remaining 15 percent do not attend school at all. The temptation to think about adopting relief measures appears to be irresistible -- and we are in fact thinking about that. We should not deceive ourselves, however, because the solutions we all want will be achieved only through economic growth and development. There are 484,189 handicapped individuals in our country. This figure accounts for 10 percent of our overall population. Being handicapped should not be an insurmountable obstacle for anyone to join society and the job market. In this respect, the public sector has set an example by hiring handicapped individuals, and the private sector should do the same as long as these individuals also do their part in training for production. We are giving special attention to the priority requirement of supplying land and the respective deeds to indigenous communities. As we have seen, education and public health programs envisage special projects intended for indigenous groups so that, without reneging on their culture, they may be integrated into society with the knowledge required by any modern country. To deal with these and other social problems we have proceeded to reorganize many institutions having jurisdiction over these areas. Regarding the public housing program, we have appointed a new management team to overcome the financial crisis we had inherited. I am referring to the main public institution charged with meeting the demands of public housing. The government has appointed a new administration team to overcome the financial crisis left by the previous one. [passage omitted] Another current issue is the one concerning the Social Security Institute (IPS), which is being criticized by several sectors, including unions of IPS workers themselves. An investigation is currently being conducted at the IPS Central Hospital, and studies aimed at gathering current data are being made with the cooperation of the United Nations and the IDB. It is expected that all this will result in profound structural changes and markedly improved services in the short term. Regarding the rural situation, we may also notice that we are still experiencing problems stemming from an outdated, obsolete structure. We are

FBIS3-10291_36

Wasmosy Gives State of Nation Address

which in turn will be instrumental in making the first turbine -- which will operate at an elevation of 76 meters above sea level -- operational in September this year, once we resolve aspects that have to do with the necessary expropriations and resettlement. [passage omitted] The Corpus Christi [hydroelectric dam] project is well located geographically for supplying energy to Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Brazil within Mercosur, and represents a regional electrical energy integration axis. In keeping with the trend toward the privatization of public enterprises, the governments of Paraguay and Argentina agreed to promote the Corpus project through concessions to the private sector. The adverse results of the work carried out on the Pilcomayo River to control the retrogression of the river channel created a situation of great concern with the Argentine Republic, involving a total diversion of the waters toward Argentine territory. This situation lasted two years. Busy diplomatic negotiations have been conducted to have this irregularity soon corrected. [passage omitted] The Paraguayan and Argentine delegations met in Asuncion on 29 and 30 November and on 1 December. Following busy negotiations and a good understanding between the two countries, an agreement was signed. It was agreed to pursue studies, projects, and work on the River Plate basin to guarantee an equal distribution of the waters and prevent the retrogression of the river. [passage omitted] As part of this program provisional corrective work will be implemented this year. To this end, access roads and the infrastructure for camps and warehousing of materials are being built now. Concerning our efforts in the international arena, I would like to especially emphasize one of these. I believe, gentlemen, that we have marked the end of a long history of estrangement from the Republic of Bolivia. We have definitely overcome the obstacles that had prevented a close relationship, and have also achieved a period of spiritual neighborliness. Integration overcomes disruptions and divisions. Now Paraguay and Bolivia can develop projects of great importance for the two countries. The waterway, the geopolitical key to the River Plate, the sound and equal use of the Pilcomayo River, the gas pipeline, the various methods of exchange between two complementary economies, and the Transchaco Highway link are some of the issues uniting Paraguay and Bolivia within prospects for friendship and progress. The restoration of the Chaco War trophies, symbolic of this new relationship between the two countries, was

FBIS3-10306_2

Journalists on Human Rights `Fallacy'

the visa request process keeps encountering dubious cases mostly provoked by economics. I believe we must comment on this because that is the way it is. [Rodriguez] That is very interesting because the international campaign the United States wages against Cuba is precisely that the emigration of a significant number of Cubans to the United Stated is rooted in politics. However, Cuba has always maintained that those leaving do so above all for economic reasons. There is a difference between emigres and refugees. It seems completely normal for Cubans here to admit that they emigrate for economic reasons. However, the United States maintains that they are not emigrants, but refugees, or dissidents, or persecuted, etc. This document proves... [changes thought] They acknowledge: We cannot find a way to prove that there are cases of human rights violations. What we actually find is that people ask to leave Cuba for economic reasons. This is very important. [Recio] I believe this proves once again that those Cubans who wish to move to the United States are held hostage to that policy. I believe this has been a habit of U.S. policy since the beginning of the Revolution. [Roque] You spoke earlier of fallacies. In this case, I believe that the entire U.S. policy toward Cuba is full of fallacies, from beginning to end. Today we are talking about new evidence of the fallacy of U.S. policy toward Cuba based on the document which USINT sent to the U.S. State Department, the CIA, and the Immigration and Naturalization Service. As mentioned earlier, friendly hands delivered this USINT document to Cuban authorities. [Rodriguez] I would like to reevaluate this. We describe that policy as fallacious. However, I consider that adjective very mild because we are speaking of infamy. We are speaking of complete infamy because Cuba is accused, and has always been accused, of violating human rights. They want to place Cuba, in comparative terms, in a category with those places in the world where great human rights violations occur. It is truly offensive to be placed in this position, for them to accuse a country which, like any other, has made mistakes; but something that has never occurred in this country is continuous, massive violations of human rights, as a policy. Rather, the contrary is true. We can say this because the people know this better than anyone. They are witnesses that in

FBIS3-10307_0

Roundup of Economic Activity

Article Type:BFN [Editorial Report] The following is a compilation of fileworthy reports on economic developments in Cuba carried on Havana radio and television in Spanish between 25 February and 4 March. Cuba Vision Network at 0100 GMT on 26 February reports that the Baracoa Cacao Experimental Station has produced 2.5 million hybrid cacao seeds over the past 3 years -- a feat that has positive effects on Cuba's cacao situation. The seeds were planted on 62 caballerias in Guantanamo and on smaller areas in Santiago de Cuba, Holguin, and Granma Provinces. The station's goal this year is to produce over 1 million such seeds. By using these seeds, it is possible to have plants in 4 months, as opposed to 1 year using another method, and the resulting plants are much more productive, with higher yields and greater resistance to diseases and pests. Some of the hybrid seeds that will be produced by the experimental station this year will be distributed to other provinces; in Guantanamo, they will be used to plant 17 caballerias, replant another 79, and supply a portion of the seedlings that will be necessary the following year. Radio Progreso at 1200 GMT on 28 February reports that "the first Cuban firm to specialize in tourism by road has just made its official debut in Havana Province, under the name Tropitur." The firm began operations on 16 October 1993 and intends, in a first phase, to provide cafeteria and bar service and sell flowers and souvenirs on two roads frequently traveled by foreign tourists, the national highway and the Via Blanca, which link important tourist hubs. Tropitur has four units: El Cayuelo and Habana-Club in Santa Cruz del Norte, the Los Morales farm in Nueva Paz, and the (Copei) in Madruga. Radio Reloj at 1509 GMT on 28 February reports that the nation's 1993 laboratory animal needs were fully met by the National Center for the Production of Laboratory Animals, located in Havana. Millions of dollars worth of imports were thus avoided. "Because of the center's high productivity and quality, it was also possible to export a number of animals to Latin America, as well as to make all the concentrated feed for the animals." Radio Rebelde at 1255 GMT on 1 March reports that the sale of construction materials such as cement, ceramics, and marble brought in $14 million in 1993; in this connection, the Transportation

FBIS3-10309_0

Russian Association Chairman on Cooperation

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Text] Lev (Mogilevskiy), chairman of the Russian-Cuban International Economic Commercial Association, said his association will essentially be the strategic group for cooperation between Russia and the largest island in the Antilles. In an interview with the Russian news agency ITAR-TASS, (Mogilevskiy) said the association must solve current problems on the renewal of air and maritime transportation and development of the tourism industry. He added that Russian-Cuban projects include the creation of a mixed consortium to extract and refine oil, petrochemistry, and the manufacture of minerals and fertilizers.

FBIS3-10324_0

Central Bank Denies Plans To Devalue Colon

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [From the "Up to Date" newscast] [Excerpt] Central Reserve Bank President Jose Roberto Orellana Milla has denied the colon will be devalued after the 20 March elections, as has been speculated in the past days. He said there is enough foreign currency in the market to make the currency stable. Edwin Gongora filed a report: [Begin recording] [Gongora] Orellana pointed out that, with the exchange system currently in place, colon devaluations could hardly occur because the system depends on foreign exchange supply and demands in the market. In this respect, Orellana emphasized that there are enough dollars available to prevent currency devaluations. [Orellana] I want to tell you that exports, remittance, foreign aid, and loans generate enough dollars. In short, there are enough dollars to meet all the country's needs. There is no possibility of devaluations because the system prevents them. [passage omitted] [end recording]

FBIS3-10326_0

Bodies Agree Human Rights Violations Increasing

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Report by Nelda Alvaragenga; from the "Facing the Moment" newscast] [Text] Human rights organizations concurred on Friday with UN expert Pedro Nikken that human rights violations have increased in the country. Reynaldo Blanco, of the Salvadoran Human Rights Commission [CDHES], has affirmed violations of fundamental rights are becoming a rising trend. [Begin Blanco recording] I must say there is an upward trend. We have not reached the level that existed before the peace accords were signed. By comparing the period from the time the peace accords were signed to date, say, comparing the first half of 1992 with the second half of that same year, we begin to notice, however, an increase, chiefly regarding the right to live. [end recording] According to Blanco, the increased violations are the result of the impunity with which the state intelligence corps continue to operate, despite the terms established in the peace accords; in this respect, the CDHES representative reiterated the need for the United Nations to keep monitoring the country. Lutheran Bishop Medardo Gomez has concurred, saying death squad-style human rights violations increased during recent months. [Begin Gomez recording] As Salvadorans can attest, people are found murdered in the streets everyday. Taking a closer look at those bodies, we find they show signs of torture, something that reveals the existence of death squads; for that reason, Mr. Nikken is correct in saying human rights are still violated in the country. We cannot remove the country from the list of human rights violators. [end recording] CDHES and the Lutheran Church stated the peace accords and the Truth Commission recommendations should be complied with to achieve stability in the country.

FBIS3-10327_1

Editorial Views Illegal Entry Into U.S.

for a job so they can stay. This of course is until immigration authorities uncover, arrest, and deport them. Previously, it was mostly the Central Americans who struggled to get on the other side, overcoming the risks in Mexican territory. Now, however, the Asians have also joined in; these are the ones who pay the traffickers the higher sums. The flow of Salvadorans to Uncle Sam's land, however, does not decrease. Once there, they hope to gains dollars to send back to their relatives who they have left behind praying for them not to be captured. The trip is not as easy as it seems. Reports from those who have returned, deported from Mexico or the United States, have declared that a trip without documents or with false documents does not cost less than $1,000. The adventure starts with obtaining that sum of money which does not include food or the guarantee they will arrive in the "promised land." Once they are deported they are back to their old activity. Now they have to look for a job, not only to support their family but also to pay back the loans they made to pay the Salvadoran traffickers. It is said that these traffickers have contact with the Mexican traffickers who in turn have contact with those in the United States. As we have pointed out in the past, the situation in the United States is no longer the same; vigilance is now much stricter. The conditions in some states, such as California, is absolutely negative for illegal aliens. One must not forget a deadline has been set for those who are already there in that territory to meet the requirements demanded. That deadline is approaching, and a large number of compatriots have difficulties, created by the same North American authorities. To speak clearly, The United States does not want immigrants, and much less those who try to cross over flouting that nation's laws. Once again we bring up the issue to suggest to the Salvadoran immigration authorities to adopt an official campaign targeted at those who want to live and work in the United States, in order to send help to their families. They must be made to understand that to fall in the hands of the traffickers is to throw away their money, as they will be deported either from Mexico or the United States. Once back they

FBIS3-10340_0

Communications Director Clarifies Devaluation

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Statement by Carlos Calderon, presidency communications director, in Tegucigalpa; from the "Morning Paper" newscast--live] [Text] I only wanted to refer briefly to Jose Andino's statements following an interview with the president. He has said a devaluation was being announced. I believe Jose Andino did not realize the president said exactly the opposite. When asked about this, the president said it was necessary to strengthen our currency by increasing our production. He talked about increasing exports and improving the production of basic grains. This has a dual purpose: to guarantee our food supply and to reduce basic grain imports; this obviously strengthens our currency. Because this is such a sensitive issue, I felt compelled to clarify the issue; in addition, the issue of devaluation has been recently mentioned, and I think it is the result of confusion or misinterpretation, particularly among the media. In fact, I understand what has actually been mentioned, as a possibility, is the official implementation of an exchange rate that already exists in the market. In any case, if this is done, if it ever occurs, it will be the result of a decision adopted by Congress, the body that should decide this issue. Consequently....[pauses] I worry when the media handle carelessly these topics, which are so sensitive to our economy. This could give others wrong ideas, something that would be detrimental to us. A devaluation in this case is a very serious thing, and the president was quite emphatic and clear about that; on the contrary, he said the currency should be strengthened, and we should bear this in mind.

FBIS3-10342_5

Views Future of Peace Negotiations

entire column, the one between San Cristobal and Rancho Nuevo, and it also disorganized the one between Altamirano and San Cristobal. I repeat that we did not know very well what was going on. The quick manner in which we went from the armed confrontation to the table in San Cristobal took us by surprise. We had already said that our delay in organizing ourselves to reach the peace table was precisely because we did not expect it to be so soon. [LA JORNADA] If the way the events developed took you by surprise and you had to improvise or discuss the change of course along the way, are you now prepared to discuss the terms for an agreement in the jungle in such a short period of time? [Marcos] There is not and there will not be any improvisation in the discussion of the agreements because that is something we know how to do. That is how we decided to wage the war. I am going to tell you something. We first started to listen to some voices who said they could not take it any longer. The groups that announced they would go to war alone appeared later. The General Command begin to detect this situation and analyze it and they decide to consult. The analysis of the pros and cons of initiating an uprising is then organized bearing in mind circumstances such as NAFTA, the collapse of the socialist bloc, and events in Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala. On the other hand we took at look at the deaths and the poverty, the increase in the infant mortality rate, the suspension of the distribution of agricultural lands by the reforms to Article 27, and the delegations that went to seek resources and only returned with a bunch of papers. The General Command explained it to the ethnic committees; the ethnic committees explained it in turn to the regional committees; the regional committees explained it to the local committees -- which are located in each village -- and they in turn explained it to the community. They discussed the pros and cons until the community itself decided it was time to take a vote. The number of yes and no votes were counted without regard for age or sex. The reverse process then started: The locals submitted their resolutions to the regional committees; the regional committees submitted them

FBIS3-10349_1

Canadian Foreign Minister Continues Visit Lifting of Cuban Embargo Urged

road of negotiations already started." At the conclusion of the meeting -- which included five members of the Canadian Cabinet, as well as Carlos Hank Gonzalez and Emilio Gamboa Patron, secretaries of agriculture and hydraulic resources and of communications and transportation, respectively -- Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretian's visit was announced for 23-25 March. This will be the first bilateral visit by that official to a nation in the Western Hemisphere since he took office several months ago. Tello announced at the start of the meeting that the political geography of our region has determined that Mexico and Canada pass from the category of "distant friends" to "strategic partners." Together with the United States, he indicated, we will form the most important economy and trade area in the world. During a news conference both foreign ministers took up the Cuban issue. The Canadian said, we think that the situation on the island is more difficult every day for the people who no longer receive aid from the former Soviet Union or from the former socialist bloc nations. Mexico and Canada, Quellet added, continue their cooperation in the health sector and in food supply to help mitigate the situation as much as possible. In our opinion, however, the trade blockade must be solved by the United States. Quellet emphasized that both nations have maintained their ties with Cuba and "the time has come" for that nation's rapprochement with the United States. He gave as an example that "former enemies" such as Washington and Moscow have overcome their problems and now their relations are on another level. He remarked that the same way the United States "turned around" the Vietnam problem and they normalized their relations with China, it is now also time to lift the economic blockade of Cuba. Tello indicated that only Canada and Mexico have maintained relations with the Caribbean nation after it was ousted from the OAS while both nations have voted at international forums in favor of ending the embargo against Havana. Canada and Mexico, Tello stressed, do not accept that a third nation regulate the manner in which they realize their trade relations. Tello was asked: "Some nations speak out in favor of Cuba but they condition it to its `democratization.' What is your opinion?" "We do not condition our position on anything," Tello replied. Meanwhile, the Canadian minister made official his country and Mexico's support

FBIS3-10359_2

Cardoso Views Minimum Wages, Privatization

rate. Nevertheless, he announced that the government might reduce import tariffs as a way of preventing excessive increases. The minister cautioned that it is not easy to negotiate with oligopolies "in Brazil or the United States." Minimum Wages Despite the fact that the government has formed a commission to study a way of increasing the minimum wage's purchasing power by 50 percent by the end of year, Fernando Henrique described this possibility as not viable. In his opinion, the commission will study if minimum wages can be increased, guaranteeing economic stability. Fernando Henrique noted that the decree forming the commission "is a sign that the government is not satisfied with minimum wages, that they are low." He used the occasion to satirize the trade unions that announced strikes against the losses caused by the conversion to the URV system. Public Deficit The minister guaranteed that the government managed to bring the public deficit to zero last year -- both the primary deficit (revenues less expenditures, not including interest) and the operational deficit (including expenditures and interest) -- at the expense of strongly curbing expenditures. He reported that the government now wants to guarantee a zero deficit without withholding the release of appropriations and without using the so-called inflationary tax that totaled about $12 billion last year. The minister hinted that the declining inflation rate will cause problems for state banks, which will have to introduce a strong adjustment to survive in a stabilized economy. He said: "There will be a shower of marches and protests by bank employees, especially Bank of Brazil employees, because the banks will have to streamline." Foreign Exchange Rate Despite the substantial entry of dollars, which causes problems in the management of the quantity of real cruzeiros circulating in the economy, the minister ruled out the possibility of implementing measures to restrict the entry of foreign capital into Brazil. According to the minister, the government has not officially put our national currency at par with the dollar, like in Argentina, in order to allow more leeway in establishing the foreign exchange rate. The goal is to prevent an overvaluation of real cruzeiros against dollars, which would discourage exports. Privatizations The minister announced that the government plans to sell its minority stock in public and private enterprises, including the National Iron and Steel Company, this week. Through privatizations, the government hopes to collect $900 million this year.

FBIS3-10369_0

Roundup of Economic Reports

Article Type:BFN [Editorial Report] The following is a compilation of reports on economic activities in Brazil monitored through 3 March. On 24 February, the Industry, Commerce, and Tourism Ministry reported that record Brazilian imports last year valued at $25.1 billion included capital goods, raw materials, and intermediary products with 71.29 percent; consumer goods, 12.81 percent; and oil and lubricants, 15.9 percent. (Sao Paulo GAZETA MERCANTIL in Portuguese 25 Feb 94 p 3) Brazil's proven oil reserves were 3.8 billion barrels in 1993, 5.5 percent higher than in 1992. Natural gas reserves went from 136.7 billion cubic meters to 137 billion cubic meters. (Sao Paulo GAZETA MERCANTIL in Portuguese 25 Feb 94 p 20) The Brazilian trade balance registered a 7.68 percent drop in January, with exports at $2.749 billion, a drop of 3.17 percent, and imports at $1.788 billion. (Sao Paulo GAZETA MERCANTIL in Portuguese 25 Feb 94 p 3) Brazilian exports to Spain, Bolivia, Paraguay, the United States, and Russia registered a significant increase in January despite a 3 percent drop in total sales compared with January 1993. Exports to Spain rose 45.5 percent; to Bolivia, 48.7 percent; to Paraguay, 43 percent; to the United States, 19.9 percent; and to Russia, 118 percent. (Madrid EFE in Spanish 2031 GMT 25 Feb 94) The Brazilian Iron and Steel Institute reported that national steel production totaled 2.13 million metric tons in January, an increase of 6.8 percent compared with the same month last year. (Sao Paulo FOLHA DE SAO PAULO in Portuguese 26 Feb 94 Section 2 p 2) The Congressional Investigating Committee, CPI, discovered a fraud scheme involving private companies' debts to the National Social Security Institute, INSS. According to the CPI, Argentine Cesar Arrieta is mainly responsible for the fraud that caused a $1.5 billion loss to the institution. The CPI, which has been investigated the diversion of funds from the INSS for seven months, estimates that the irregular payment of pensions in Rio de Janeiro caused other $1.5 billion loss. (Sao Paulo FOLHA DE SAO PAULO in Portuguese 28 Feb 94) Mines and Energy Minister Israel Vargas announced on 2 March that the Brazilian Petroleum Corporation, Petrobras, has discovered four new oil fields that will increase the country's oil reserves by 1 billion barrels. Vargas said the new fields will be producing more than 200,000 barrels of oil per day in three to four years. (Brasilia Voz do

FBIS3-10370_0

Supreme Court Orders Brazilian Citizen's Release

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Text] Tania Maria Cordeiro, a Brazilian citizen, was notified this morning of her release from prison, after having been held in custody for nearly a year. Soon after 1000 local time [1600 GMT], Cordeiro was taken from Rengua Penitentiary to Rancagua Courthouse, where she was officially notified of the Supreme Court ruling granting her release. Cordeiro was arrested by Investigative Police personnel in March on charges of participating in the holdup of a telephone company at Graneros together with two other persons. During an exclusive interview with the "24 Hours" news program, Cordeiro reiterated that she had been tortured and raped at the First Investigative Police Precinct. Judge Alejandro Solis was appointed to investigate her case. The result of the investigation conducted by Judge Solis proved that there was no concrete evidence to support Cordeiro's charges against the Investigative Police. Despite this, eight policemen have been indicted for arbitrary detention, psychological harassment, and counterfeiting documents.

FBIS3-10380_0

`Diplomatic Offensive' To Sign IMF Agreement

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Report by Roberto Larios] [Text] Presidency Minister Antonio Lacayo and Economy Minister Pablo Pereira revealed yesterday that the Public Investments Program, which the government considers "the other pillar" of its Economic Reactivation Plan, could collapse if the agreement with the IMF is not signed as soon as possible. Lacayo also announced the beginning of a "diplomatic offensive" whereby economic cabinet ministers will travel to the United States and Europe to "lobby several people who are politically willing" to help us sign the agreement with the IMF. "We want to sign it because we know that the flow of money for the agricultural cycle and the public investment programs depends on that agreement. However, the IMF has been very strict and unrelenting with us," the government official stated. The ministers of the presidency, economy, construction, and FISE [Emergency Fund For Social Investments] appeared before the Nicaraguan Construction Chamber to present the Public Investments Program for 1994. They said 75 percent of the program depends on the signing of the agreement with the IMF. The Public Investments Program allocates 1.476 billion cordobas for 133 projects. A total of 74 percent of the projects worth 1.087 billion cordobas are dependent upon foreign financing and are subject to the signing of the ESAF [Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility]. The agreement with the IMF is considered to be a sort of "audit" by the international financial organizations to allow the flow of at least $266 million to Nicaragua under the World Bank's so-called "Economic Recovery Credit II." According to the government's estimates, the funds assigned to the Public Investments Program will prompt the construction industry to grow 25 percent -- in addition to its ripple effect on the economy -- and generate 40,000 permanent jobs in 1994. Approximately 56 percent of the program or 825 million cordobas would be allocated for the reactivation and modernization of the country's economic infrastructure; 26 percent or 338 million for the rehabilitation of basic social services; 19 percent or 282 million for the export support infrastructure; and 2 percent to strengthen the central government's administration. Ministers to Apply Pressure As part of the "diplomatic offensive" mentioned by Lacayo, Foreign Cooperation Minister Erwin Kruger traveled to Paris and London this Wednesday to meet with influential world banking leaders. Finance Minister Emilio Pereira, Foreign Minister Ernesto Leal, and Central Bank President Jose Evenor Taboada left for New York

FBIS3-10412_0

Record Import Level in 1993

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [By Jorge Figueroa] [Text] Montevideo, 26 Feb (EFE) -- Favored by a "cheap dollar" and low import duties, the Uruguayan public purchased during 1993 a record figure of imported cars, food, drinks, electric appliances, and clothes. The trend leading Uruguayan companies to purchase imported machinery has continued on a constant basis since 1989, and increased during 1993. This consumption trend and the preference for foreign products have led Uruguay to end 1993 with a $679 million trade deficit, a historical record. Exports, which dropped by 3.4 percent, remain stable between $1.6 and $1.7 billion dollars. The $679 million trade balance deficit is due to a trade opening process combined with a low dollar exchange rate in real terms, which stimulates imports. Uruguay last year imported $543 million worth of electric machines and appliances; $407 million worth of cars; $1.126 billion worth of textiles and clothes; and $300 million worth of food and drinks. Many of the imported products competed with local products, making domestic prices drop. The import of consumer products increased the most (43 percent) during 1993, but capital goods also increased (13 percent), especially in machinery and equipment. The unequal evolution of inflation (52.86 percent during 1993) and the devaluation of the Uruguayan peso in comparison with the dollar (26.88 percent during the same year) made Uruguayan products less competitive. This situation, which has stagnated Uruguayan exports, has generated harsh criticism and claims from Uruguayan exporters. Export volume has remained stable over the last five years, but its composition has changed significantly. While traditional exports (beef, leather, wool) constituted 45 percent of total exports in 1983, they only constituted 26 percent of total exports in 1993. Textile products and beef exports, despite a drop of 16 and 19 percent respectively in 1993 in comparison with 1992, continue to lead sales abroad. As for the principal imports, they continue to be those meant for consumption. Imported car sales hit the record figure of 31,335 in 1993, which is 68 percent more than 1992. Food and drink imports increased by 43 percent. Consumer goods imports increased by 315 percent over the past four years, while capital goods imports increased 144 percent. Brazil became Uruguay's main trade partner in 1993, as Brazilian exports to Uruguay increased by 30 percent while Uruguayan exports to Brazil increased by 24 percent, thus surpassing Argentina which up until now had been

FBIS3-10433_0

Concern Expressed Over Thatcher Visit to Falklands

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Article by Ovidio Bellando] [Text] Although Margaret Thatcher's upcoming visit to Chile was not on the agenda of two-day talks in Santiago between Argentine Vice Foreign Minister Fernando Petrella and his Chilean counterpart, Rodrigo Jesus Diaz Albonico, the quasi-official treatment that Thatcher will receive on her way to the Malvinas Islands reportedly aroused Argentine curiosity. Invited by the Industrial Development Association (Sofofa) and the Center for Political Studies, Thatcher will be in Chile between 20 and 23 March. Thatcher will hold a 45-minute news conference on her administration's economic performance. A (projected) audience of 500 people will contribute with sumptuous fees. Thatcher, her husband, and a small entourage will first visit Brazil, where she will also hold a paid lecture, which seems already to be regular practice for successful former heads of government. Petrella's visit, which will conclude today, had been prepared before the iron lady's visit to Chile was disclosed. Thatcher will visit Chile shortly after President Frei's inauguration on 11 March. Some Argentine circles believe this event represents the Chilean Christian Democratic Party's leaning toward the British Conservative Party's iron hand. The British Conservative Party supports the islanders' unyielding position at a time when our diplomacy is conducting various actions concerning the century-old Malvinas Islands issue. Although this does not seem to be entirely the case, there is a real bias: The official facilities for Thatcher's visit to the Malvinas Islands. Nevertheless, based on pragmatism, the Foreign Ministry is minimizing her visit. Experts say: "In the old days, the political willingness of government officials guided economic cooperation. Nowadays it is the other way around." Trade with Chile was over $1 billion in 1993 (with a small surplus for Chile), not counting the $200 to $400 million contributed by tourism. After Japan and the EEC, Argentina is Chile's number three partner. Chile has invested $1 billion in Argentina. Why, then, these annoyed attitudes? We don't know if Petrella, at his level and with interlocutors who are ending their tenure, managed to make his interlocutors understand "the Argentine surprise." What Argentine diplomatic circles do actually trust in is the equilibrium that Carlos Figueroa, Frei's foreign minister, has demonstrated during his outstanding performance as Chilean ambassador to Argentina; and in Diaz Albonico, who, along with current Interior Minister Enrique Krauss and Edmundo Vargas, the current Chilean ambassador to Argentina, are included on a list of three candidates

FBIS3-10434_0

Officials, Businessmen React to Economic Plan

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Report by LA NACION special correspondent Eduardo De Simone from Madrid] [Text] The Argentine Administration hopes that Brazil's recent economic plan will help shorten the deadlines for integration within the framework of the Common Market of the South [Mercosur]. Many people believe that Brazil's new economic plan will help reduce the economic differences between that country and Argentina. The economic plan which Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Henrique Cardoso launched had been "continuously discussed" with the Argentine economic team due to the excellent relations between the two administrations. Government officials and businessmen who are attending the Seminar on Business Opportunities in Argentina and the Mercosur which will end today in Madrid informally evaluated the repercussions of Brazil's new economic plan. Carlos Sanchez, Argentine Economy Ministry secretary for investments and foreign trade, stated that the implementation of measures which will put an end to the indexing of Brazilian economy and will reduce public deficit is very positive. Sanchez added that concrete effects of these measures will be perceived starting next year and Argentina will benefit from them. The Argentine economic team believes that the measures Cardoso has proposed will increase the value of Brazilian currency and Argentina will benefit from the exchange rate. It is well-known that Argentina has a large deficit in its trade with Brazil. Carlos Leone, chairman of the Argentine Steel Comany Inc. said: "Brazil's program is positive because the exchange rate will be more favorable to Argentina. Leone emphasized that Brazil's decision to curb its fiscal deficit is praiseworthy. Angel Perversi, vice chairman of the Bunge and Born Company stated: "This plan is an improvement over what they now have," but he chose to be cautious. "Let us wait for results," he said. In any case, Perversi's advice was that Brazil's changes should not lull us to sleep. "We should focus on retrofitting and the changes we can make ourselves," he told LA NACION. Argentine Industrial Union President Jorge Blanco Villegas stated: "Trade with Brazil will improve as soon as Brazil improves." He added: "We hope that Brazil will succeed, although it is a very complex plan." Villegas emphasized that "there have been many other programs, all of which have failed." The truth is that most businessmen who came to Madrid are still waiting for a change in the economic situation of the main Mercosur partner. Further negotiations for the establishment of a common

FBIS3-10441_1

`Secret' U.S. Document Disproves Rights Groups

responding to a report by Carl Johan Groth, special rapporteur of the Cuban Human Rights Committee (CDH). After revealing ties between the CIA and such organizations, Sullivan called for greater cooperation between the CIA and the Interests Section in Havana because of the CIA's interest in the campaign against Cuba, which is based on the use of the human rights issue. The number of political prisoners in Cuba is minimal, and after being released, they are not persecuted, discriminated against, or mistreated, the U.S. diplomat said. The official text of the U.S. mission, which operates under the jurisdiction of the Swiss Embassy, states that moreover, most of these former prisoners request visas to escape the country's economic situation, not out of fear of being persecuted or mistreated. The document, which was drafted in January under reference No. H/18422/693-4, admits that the Cuban Government's depoliticization of illegal departures from the country rendered the issue useless for members of those organizations. It added that of the 225 cases presented to the INS during a visit to Havana by INS representatives in December 1993 only 47 claimed to have participated in activities, and of those, one claimed to have been detained for 30 days in the past five years but was unable to prove it. As for the other cases, the document stated that those involved only presented vague descriptions of their participation in those groups and only 19 people were admitted into the refugee program. According to Sullivan, the activists themselves have said that many members of their organizations joined to obtain the advantages in emigrating to the United States with official U.S. support. He specified that leaders of such groups sell apocryphal political guarantees [avales] to people who plan to leave the country. Sullivan described the struggles among those groups when he said that: "regrettably for us, there are claims of fraud and discrimination among the main human rights leaders." He pointed out that in view of an overall decline in the quality of the cases, including those involving former political prisoners, the office will need to work harder at identifying the most useful ones and at introducing additional changes to process them. The diplomat said that to achieve this the Interests Section will continue to be flexible regarding cases registered so far even if they do not comply with all requirements, should they prove to be useful to U.S. interests.

FBIS3-10444_0

U.S. Handling of Human Rights Issue Viewed

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [By Carlos Fazio] [Text] [No dateline as received] -- A method used by the United States over and over again is to make use accustomed to de facto situations. A typical and current example is the "Strong Roads 94" operation throughout Latin America. Using the excuse of building schools and rural roads, the Pentagon is filling the region with soldiers. The goal is to get our people accustomed to the U.S. military presence in the area in order to transform local armies into police forces under Washington's centralized command. A subject that was once in vogue had the same fate: human rights. During the James Carter administration (1977-1981), the United States started to use the human rights issue as a foreign policy instrument. It did this by using a large-scale apparatus of propaganda and reiterations. Since then and every year, the occupant of the Oval Office, acting as a self-imposed judge, jury, and executioner, drafts reports on the observance of such principles in the world, issues "certifications," and punishes transgressors by withholding economic or military aid. This policy, however, has a weak side. In all cases, the human rights arena exists abroad. That is, they do not apply to the United States. That is the getting-accustomed [acostumbramiento] part. Given that the reality differs from the situation reported by the hypocritical media, which is subordinate to the "rumor mills" of the State Department and Pentagon, issues like human rights have become real boomerangs that have hurt the apostles of the White House. This is so because men such as Noam Chomsky, inside the empire, and Gregorio Selser, in Latin America, for years, have denounced the double standard of this scrutinizing and horrifying policy that locates the bad, the ugly, and the dirty living abroad and describes them as outlaws who deserve to be condemned. This comes to light because the Autonomous University of Sinoloa, in Mexico, is presenting a reedited book by Selser (who passed away) entitled The Violation of Human Rights in the United States [La Violacion de los Derechos Humanos en Estados Unidos]. The first edition, which mysteriously vanished, dates back to 1989. It is, however, completely valid today. Many 1989 human rights violators have intensified their actions in the United States today. Groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, Moral Majority, Unification Church, Aryan White Resistance, among others, which were denounced by Selser in

FBIS3-10446_0

Minister Discusses Reorganizing Economic Policy

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [By Zenaida Ferrer Martinez] [Text] Havana, 3 Mar (PL) -- Cuba is reorganizing its domestic and foreign economic policy to cope with the adverse economic and financial situation and to advance in the search for real development that will allow the country's reinsertion into the world economy. Cuban Finance Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez made the above statement during a conference of Higher Education Ministry officials, who have been meeting since last Monday with government and Cuban Communist Party officials. Different economic mechanisms based on new laws are being applied, which, in addition to the changes made to the domestic economy such as the increase in self-employment (with nearly 145,000 people participating since Decree 141 was passed last September), are a solution to the decreasing number of jobs, Rodriguez said. Rodriguez explained that the changes (including the suspension of penalties for possessing dollars, opening to foreign capital, and other changes) could lead to a better year for Cuba from an economic viewpoint, especially a halt to the violent fall experienced between 1989 and 1993. Rodriguez pointed out that the strongest of the measures adopted by the government in this stage is the introduction of agricultural cooperatives. He explained that the exploitation of extensive areas of land using a large amount of imported fertilizers could not be continued following the collapse of the socialist bloc and the disappearance of the USSR (the nation's leading trading partners). We had to make a political decision. We had to link man directly with his work by creating basic cooperative productive units, which are socialist formulas that allow peasants to feel like co-owners of the land. We have reached the conclusion that certain unproductive factories cannot continue to operate, that we must review the payrolls, and that we must make a series of decisions to see that economic mechanisms are successful and that the country's financial situation improves. The minister said all the monetary-fiscal reforms that have been applied and that are being studied are aimed at achieving a stimulating [estimulante] relationship between work and salary now that the country is facing the dual problem of an excess of national currency and foreign exchange. Nevertheless, he predicted that with a change in economic mentality, a halt of the current crisis if not progress in the solution thereof should be observed in the second half of the year. He based his optimism on

FBIS3-10446_2

Minister Discusses Reorganizing Economic Policy

We had to link man directly with his work by creating basic cooperative productive units, which are socialist formulas that allow peasants to feel like co-owners of the land. We have reached the conclusion that certain unproductive factories cannot continue to operate, that we must review the payrolls, and that we must make a series of decisions to see that economic mechanisms are successful and that the country's financial situation improves. The minister said all the monetary-fiscal reforms that have been applied and that are being studied are aimed at achieving a stimulating [estimulante] relationship between work and salary now that the country is facing the dual problem of an excess of national currency and foreign exchange. Nevertheless, he predicted that with a change in economic mentality, a halt of the current crisis if not progress in the solution thereof should be observed in the second half of the year. He based his optimism on the possibility of having a superior sugar harvest (or a less costly one), the increase in the price of sugar and nickel (and a recovery in the production of this mineral, which is in high international demand), the substitution of imports, and a significant increase in agriculture. In this regard, he also mentioned oil exploration, restoring electricity to previous levels, revising storage methods for agricultural products, and labor reforms, which are essential to control a relative or absolute labor force surplus. He said that Cuba has not abandoned its full employment policy, but to avoid identifying it with labor idleness, alternatives for state, cooperative, or self-employment work have been opened, accompanied by strict order and discipline. Rodriguez said Cuba's degree of economic opening to the outside will always be high, with tourism as the basic program, followed by the export of nontraditional products, the export of established products like sugar, nickel, and tobacco, and with expeditious changes to reincorporate the country into the world economy. Rodriguez said the country will remain open to foreign capital and stated that 129 associations with this type of financing are currently operating in Cuba. He said that the most serious obstacle in the way of this program is the embargo that the United States has been applying to the country for more than three decades. To this must be added the country's foreign debt, which equals approximately $7 billion. There are solutions, but they are extremely complex, Rodriguez concluded.

FBIS3-10447_0

Official Predicts Economic Improvement

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Text] Havana, 4 Mar (PL) -- Osvaldo Martinez, the president of the Parliament's economic commission, anticipates that the Cuban economy will improve during the second half of 1994 because of the influence of structural changes in the agricultural sector and the positive reaction by some sectors. According to a Radio Rebelde report, Martinez, who is also the director of the World Economy Research Center, argued in a conference with journalists and students at Havana University that the worst was left behind in 1993 and predicted that the second half of 1994 will show improvement. Martinez stated that the improvement will become evident through a stop in the fall of economic indicators, a trend that arose following the collapse of the European Socialist Bloc and the Soviet Union between 1989 and 1991, as well as through modest increases in some strategic sectors. Martinez added that the consolidation of the Basic Cooperative Production Units [UBPC] with slight increases in food production and a significant reduction in costs will begin to exert a positive influence and so will the financial reorganization measures that will be implemented this year. The UBPC operate on state property and are exploited by groups of workers who employ production means that were bought from the former agricultural-livestock enterprises. The UBPC's purpose is based on profitability and economic efficiency. Martinez clarified that the sugar harvest and nickel production, whose international prices are starting to pick up, will constitute major sources of foreign currency as well as modest increases in the sale of pharmaceuticals. Martinez said that the tourism industry, which has experienced a steady growth, plays a pivotal role in this process and added that this industry is expected to receive 1 million visitors in 1994 and earn $350 million in net profits. Martinez concluded that these positive factors lead him to predict that the national economy will perform better as of the second half of 1994.

FBIS3-10454_0

Magazine Concerned Over Voting Predictions

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Report by David Carrizales] [Text] Monterrey, Nuevo Leon State, 1 Mar -- Federico Reyes Heroles, director of ESTE PAIS magazine, said today when commenting on a poll by this magazine that it is a matter of utmost seriousness for the country's politics when 40 percent of Mexicans believe there will be electoral fraud in the August elections, because whoever wins will have governability problems. The political analyst added that according to another poll held in December, 41 percent of the electorate would vote for Luis Donaldo Colosio, 20 percent for Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, and only 11 percent for Diego Fernandez de Cevallos. Nevertheless, he said these results were not published and now none of the political parties that support these candidates (PRI, Institutional Revolutionary Party; PRD, Party of the Democratic Revolution; and PAN, National Action Party, respectively) want any further polls. He explained that the reasons for this are that the PRI's Colosio has sold the idea that he has a 65-70 percent backing, the PRD bases its campaign on an alleged democratic switch that has not taken place so far, and PAN does not want to admit that its rapprochement with the government has cost the party about eight popularity points. Reyes Heroles, who inaugurated a cycle of conferences programmed by Monterrey's Institute of Technology and Higher Studies, which includes the participation of all presidential candidates, said that for some people it seems surprising that 61 percent of the population backs in one way or another the Zapatist National Liberation Army (EZLN), but this can be explained when one takes into account that the government itself cultivated a cult for Emiliano Zapata and the Mexican revolution.

FBIS3-10462_1

Article Defines Social Security, Subsidies

State Committee for Finance, said that subsidies to cover losses in which the consequences of the adverse economic situation are factors--by creating substantial declines in efficiency and productivity--have risen more than projected, reaching 4.6 billion pesos in 1993, 73 percent more than in 1989. This impacts heavily on the budget which has a deficit, that is, an imbalance between income and spending, which must be covered. We have products that need to be subsidized, as their production cost is high, so that the population can obtain them at a minimum and affordable price. Milk is an example of this; it sells at 25 centavos per liter, while its actual cost is much higher. Social Security Subsidies Subsidies for social security purposes are another matter. They are defined as monetary compensation granted until a worker's recovery or rehabilitation when he or she is unable to work due to ordinary illnesses and accidents and job-related illnesses or accidents. The absence is either temporary or partial in nature. For each type of cause the magnitude of the subsidy ranges between 50 and 90 percent of the worker's average daily salary. These subsidies come from social security funds, and have become a major drain on the budget. Last year Cuba spent somewhat over 1.6 billion pesos for social security, the highest figure ever. It is true that some illnesses have appeared, like optic neuritis, causing numerous workers to receive appropriate medical treatment and rest. But there have also been abuses concealed by some doctors' complacency and kindness, allowing people to get subsidies and time off work that they did not need. By not producing or providing any service, nothing was given in exchange, and that burdened our social funds even more heavily. The final point is, in my view, the most disturbing factor about compensation for illnesses or accidents: that we may lose control of their use and drain the already overloaded social protection system. We need to keep these costs within reasonable and necessary limits, for it would be an abuse and negligence, especially now, to waste what we have for situations that are difficult for anyone. But it needs to be made quite clear, both to Josefa and her coworker and other people as well, that there will be no elimination of social security subsidies here. This guarantee arises from the human essence of our socialist system. It was an old aspiration

FBIS3-10462_2

Article Defines Social Security, Subsidies

the consequences of the adverse economic situation are factors--by creating substantial declines in efficiency and productivity--have risen more than projected, reaching 4.6 billion pesos in 1993, 73 percent more than in 1989. This impacts heavily on the budget which has a deficit, that is, an imbalance between income and spending, which must be covered. We have products that need to be subsidized, as their production cost is high, so that the population can obtain them at a minimum and affordable price. Milk is an example of this; it sells at 25 centavos per liter, while its actual cost is much higher. Social Security Subsidies Subsidies for social security purposes are another matter. They are defined as monetary compensation granted until a worker's recovery or rehabilitation when he or she is unable to work due to ordinary illnesses and accidents and job-related illnesses or accidents. The absence is either temporary or partial in nature. For each type of cause the magnitude of the subsidy ranges between 50 and 90 percent of the worker's average daily salary. These subsidies come from social security funds, and have become a major drain on the budget. Last year Cuba spent somewhat over 1.6 billion pesos for social security, the highest figure ever. It is true that some illnesses have appeared, like optic neuritis, causing numerous workers to receive appropriate medical treatment and rest. But there have also been abuses concealed by some doctors' complacency and kindness, allowing people to get subsidies and time off work that they did not need. By not producing or providing any service, nothing was given in exchange, and that burdened our social funds even more heavily. The final point is, in my view, the most disturbing factor about compensation for illnesses or accidents: that we may lose control of their use and drain the already overloaded social protection system. We need to keep these costs within reasonable and necessary limits, for it would be an abuse and negligence, especially now, to waste what we have for situations that are difficult for anyone. But it needs to be made quite clear, both to Josefa and her coworker and other people as well, that there will be no elimination of social security subsidies here. This guarantee arises from the human essence of our socialist system. It was an old aspiration of generations of workers and was made a reality by the revolution.

FBIS3-10463_2

Jewish Culture, Israeli Trade Reported in Havana

it is convenient. "What worries me," said the Communist party's official responsible for religions, Caridad Diego, "is that with all the foreign aid to the Jewish community, a privileged class may be created here." We talked in the meeting hall filled with gifts from heads of states and party leaders from all over the world. On the wall was a gilded map of Palestine, a gift from Arafat, with not a single Israeli city marked on it. Diego spoke of the fear of hostility toward Jews on the side of Cubans who are not lucky enough to get aid from overseas. The situation is truly hard. There are hardly any shops in the streets of Havana. Occasionally you see an old Chevrolet from the prerevolutionary days, or a Russian "Lada," and you see many, many bicycles. Those who cannot even get one of these, drag their feet around the streets of the city. Without the Russians, there are no subsidies and no fuel. Without fuel, there is no electricity, sometimes for most of the hours of the day and night. Without electricity, factories are closed. This domino has destroyed what the revolution built, and what Castro does have to give the Cubans are sayings written in the colors of the Cuban flag on every free wall: slogans like "Cuba together," or "We will win." But what do the Cubans say? "You don't go to the market with slogans." Israel does not have diplomatic relations with Cuba. But in the economic realm, the Israelis have already put a foot on this Caribbean island. There are at least half a dozen Israelis doing business here, including former adviser to the prime minister on security matters, Rafi Eitan. The most thriving project is that of an Israeli investment group that grows oranges here for export. Israelis living in Panama import a line of products from Cuba, utilizing the cheap workforce and the government incentives. In the black market, it is easy to get products like Maccabee beer or Telma soup nuts, imported by an Israeli businessman who lives here. The Cubans, who are looking for every investor they can get, are ready to overlook the symbol of the State of Israel on the passport. "We know the Israelis are here," a senior official in the Cuban foreign trade ministry told us this week. "We would not be against seeing more. We need investors."

FBIS3-10464_0

Concern Expressed Over Thatcher Visit to Falklands

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Article by Ovidio Bellando] [Text] Although Margaret Thatcher's upcoming visit to Chile was not on the agenda of two-day talks in Santiago between Argentine Vice Foreign Minister Fernando Petrella and his Chilean counterpart, Rodrigo Jesus Diaz Albonico, the quasi-official treatment that Thatcher will receive on her way to the Malvinas Islands reportedly aroused Argentine curiosity. Invited by the Industrial Development Association (Sofofa) and the Center for Political Studies, Thatcher will be in Chile between 20 and 23 March. Thatcher will hold a 45-minute news conference on her administration's economic performance. A (projected) audience of 500 people will contribute with sumptuous fees. Thatcher, her husband, and a small entourage will first visit Brazil, where she will also hold a paid lecture, which seems already to be regular practice for successful former heads of government. Petrella's visit, which will conclude today, had been prepared before the iron lady's visit to Chile was disclosed. Thatcher will visit Chile shortly after President Frei's inauguration on 11 March. Some Argentine circles believe this event represents the Chilean Christian Democratic Party's leaning toward the British Conservative Party's iron hand. The British Conservative Party supports the islanders' unyielding position at a time when our diplomacy is conducting various actions concerning the century-old Malvinas Islands issue. Although this does not seem to be entirely the case, there is a real bias: The official facilities for Thatcher's visit to the Malvinas Islands. Nevertheless, based on pragmatism, the Foreign Ministry is minimizing her visit. Experts say: "In the old days, the political willingness of government officials guided economic cooperation. Nowadays it is the other way around." Trade with Chile was over $1 billion in 1993 (with a small surplus for Chile), not counting the $200 to $400 million contributed by tourism. After Japan and the EEC, Argentina is Chile's number three partner. Chile has invested $1 billion in Argentina. Why, then, these annoyed attitudes? We don't know if Petrella, at his level and with interlocutors who are ending their tenure, managed to make his interlocutors understand "the Argentine surprise." What Argentine diplomatic circles do actually trust in is the equilibrium that Carlos Figueroa, Frei's foreign minister, has demonstrated during his outstanding performance as Chilean ambassador to Argentina; and in Diaz Albonico, who, along with current Interior Minister Enrique Krauss and Edmundo Vargas, the current Chilean ambassador to Argentina, are included on a list of three candidates

FBIS3-10465_0

Officials, Businessmen React to Economic Plan

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Report by LA NACION special correspondent Eduardo De Simone from Madrid] [Text] The Argentine Administration hopes that Brazil's recent economic plan will help shorten the deadlines for integration within the framework of the Common Market of the South [Mercosur]. Many people believe that Brazil's new economic plan will help reduce the economic differences between that country and Argentina. The economic plan which Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Henrique Cardoso launched had been "continuously discussed" with the Argentine economic team due to the excellent relations between the two administrations. Government officials and businessmen who are attending the Seminar on Business Opportunities in Argentina and the Mercosur which will end today in Madrid informally evaluated the repercussions of Brazil's new economic plan. Carlos Sanchez, Argentine Economy Ministry secretary for investments and foreign trade, stated that the implementation of measures which will put an end to the indexing of Brazilian economy and will reduce public deficit is very positive. Sanchez added that concrete effects of these measures will be perceived starting next year and Argentina will benefit from them. The Argentine economic team believes that the measures Cardoso has proposed will increase the value of Brazilian currency and Argentina will benefit from the exchange rate. It is well-known that Argentina has a large deficit in its trade with Brazil. Carlos Leone, chairman of the Argentine Steel Comany Inc. said: "Brazil's program is positive because the exchange rate will be more favorable to Argentina. Leone emphasized that Brazil's decision to curb its fiscal deficit is praiseworthy. Angel Perversi, vice chairman of the Bunge and Born Company stated: "This plan is an improvement over what they now have," but he chose to be cautious. "Let us wait for results," he said. In any case, Perversi's advice was that Brazil's changes should not lull us to sleep. "We should focus on retrofitting and the changes we can make ourselves," he told LA NACION. Argentine Industrial Union President Jorge Blanco Villegas stated: "Trade with Brazil will improve as soon as Brazil improves." He added: "We hope that Brazil will succeed, although it is a very complex plan." Villegas emphasized that "there have been many other programs, all of which have failed." The truth is that most businessmen who came to Madrid are still waiting for a change in the economic situation of the main Mercosur partner. Further negotiations for the establishment of a common

FBIS3-10472_1

`Secret' U.S. Document Disproves Rights Groups

responding to a report by Carl Johan Groth, special rapporteur of the Cuban Human Rights Committee (CDH). After revealing ties between the CIA and such organizations, Sullivan called for greater cooperation between the CIA and the Interests Section in Havana because of the CIA's interest in the campaign against Cuba, which is based on the use of the human rights issue. The number of political prisoners in Cuba is minimal, and after being released, they are not persecuted, discriminated against, or mistreated, the U.S. diplomat said. The official text of the U.S. mission, which operates under the jurisdiction of the Swiss Embassy, states that moreover, most of these former prisoners request visas to escape the country's economic situation, not out of fear of being persecuted or mistreated. The document, which was drafted in January under reference No. H/18422/693-4, admits that the Cuban Government's depoliticization of illegal departures from the country rendered the issue useless for members of those organizations. It added that of the 225 cases presented to the INS during a visit to Havana by INS representatives in December 1993 only 47 claimed to have participated in activities, and of those, one claimed to have been detained for 30 days in the past five years but was unable to prove it. As for the other cases, the document stated that those involved only presented vague descriptions of their participation in those groups and only 19 people were admitted into the refugee program. According to Sullivan, the activists themselves have said that many members of their organizations joined to obtain the advantages in emigrating to the United States with official U.S. support. He specified that leaders of such groups sell apocryphal political guarantees [avales] to people who plan to leave the country. Sullivan described the struggles among those groups when he said that: "regrettably for us, there are claims of fraud and discrimination among the main human rights leaders." He pointed out that in view of an overall decline in the quality of the cases, including those involving former political prisoners, the office will need to work harder at identifying the most useful ones and at introducing additional changes to process them. The diplomat said that to achieve this the Interests Section will continue to be flexible regarding cases registered so far even if they do not comply with all requirements, should they prove to be useful to U.S. interests.

FBIS3-10475_0

U.S. Handling of Human Rights Issue Viewed

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [By Carlos Fazio] [Text] [No dateline as received] -- A method used by the United States over and over again is to make use accustomed to de facto situations. A typical and current example is the "Strong Roads 94" operation throughout Latin America. Using the excuse of building schools and rural roads, the Pentagon is filling the region with soldiers. The goal is to get our people accustomed to the U.S. military presence in the area in order to transform local armies into police forces under Washington's centralized command. A subject that was once in vogue had the same fate: human rights. During the James Carter administration (1977-1981), the United States started to use the human rights issue as a foreign policy instrument. It did this by using a large-scale apparatus of propaganda and reiterations. Since then and every year, the occupant of the Oval Office, acting as a self-imposed judge, jury, and executioner, drafts reports on the observance of such principles in the world, issues "certifications," and punishes transgressors by withholding economic or military aid. This policy, however, has a weak side. In all cases, the human rights arena exists abroad. That is, they do not apply to the United States. That is the getting-accustomed [acostumbramiento] part. Given that the reality differs from the situation reported by the hypocritical media, which is subordinate to the "rumor mills" of the State Department and Pentagon, issues like human rights have become real boomerangs that have hurt the apostles of the White House. This is so because men such as Noam Chomsky, inside the empire, and Gregorio Selser, in Latin America, for years, have denounced the double standard of this scrutinizing and horrifying policy that locates the bad, the ugly, and the dirty living abroad and describes them as outlaws who deserve to be condemned. This comes to light because the Autonomous University of Sinoloa, in Mexico, is presenting a reedited book by Selser (who passed away) entitled The Violation of Human Rights in the United States [La Violacion de los Derechos Humanos en Estados Unidos]. The first edition, which mysteriously vanished, dates back to 1989. It is, however, completely valid today. Many 1989 human rights violators have intensified their actions in the United States today. Groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, Moral Majority, Unification Church, Aryan White Resistance, among others, which were denounced by Selser in

FBIS3-10477_0

Minister Discusses Reorganizing Economic Policy

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [By Zenaida Ferrer Martinez] [Text] Havana, 3 Mar (PL) -- Cuba is reorganizing its domestic and foreign economic policy to cope with the adverse economic and financial situation and to advance in the search for real development that will allow the country's reinsertion into the world economy. Cuban Finance Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez made the above statement during a conference of Higher Education Ministry officials, who have been meeting since last Monday with government and Cuban Communist Party officials. Different economic mechanisms based on new laws are being applied, which, in addition to the changes made to the domestic economy such as the increase in self-employment (with nearly 145,000 people participating since Decree 141 was passed last September), are a solution to the decreasing number of jobs, Rodriguez said. Rodriguez explained that the changes (including the suspension of penalties for possessing dollars, opening to foreign capital, and other changes) could lead to a better year for Cuba from an economic viewpoint, especially a halt to the violent fall experienced between 1989 and 1993. Rodriguez pointed out that the strongest of the measures adopted by the government in this stage is the introduction of agricultural cooperatives. He explained that the exploitation of extensive areas of land using a large amount of imported fertilizers could not be continued following the collapse of the socialist bloc and the disappearance of the USSR (the nation's leading trading partners). We had to make a political decision. We had to link man directly with his work by creating basic cooperative productive units, which are socialist formulas that allow peasants to feel like co-owners of the land. We have reached the conclusion that certain unproductive factories cannot continue to operate, that we must review the payrolls, and that we must make a series of decisions to see that economic mechanisms are successful and that the country's financial situation improves. The minister said all the monetary-fiscal reforms that have been applied and that are being studied are aimed at achieving a stimulating [estimulante] relationship between work and salary now that the country is facing the dual problem of an excess of national currency and foreign exchange. Nevertheless, he predicted that with a change in economic mentality, a halt of the current crisis if not progress in the solution thereof should be observed in the second half of the year. He based his optimism on

FBIS3-10477_2

Minister Discusses Reorganizing Economic Policy

We had to link man directly with his work by creating basic cooperative productive units, which are socialist formulas that allow peasants to feel like co-owners of the land. We have reached the conclusion that certain unproductive factories cannot continue to operate, that we must review the payrolls, and that we must make a series of decisions to see that economic mechanisms are successful and that the country's financial situation improves. The minister said all the monetary-fiscal reforms that have been applied and that are being studied are aimed at achieving a stimulating [estimulante] relationship between work and salary now that the country is facing the dual problem of an excess of national currency and foreign exchange. Nevertheless, he predicted that with a change in economic mentality, a halt of the current crisis if not progress in the solution thereof should be observed in the second half of the year. He based his optimism on the possibility of having a superior sugar harvest (or a less costly one), the increase in the price of sugar and nickel (and a recovery in the production of this mineral, which is in high international demand), the substitution of imports, and a significant increase in agriculture. In this regard, he also mentioned oil exploration, restoring electricity to previous levels, revising storage methods for agricultural products, and labor reforms, which are essential to control a relative or absolute labor force surplus. He said that Cuba has not abandoned its full employment policy, but to avoid identifying it with labor idleness, alternatives for state, cooperative, or self-employment work have been opened, accompanied by strict order and discipline. Rodriguez said Cuba's degree of economic opening to the outside will always be high, with tourism as the basic program, followed by the export of nontraditional products, the export of established products like sugar, nickel, and tobacco, and with expeditious changes to reincorporate the country into the world economy. Rodriguez said the country will remain open to foreign capital and stated that 129 associations with this type of financing are currently operating in Cuba. He said that the most serious obstacle in the way of this program is the embargo that the United States has been applying to the country for more than three decades. To this must be added the country's foreign debt, which equals approximately $7 billion. There are solutions, but they are extremely complex, Rodriguez concluded.

FBIS3-10478_0

Official Predicts Economic Improvement

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Text] Havana, 4 Mar (PL) -- Osvaldo Martinez, the president of the Parliament's economic commission, anticipates that the Cuban economy will improve during the second half of 1994 because of the influence of structural changes in the agricultural sector and the positive reaction by some sectors. According to a Radio Rebelde report, Martinez, who is also the director of the World Economy Research Center, argued in a conference with journalists and students at Havana University that the worst was left behind in 1993 and predicted that the second half of 1994 will show improvement. Martinez stated that the improvement will become evident through a stop in the fall of economic indicators, a trend that arose following the collapse of the European Socialist Bloc and the Soviet Union between 1989 and 1991, as well as through modest increases in some strategic sectors. Martinez added that the consolidation of the Basic Cooperative Production Units [UBPC] with slight increases in food production and a significant reduction in costs will begin to exert a positive influence and so will the financial reorganization measures that will be implemented this year. The UBPC operate on state property and are exploited by groups of workers who employ production means that were bought from the former agricultural-livestock enterprises. The UBPC's purpose is based on profitability and economic efficiency. Martinez clarified that the sugar harvest and nickel production, whose international prices are starting to pick up, will constitute major sources of foreign currency as well as modest increases in the sale of pharmaceuticals. Martinez said that the tourism industry, which has experienced a steady growth, plays a pivotal role in this process and added that this industry is expected to receive 1 million visitors in 1994 and earn $350 million in net profits. Martinez concluded that these positive factors lead him to predict that the national economy will perform better as of the second half of 1994.

FBIS3-10486_0

Menem Views Political, Economic Situation

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Interview with President Carlos Menem by Jose Olmo y Losada in Buenos Aires; date not given] [Excerpts] [passage omitted] [Olmo] Are you concerned about the image of yourself and your government which may exist in Spain? [Menem] I do not know what image of myself or my government may exist in Spain, but I believe that Argentina has become a center of attraction internationally. It is one of the countries with the highest growth rates in the world, in third place after China and Thailand, and, with respect to the Western world, one of the most developed of the past few years. Investments are still coming in, and there is a very good level of wages. The highest wages in the Americas (if we leave out the United States) are paid in the Argentine Republic. Poverty has fallen spectacularly, to such an extent that from 30 percent structural poverty in 1989 we are now at 12 percent. And marginal poverty, which is hardship, has fallen from 10 percent in 1989, when I took office, to 2 percent at present. Stability persists, and inflation, if we measure it from January of last year to January 1994, does not exceed 6.5 percent. According to the budget forecasts, inflation will not exceed 4.5 percent this year. There is peace; there is calm. I do not know what image people in Spain may have of Argentina and my government, and whether this is due to the dishonesty of some section of my country's news media, which may have influenced Spain, but the impression which we have is that Argentina's image in the world is excellent. Personal Image [Olmo] Do you believe that there is some anti-Menemist lobby in Spain which obstructs Spanish-Argentine relations? [Menem] I have no knowledge of this, but it could be so. If we are speaking of anti-Menemism, we would have to speak of anti-Argenitinism. This government represents Argentina, is the government elected by the people, and I can see no reason why this kind of situation should exist. It may exist, but this does not harm in the slightest the image of Argentina or its government -- one of the most progressive in the world. [passage omitted] [Olmo] Is there subversion in Argentina? Could another Chiapas happen here? [Menem] There is no subversion in Argentina. Some kind of tinge of subversion has occurred -- the case

FBIS3-10486_2

Menem Views Political, Economic Situation

of Santiago del Estero -- but measures have been adopted and this is under investigation. But there is no subversion in the Argentine Republic; it does not exist, and it is absolutely impossible for what happened in Chiapas to happen here. The Mexican Government itself has acknowledged the extreme poverty in which those communities in Chiapas are living, but, moreover, there is an ethnic problem and a religious problem there; something that is not the case in Argentina. There is no possibility of subversion here. What happened in Santiago del Estero was caused by some kind of infiltration, and this explains the remarks of Daniel Ortega -- the Sandinist leader -- in Cuba a few days ago, in which he justified armed struggle and gave Chiapas and Santiago del Estero as examples. What happened in Santiago del Estero was facilitated by the terrible political administration. The province's leaders were not paying wages, or those of the highest ranking officials were increased unduly, leaving those of the other public employees very low. But the situation has now been completely restored to normal, and if you look at a scale of the wages earned by Argentine teachers, you will be able to ascertain that those of Santiago del Estero are now the highest in the country. [Olmo] Why is nothing as yet known of the alleged activists who caused the incidents in Santiago del Estero? [Menem] This is being investigated, and Daniel Ortega's statements exempt me from making any comment. If Daniel Ortega gives Santiago del Estero as an example, it is because there were people there who were brought in by these elements; death traffickers, because subversion is death trafficking. What they cannot achieve within the framework of democracy they are trying to impose by force. You cannot justify armed struggle like that for no particular reason. Clearly, there were people of this kind, infiltrated into the uprising, in Chiapas, too. Conflict with Chile [Olmo] Chilean flags have been burned in Argentina and Argentine flags in Chile. The cause is the territorial dispute over Laguna del Desierto. Will this tension between the two countries ever cease? [Menem] This matter of the Chilean flags burned in Argentina was a result of some trade union leaders' irrationality and uncouthness, but in any event those same leaders later expressed their regret at what happened with an apology to the Chilean people. We deem this

FBIS3-10488_0

Opposes Oil Sales to Cuba

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Text] Santa Fe de Bogota, 7 Mar (EFE) -- Conservative presidential hopeful Andres Pastrana today criticized the government's decision to establish commercial relations with Cuba without first demanding a pronouncement by Cuban President Fidel Castro condemning the Colombian guerrillas. Pastrana noted that Castro has not made any pledges to Colombia, and he added that in order to strengthen commercial relations, which were interrupted more than a decade ago because of Cuban support for the Colombian guerrillas, the Cuban leader must clarify his relationship with the guerrillas. The presidential hopeful recalled that the top leader of the Army of National Liberation -- the former Spanish priest Manuel Perez -- has repeatedly said his movement is Cuba's mouthpiece in Colombia, and this, in turn, requires that Castro make a statement. Speaking in the town of Rioacha, Guajira, Pastrana said the resumption of commercial relations harms Colombia more than it benefits Cuba. "As everybody knows, a boycott of Colombian products in the United States has been announced," the conservative hopeful indicated. Last week, after the Colombian Government announced it will sell 20,000 barrels of oil a day to Cuba, the decision prompted a strong reaction among Cuban exiles in Miami, who have launched a campaign in the United States against the purchase of Colombian products.

FBIS3-10493_2

Daily Views New U.S. Interest, Kantor's Actions

some ancient obstacles. The political stabilization program, the political implications of the IMF's support or rejection of the anti-inflationary program, and the increasingly tight deadlines for the signing of an agreement by Brazil with the creditor banks will force the Treasury to make decisions as of this week. Another factor is the defects that have surfaced during the past few months in countries chosen by the United States as models for Latin American reform: The Chiapas rebellion in Mexico and revolts and signs of problems in the Argentine economy have revealed the weakness of the countries chosen as models and have prompted a reassessment of the region. The domestic debate has hardly started. High-ranking government officials, such as Kantor, who currently uphold a more constructive and hopeful attitude toward Brazil admit that their stance is not predominant. But the possibility of a change of attitude does exist. A recent internal analysis of the U.S. State Department implicitly appreciated the warning made by former Brazilian Ambassador to Washington Rubens Ricupero in December 1992 as he criticized the negative stereotype adopted by the United States regarding Brazil in a speech. Ricupero warned that this simplistic approach prevented the United States from truly valuing the democratic character of the country's transformation process. Focusing his attention on Chiapas and the meager growth experienced by Mexico and Argentina, the analysis' author resorted to former President Richard Nixon's famous theory and wrote that, in conclusion, the consolidation of political democracy and a free market economy in the region, upheld by Washington, is subject to what happens in Brazil. The same theory was upheld last week by economist Albert Fishlow of California University. "The future of the hemisphere's economic integration will not be determined by the debate regarding Chile or Argentina's entry into NAFTA but by a future agreement to substantially reduce commercial tariffs between Brazil and the United States," asserted Fishlow. He regards that agreement as a natural result of the current stabilization program's success. The geo-economic logic of the search for markets characteristic of Bill Clinton's foreign policy also has contributed to bringing Brazil back on to Washington's radar. For obvious reasons the U.S. Commerce Department has placed Brazil on the list of the 10 top emerging markets in the world, for which it is preparing specific penetration strategies. With an stable economy, development, and an increasing number of consumers, Brazil now fits U.S. interests.

FBIS3-10494_2

Editorial Views Short-Term Effects of Super 301

the government in Tokyo to give up a type of protectionism that goes against international law. We recently observed an example of Japanese behavior when the Japanese Government opened the borders to foreign rice. No one in the country bought the imported rice even though it was cheaper, thus demonstrating the Japanese people's great solidarity with its farmers. This does not mean, however, that arguments about what can be considered abuses (which certainly exist) within Japanese protectionism, should be avoided at the OMC. By attempting to assume a bilateral trade policy, the United States is -- without recognizing that an international organization and not its president should decide if a trade partner is violating the GATT norms or its spirit -- encouraging a conflict. This kind of isolation on Washington's behalf is a kind of imperialism which may not be very well received by other countries. It must also be pointed out that the United States has been arrogant toward Japan, which is experiencing a difficult moment both in the economic and political field. The best results cannot be attained through bilateral negotiations based on power positions, especially regarding Japan which is now becoming aware of its political force... We must add that not all U.S. citizens support the application of sanctions against Japan which, after Canada, is the second biggest client of the United States -- buying from it $47 billion worth of goods and which is also its second supplier -- by which it has been of service to the United Sates by forcing it to increase productivity. It must be pointed out that the sanctions announced will not produce an immediate effect: The first list of products that will be object of sanctions will be published by the end of September. Only then will the Tokyo government react by imposing restrictions on U.S. products -- probably agricultural products, which will harm the U.S. primary production sector, which has great political influence. The issue is that taking into consideration the sanctions that will be effective as of October, the White House decision causes an immediate effect: It has brought down the prices of some agricultural products, among them soybean. It is possible that in the long term Brazil may gain from a trade war between these two large world powers, but we will be affected by the drop in some prices. We will then be able to see

FBIS3-10505_28

Castro Comments on Radio Rebelde History

the April strike was imposed on us. Of course, we accepted it and were equally responsible for the April strike. But we did not yet have sufficient military forces with which to support a general strike. There was a meeting of the movement, and the movement's board said: Well, we were up in the mountains and could not very well see the situation on the plains; there were subjective factors, and for this reason... [changes thought] We were there... [changes thought] They were talking about peace. Yes, we accepted peace; we would not reject it. But we demanded a condition -- that the eastern provinces be handed over to us with all their weapons. We were willing to hold elections [words indistinct], but hand over the eastern provinces and all their weapons. That is, our conditions were impossible that could affect the enemy [as heard]. We did not reject any peace proposal, although we did have a very clear idea of the Revolution. And to make a revolution, we had to have the people. We were very clear on this. The April strike failed, and the revolutionary forces, the fighters were left alone. Thus, the revolutionary morale collapsed throughout the country. That lasted four months until we destroyed Batista's offensive. That is, the rebel army destroyed Batista's offensive and raised morale, creating new conditions for victory. By the end of December, Batista had already lost the war because when the coup d'etat took place, there were approximately 17,000 soldiers, according to my calculations then, and there might have been more, some 17,000 soldiers besieged in the eastern region. The island was divided into two parts by the columns of Che and Camilo. He could no longer be saved militarily. But the danger of a coup prevailed. We had foreseen this because it did happen more than once in Cuban history. A coup d'etat that deceived the people, making them believe that all problems had vanished. That is history. America's history is filled with such examples. When there is a tough struggle by the people, a coup takes place and everyone is happy and celebrating. But what happens is that new figures replace the others. There is no revolution. All through the war, through Radio Rebelde in the final stages, we were trying to convince the people to reject the coup. Because we were not going to accept any coup d'etat.

FBIS3-10507_6

Pastrana Discusses Economic, Narcotics Policy

that drug traffickers may end up with ridiculously small penalties is of great concern to the United States. They demand that the punishment be proportional to the crime. Do you think that fear is reasonable? [Pastrana] Why do they not apply that approach in their country? Carlos Lehder was sentenced to life in prison plus 100 years. Now, according to what we have heard, he was transferred to a German jail and given special privileges after negotiations. When I was in Washington in 1990 I proposed that we pursue a policy similar to plea bargaining; the press jumped all over me and asked me why I was suggesting such an idea. "Why are you so upset? That is your system, we are going to copy it," I answered. And we have copied it, to such an extent that the first legislation was issued by decree. What was wrong with that? That we might negotiate in search of peace? But when the drug lords sought through extradition went [to the United States] and got the "perks" of plea bargaining by turning in other people, that was not criticized. I agree that we need to seek a fair sentence from the legal point of view. I insist that penalties must be served in prison. The policy of bringing criminals to justice must be consistent. [EL TIEMPO] You have announced that you will not accept campaign contributions from the Santo Domingo Group. Does this mean your government would pursue an energetic policy of controlling concentrations of wealth? [Pastrana] As they should be, my campaign books are open to anyone who wants to see them in the Treasury Inspector's Office. A policy needs to be developed to protect citizens from abuses by private and public enterprises that take advantage of their dominant position. Another very important issue is regulating lobbying and political campaign financing. The regulation of the monopoly system concerns me, especially as it relates to the Television Law. I believe we have been lax because the government has run the television system. If we want to protect the citizens' right to be well informed, we can not continue to be so lax. Furthermore, regional autonomy will not become a reality without excellent territorial legislation. We need to strengthen and pay attention to the commission created by the 1991 Charter. The truth is that the bill now pending in Congress is very weak.

FBIS3-10511_1

Weekly Publishes, Views U.S. `Secret' Document

their lives to the ideas in which they believe neither persecute or imprison because of those ideas, as the CIA and the U.S. Interests Section have done. Those who believe in principles respect those principles. Those who fight for the dignity and honor of men will never be their executioners but will be their most faithful defenders. Joseph Sullivan, head of the U.S. Interests Section, knows this very well, although he may dare to say so only secretly. Let us pay special attention to some of the sentences of this document, which, in ambiguous phrases, and considering the author and addressees, comes to an unavoidable conclusion: In Cuba there are no violations of human rights. This was not said by Fidel Castro; it was admitted by Joseph Sullivan. The document includes unreliable cases, unverifiable documents or evidence, cases that are not congruous in certain aspects and which are of interest only to the United States. The general unreliability of the cases and the recognition of the economic rather than the political factor as the essential cause of emigration prove the above points. The moral status of the members of those splinter groups stands out in the document. According to Baez Delgado, the leaders of those little groups peddle written guarantees like trinkets; they perpetrate fraud; they accuse one another and violate among themselves the most fundamental human rights, in addition to biting the hands that guide and feed them. Moreover, Sullivan's document only adds further questions to the arguments that various U.S. Presidents have advanced all through these past years to intensify their policy of blockade against Cuba and makes the backward and ruthless individuals who are trying to defeat us through hunger look like liars. According to the article, those who are trying to emigrate by entering embassies that happen to represent countries with which we have the best relations are also disappointed. No one with such objectives should violate the diplomatic missions of any country, much less if those embassies are not committed to any agreement to grant asylum. Among these candidates for emigration, none has had any political problem. The U.S. Interests Section document has finally unveiled this trick. Sullivan's call to the CIA for help is very eloquent. The document states that given the expressed CIA interests in the human rights issue, and its growing participation in and growing knowledge of the different human rights groups,

FBIS3-10511_2

Weekly Publishes, Views U.S. `Secret' Document

Delgado, the leaders of those little groups peddle written guarantees like trinkets; they perpetrate fraud; they accuse one another and violate among themselves the most fundamental human rights, in addition to biting the hands that guide and feed them. Moreover, Sullivan's document only adds further questions to the arguments that various U.S. Presidents have advanced all through these past years to intensify their policy of blockade against Cuba and makes the backward and ruthless individuals who are trying to defeat us through hunger look like liars. According to the article, those who are trying to emigrate by entering embassies that happen to represent countries with which we have the best relations are also disappointed. No one with such objectives should violate the diplomatic missions of any country, much less if those embassies are not committed to any agreement to grant asylum. Among these candidates for emigration, none has had any political problem. The U.S. Interests Section document has finally unveiled this trick. Sullivan's call to the CIA for help is very eloquent. The document states that given the expressed CIA interests in the human rights issue, and its growing participation in and growing knowledge of the different human rights groups, we suggest closer cooperation with the U.S. Interests Section in accordance with our common objectives. This shows, Baez Delgado adds, that the police of the unipolar world have run out of steam and bullets. The moral bullets of the Revolution have once again demonstrated that they have a much longer range. The small island of Indians is once again giving a lesson to the North. Only a quarter of a century ago, they looked down on us; now they respect us. On 28 June 1987, referring to the human rights issue and to the imperialist anti-Cuban campaign, Fidel Castro said: In our struggle against tyranny, we have been educated to repudiate and hate any use of violence against a prisoner; and those values have led us to victory. Those values have maintained us here, and history will see that this truth is written. Baez Delgado ends his article by saying that history has once again proven that we are right and if, in their confusion or arrogance, the CIA, the State Department, the Immigration and Nationalization Service, and Sullivan himself deny the existence of the document and say that it was fabricated by the Cuban Government, they should be aware

FBIS3-10533_1

Police Investigate Drug-Weapons Trafficking Link

come through these two routes because this type of weapon or ammunition do not exist in Miami or Paraguay." The PF investigations have shown that the Russian weapons may be coming from Africa through the Middle East and Asian countries such as Afghanistan, that have overcome difficult phases of regional wars and battles. Oliveira commented: "Russian weapons are cheaper because there are great quantities of them in African countries in conflict and in Lebanon. We are greatly concerned. As soon as these conflicts are over, the excess weapons are put up for sale." The contacts between Rio de Janeiro underground organizations and terrorists of countries such as Angola, Namibia, and Zaire may be being made by Africans who enter Brazil as tourists. A new route for the international trafficking of weapons may be being established the same way as Africans acted as middlemen for the shipment of cocaine from Brazil to Europe -- the Nigerian connection. Since the 1980's Rio de Janeiro represents a sort of supermarket for the population of poor African countries. Thousands of Angolans, Nigerians, Zairians, and Ghanaians come to Rio de Janeiro every year as tourists and return loaded with all sorts of merchandise (from sandals to electrical appliances). The PF is investigating whether these tourists are not representatives of guerrilla organizations, in charge of maintaining contact with Rio de Janeiro criminal organizations such as the CV (Red Commando) and the TC (Third Commando). Groups of policemen specialize in supplying drugs and foreign weapons to drug traffickers linked to the CV and TC. Parallel investigations carried out by the Civil and Federal Police came to the same conclusion. The DRE (Drug Control Precinct) of the Civil Police has identified groups of suppliers made up of civil, military, and federal agents. These groups sell sophisticated weapons that usually arrive in Rio de Janeiro through the international airport (northern zone), on their way to the drug traffickers. One of the groups of suppliers is allegedly headed by Civil Police Detective Cesar Pereira da Silva. DRE Director Walter Alves de Oliveira, 54, said the group sold weapons and drugs to Orlando da Conceicao, or Orlando Jogador, who is regarded by the police as one of the biggest drug traffickers in Rio de Janeiro. Jogador has cocaine and marijuana "sale spots" in the Bonsucesso, Penha, and Ramos shantytowns in northern Rio de Janeiro. Pereira da Silva was arrested last December.

FBIS3-10538_5

Roundup of Economic Developments

livestock, basic products, food, automotive, and electricity industries. Most of the investment was made in the Mexican Stock Exchange, however. He has also reported the commercial deficit will continue to steepen due to increased exports. The deficit is expected to reach $12 billion this year; in addition, exports increased by 17.7 percent over last year's figure. (Mexico City EL FINANCIERO in Spanish 4 Mar 94 p 11) The Secretariat of Commerce and Industrial Development and the Bank of Mexico have reported trade with other Latin American countries increased by 118.9 percent between 1988 and 1933. They have said during that period regional imports grew by 253.8 percent, while exports rose by 64.6 percent. According to the Secretariat of Commerce and Industrial Development and the Bank of Mexico, Mexican exports to Latin America totaled $2.9 billion, which represents 10 percent of total exports. The report concludes the largest trading partners of Mexico are Brazil, Uruguay, and Colombia. (Madrid EFE in Spanish 1700 GMT 7 Mar 94) The economic slowdown in 1993 had an adverse impact on companies that sell their stock at the Mexican Stock Market (BMV). At the close of last year, 50 percent of the companies operating at the BMV registered losses. On average the companies operating at the BMV registered a 2.42-percent growth rate. The 215 companies that sell their stock at the BMV increased their assets from 37.4 billion pesos to 41.3 billion pesos, a 10-percent increase. Meanwhile, the sector most affected by the economic slowdown in 1993 was electronics, which fell by 238.44 percent. (Mexico City UNOMASUNO in Spanish 7 Mar 94 p 19) Financial experts have told EL FINANCIERO in the next few months the peso will stabilize and revalue against the dollar. After ruling out the risk of a devaluation, the experts have admitted following a reduction in interest rates the slide rate of the peso has increased. Meanwhile, sources at Moodys Brokers have warned as long as yields remain low and the Stock Market is not competitive, the demand for dollars will grow in border states. (Mexico City EL FINANCIERO in Spanish 7 Mar 94 p 10) Mexicans have purchased $150-million worth of used cars in U.S. states bordering Mexico, taking advantage of the new decree by the Secretariat of Commerce and Industrial Development which allows importation of models to 1990. The sale of secondhand cars in cities such as Houston, El Paso,

FBIS3-10539_0

Government Declines U.S. Donation of Canned Foods

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Text] According to information supplied to LA PRENSA GRAFICA by Agriculture and Livestock Minister Antonio Cabrales, El Salvador has officially declined U.S. donations of canned foods. These donations were guaranteed under Agreement PL-480, which many Salvadoran farmers have criticized, because they believe it dispenses with incentives for national production. The minister has said the decline is due to food security. "El Salvador had the best corn, bean, and millet [maicillo] harvest in the country's history during 1992," Cabrales has said, adding the agricultural improvement was due to "the government's faith in the social market economy and the elimination of price distortions." According to the minister, food production in El Salvador had dropped 12 percent at the end of the 1980's, and food imports had increased 60 percent. "For example, we had a deficit of more than 600,000 quintals of beans in 1989, and rice producers had threatened they would not plant, because donations had affected them very much," Cabrales has said. Within the government's food security program, Cabrales spotlighted the importance of eliminating price controls and closing down the Institute of Supply Regulation (IRA). Likewise, the minister has announced during the four years of the administration, the ministry's size had been reduced from 7,000 employees to 3,500. According to an August 1993 UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report, El Salvador is second in Latin America in cereal production per capita. Ecuador holds first place.

FBIS3-10540_1

Studies on NAFTA Impact on Central America Viewed

is cheap, but also because of the proximity of the U.S. market and the advantages NAFTA offers to the investors of the three signatory nations, Canada, the United States, and Mexico. According to an analysis of NAFTA's impact in Central America, drawn up by Kathleen Horkan that in turn was distributed by the U.S. Embassy's Information and Cultural Service, in the sugar sector, for example, Central America could lose its competitiveness in the medium term as it will have to compete with Mexico on the U.S. market. Another problem pointed out in the analysis is that Central American sugar exports could face greater restrictions on the Mexican market due to Mexico's promise to protect the levels of sugar exported from the United States. The textile and apparel sectors that represent one-fourth of the region's exports to the United States will also be adversely affected. Horkan points out that NAFTA will reduce the tariffs in the textile sector for Mexico; thereby threatening Caribbean and Central American competition in exports. "Another problem is that Central America could lose the opportunity of foreign investment in this sector as Mexico will attract greater investment as a result of NAFTA," the analyst states. Likewise, the Inter-American Institute of Cooperation for Agriculture [IICA] recently published a study on the effects of NAFTA on Central American agricultural exports to the United States. The study concludes that in three specific cases -- cucumbers, pineapples, and melons-cantaloupes -- there is risk in the short term that the Central American exports will be replaced by Mexican exports as a result of NAFTA. Nevertheless, the IICA study indicates that 82 percent of the Central American agricultural exports to the United States in 1991 correspond to products for which Mexico currently does not pay import tariffs to the United States. Therefore, more than four-fifths of Central American exports will continue to compete under the same conditions with Mexican products, even after NAFTA's implementation. The Federation of Private Enterprises of Central America and Panama, an organization that represent the business interests in the region, supports NAFTA. Nevertheless, it believes that "it will produce major detours of investments and trade: investments that would have come to the region, now however these will go to Mexico..." The regional institution indicates in an analysis that the Caribbean Basin nations would lose because Mexico would have the opportunity to export the same products free of import tariffs.

FBIS3-10551_1

Falkland Oil Exploration Cooperation Sought

diplomatic channels during the time remaining before the meeting -- which must be carried out in Buenos Aires -- in order to formulate a basis for a prior agreement to guarantee some positive results at the key meeting. One of the hurdles -- beside the conflict over sovereignty that is being kept under the framework of the so-called protective "umbrella" -- is to define the reaches of the term cooperation. -- So far, although it is not a definitive answer, Great Britain understands that the term only supposes the exchange of information and the willingness to act jointly to protect the environment. -- Argentina, however, thinks that the term supposes participation in oil exploration and exploitation within the area controlled by the British. During the London meeting Di Tella mentioned a topic that is indirectly related to the Malvinas Islands. He mentioned to Hurd "Argentina's concern" over Great Britain's increasing political and military relations with Chile. The Argentine foreign minister mentioned the one-week visit future Chilean Defense Minister Perez Yoma is scheduled to make to London and former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's visit to Chile, among other things. Hurd's answer was that Perez Yoma was invited before he was named minister and that Thatcher is no longer a member of the British Government. Hurd affirmed that London does not want to drive any wedge between Argentina and Chile; on the contrary, it is interested in good relations between the two Latin American countries. The Chilean question was only a side issue of the meeting's central topic: Oil. Di Tella knows that the issue will be essential for the success or failure of his Malvinas policy. The Kelpers are ready to call for bids on the licenses to begin exploring and exploiting for oil by the end of the year, if negotiations in May fail. This is why leading Foreign Ministry officials are thinking of discussing the issue with U.S. Vice President Al Gore when he visits Buenos Aires at the end of the month, as CLARIN announced on 2 March. What diplomats seem not to have been taken into account is that Gore supports ecologist concepts which oppose all "off-shore" drilling, due to their negative effects on the environment. In any case, to play the North American game now seems premature, unless you believe that the May negotiation will not succeed due to the distance separating the two parties.

FBIS3-10573_0

DEA `Human Rights Violations' Case Being Heard

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Text] The Human Rights Committee is investigating the alleged torture of people arrested on drug trafficking charges. Here is Mario Espinosa's report: [Begin recording] [Espinosa] Drug trafficking continues to be of paramount importance here in Bolivia, and particularly in Congress. Five people who were arrested in Chonchocorro have visited the Human Rights Committee office. They are testifying in the case of the DEA safe houses, and what they call the constant human rights violations by DEA agents. This is why policemen can now be seen at Congress. The Human Rights Committee has several reasons for beginning this investigation: One originated in the United States, where a communique reports that human rights violations are being committed under the guise of the antinarcotics struggle. Outside the committee's office, people were saying the arrested people were giving detailed reports of the torture sessions they endured at the DEA safe houses. This was confirmed by Juan del Granado, president of the Chamber of Deputies Human Rights Committee: [Granado] We will continue the investigations to prove or disprove charges that have been made public and which we received today. These are the starting point for the investigation. We are concerned about this situation because we have repeatedly received charges that Special Antinarcotics Force, FELCN, agents are torturing Bolivian citizens under the guise of judicial police investigations. If this is the case, the legislative branch will adopt drastic measures. [Espinosa] Juan del Granado clearly said it: We cannot accept that one crime should used to fight other crimes. If the charges are proven there will be sanctions. [end recording]

FBIS3-10588_0

Official on Failure of U.S. Anti-Cuban Proposal

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Text] Havana, 9 Mar (DPA) -- "The United States failed today in its attempt to drag Latin American and Third World countries into voting in favor of an anti-Cuban resolution at the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva," a foreign ministry source in Havana stated in commenting on the voting results. The resolution proposed by the United States and cosponsored by Nicaragua and El Salvador was approved by 24 votes in favor, nine against and 20 abstentions. Juana Silveira, deputy director of the International Organizations Directorate of the Foreign Relations Ministry, stated that "the vote on the U.S. proposal reflects an ever increasing perception by underdeveloped nations with respect to this issue" Silveira believes the issue has been highly politicized by Washington, and the U.S. Government's political intention is to include it within the framework of the dispute it has had going with Cuba for years. According to official Cuban sources, the number of countries that "resisted pressure and refused to vote in favor of the resolution" increased this year in comparison to 1993. "In failing to obtain half plus one favorable votes of the nations gathered at the commission, and seeing its efforts to obtain massive support from Latin America thwarted, the White House saw its main hopes begin to vanish," Silveira pointed out. Likewise, she stated that this year, contrary to 1993, the proposal found less support among Asian, European, and Latin American nations. It was not supported by African countries either. Local radio stations reported that in addition to the United States, Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Costa Rica, Chile, Cyprus, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Mauritius, Holland, Pakistan, Poland, South Korea, Romania, Great Britain, Russia, and Uruguay all voted in favor of the resolution. China, Guinea-Bissau, Libia, Sudan, Syria, India, Indonesia, and Iran supported Cuba. On the other hand, the nations that abstained included Angola, Bangladesh, Barbados, Brazil, Cameroon, Colombia, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Kenya, Lesotho, Malaysia, Malawi, Mauritania, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, Sri Lanka, Togo, Tunisia, and Venezuela.

FBIS3-10589_0

Robaina Commends Indonesia's Work With NAM

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Text] Today in Jakarta, capital of Indonesia, Cuban Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina stressed that Indonesia has done commendable work as president of the Nonaligned Movement [NAM]. In Indonesia Robaina began a tour through several South and Southeast Asian countries with the objective of strengthening Cuba's bilateral relations with those countries. During his visit to Indonesia, Robaina is to meet with President Soharto, Foreign Minister Ali Alatas, and other ministers and businessmen as well. Robaina told the press that Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam are at present experiencing high rates of economic growth, and that for that reason, Havana is interested in expanding its trade ties with Jakarta. This is the second time Robaina has visited the Asian continent. Shortly after he became foreign minister he made a visit to China, where he met with Qian Qichen -- who is vice premier, State Council -- and with Vice President Rong Yiren.

FBIS3-10595_0

Finnish Reporter Examines Havana Food Situation

Language: Finnish Article Type:CSO [Article by Jukka Rislakki: "Food Shortage, but No Famine in Cuba"] [Text] There is an ongoing debate, both in Cuba and abroad, whether Cubans go hungry or not. However, beggars are starting to appear on the streets of Havana, and the food shortage is a common subject of discussion. According to reporter Jukka Rislakki from HELSINGIN SANOMAT, a month's worth of food coupons last for two weeks, and for the remainder of the month, the Cubans must scrounge for food anywhere they can or buy it on the black market. In the morning, residents of central Havana and hotel guests are awakened by the crowing of roosters. The culprits can be found on the flat roofs of apartment buildings, where the Cubans keep their living, cackling food stores. Pigs and goats can be found in the backyard mazes. Every day, teacher Alejandro Valdes works with his "livestock" on the roof, from where he has a view of the sea. He has a dozen hens, a few chicks, and a few rabbits are huddled in a cage. The door leading to the roof from the attic is locked with a bicycle chain. "I listen for thieves at night and stay awake with my machete," said Alejandro. The teacher brings feed for his animals from his job, as well as from the park and the port. "When grain ships discharge their cargo, I am there collecting corn that has fallen to the ground. And I am not alone there," he said. Food Shortage Topic of Discussion Valdes started keeping animals last May. Now the family and its closest relatives get three to four eggs a day--equaling the official monthly ration for a Cuban--and often they also get meat. "Meat and eggs are rationed in the stores and otherwise they are too expensive, and we have no dollars," he added. "The hens are of good native stock. In this neighborhood, many people also keep goats and pigs," said Valdes. In Cuba and abroad there is a debate on whether Cubans are starving and whether the food shortage is affecting their health. "People starve to death," complained an expatriate woman, who had been visiting her native country. "It seems to me that they eat very little and look very skinny," she continued. "Have you seen any dying people on our streets?" asked Governor Jose Hernandez, on his part, and answered:

FBIS3-10607_1

Ministers Discuss Human Rights Situation

very satisfied that in Geneva, Switzerland, a conference took place in which our country was included on the agenda -- the UN agenda on human rights policy as discussed by the Human Rights Commission that meets annually in Geneva. The conference was held within this framework. The Salvadoran case was analyzed from the different points of view. Diverse individuals who have dealt with the human rights issue in our country took part in the conference -- namely, the Human Rights Prosecutor's Office; Onusal's [UN Observers for El Salvador] Human Rights Division, which also travelled to Geneva; and, of course, the Salvadoran Government through its permanent mission in Geneva. In addition, high-level government officials also travelled to Geneva, as I have already mentioned. The foreign minister and the presidential commissioner on human rights also discussed the issue and presented arguments we believe should be publicized in terms of El Salvador's human rights policy. We were able to establish that marked progress has been made here in respecting human rights; this is evident. Based on this, we have been working on a consistent, sustained policy to improve and strengthen human rights. Proof of this has been the diverse forums in which this issue has been discussed. During the past year, numerous contributions have been made in this area. Other human rights representatives who, on one occasion or another, have visited the nation also have witnessed this. In turn, we were able to make a presentation that we considered fundamental. This contributed to the fact that at the conclusion of the conference, the commission decided that the Salvadoran case should be included in an agenda different from the one in which it had been included up until this point. We contended that the Salvadoran case should be viewed from various perspectives. We want to be honest, and we want to be realistic. Taking into account the progress we have made, El Salvador should be encouraged in its human rights policy and not be subjected to disciplinary action or punishment. Sometimes it seems that evaluations by international organizations on a given country's human rights situation focus on what that country should do. We think we have done a lot. Indeed, we have done a lot, and you are witnesses to the fact that here we have not only one but a number of mechanisms that have contributed to our human rights policy. They have

FBIS3-10607_3

Ministers Discuss Human Rights Situation

all been contributing. We have a Human Rights Division, which is part of a human rights verification and promotion mechanism; we have a Human Rights Ombudsman's Office, which also verifies and promotes human rights; and we also have a presidential commissioner for human rights as part of a policy that we consistently carry out. Human rights are also handled by way of an independent expert. As mentioned on previous occasions, the expert has also been involved in human rights within the country. We can possibly say that few countries have as many mechanisms dealing with the verification and promotion of human rights as El Salvador. Nevertheless, I think there comes a time when a country shows proof and must say: We have progressed so much that we think the policy should be handled differently, especially at the level of international organizations. This is exactly what we did in Geneva. We said that the Salvadoran case should be seen from a different viewpoint or perspective, and that our progress has been so significant and evident that we have sufficient reasons and arguments to support our request. This is what the international community heard. Although the role of the expert continues to exist -- and we have stated that there is reason for this -- his role, his function, is totally different from the one he had in the previous period. This is stated in the resolution I am going to quickly read. In (?Point 2), it states: The commission decides to extend for one year the mandate of the independent expert for the purpose of facilitating the advisory services for El Salvador and of informing, in close cooperation with the Human Rights Division in El Salvador and the Salvadoran Government, the Human Rights Commission in its (?21st) period of sessions -- in other words, next year -- regarding the evolution of human rights in El Salvador as part of the Advisory Service on the Topic of Human Rights. This is the name of the program we now have. This is the government's achievement we mentioned earlier. We are no longer under a process of observation concerning violations of human rights. Instead, we have come under a program which, as you heard, gives advice on human rights. This is the context within which the Salvadoran case has been seen by the authorities of the Human Rights Commission in Geneva, and this is

FBIS3-10615_1

Ambassador Protests U.S. Human Rights Criticism

and the killing of children in Brazil. Before a plenary packed with diplomats from almost 100 countries who are participating in the UN Human Rights Commission's annual meeting, U.S. representative Vivian Derryck startled Brazilian diplomats by saying that "in Brazil, street children search through litter to find food and sometimes are hunted for sport." [passage omitted] Caught by surprise by the criticism leveled by the U.S. delegation, the Brazilian delegation immediately delivered a lukewarm speech prepared the day before. In its speech, the Brazilian delegation again asked the international community for enhanced efforts to offer technical cooperation and other methods of assistance to those countries requiring assistance. Two pages of the Brazilian delegation's speech were dedicated to the Brazilian Government's successes, ranging from the eradication of poliomielitis "in three years" to the campaign against hunger devised by sociologist Herbert de Souza, alias Betinho. Brazil's official response to the hard overtones of the criticism leveled by the U.S. delegation during the UN Human Rights Commission's annual meeting came at the end of the meeting through a passionate protest speech delivered by Brazilian Ambassador Gilberto Saboia. Following is the ambassador's speech: "Exercising its right to a response, the Brazilian delegation wants to express its surprise over and disagreement with the remarks on Brazil made by the U.S. delegation. "To mention Brazil as a country that deliberately neglects children not only represents a false argument vis-a-vis the facts, but also contradicts the opinion voiced by UNICEF and other international authorities in this field. The Brazilian delegation is ready to furnish the U.S. delegation a copy of a report the Brazilian delegation distributed among nongovernmental organizations and UN Human Rights Commission countries, describing in detail the actions and programs implemented in Brazil in favor of children. "The allegation that children in Brazil are "hunted for sport" is totally unacceptable and demonstrates the U.S. delegation's lack of objectivity and lack of information on our country's reality. In addition, as demonstrated by the 1994 UNICEF report, we note that the United States does not have the required authority in this field to use this peremptory and disqualifying language with regard to other countries. "As UNICEF Executive Director James Grant said recently, 20 children are shot to death in the United States of America every day and the situation of children from minorities such as Afro-Americans and Hispanics is comparable to the situation of some underdeveloped countries."

FBIS3-10617_1

U.S. Reaction to Stabilization Program Examined

a senior Brazilian representative before the OAS -- took up Clinton's aide on that point, in order to reiterate the importance of U.S. support for the Brazilian economic program. "Whoever opposes an agreement between Brazil and the IMF will be responsible for a great harm inflicted not only upon Brazil, but upon the international financial system as well," he said. This utterance hints at two things. First, one can hardly expect that the gap between the economic team's estimates and those of the IMF, as far as the budget is concerned, will be bridged with a calculator. Once again, the IMF management and the governments from the seven most powerful industrial countries, which are in control of the majority of votes at the IMF executive board, will have to make a political gamble and approve a stand-by arrangement with Brazil. IMF Managing Director Michel Camdessus got his fingers burned the last two times he adopted a receptive stance on the Brazilian program. He has already told Cardoso that unless he is convinced of the soundness and political feasibility of the FHC2 plan he will not put the IMF's credibility in jeopardy. The second hint included in the Brazilian official's remark to Clinton's aide is a warning: If the IMF and the U.S. Government refuse to support Brazil's current economic policy, they will make the country embark upon a path that is opposite to that of stabilization, and will for all practical purposes line up the voters in support of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's presidential candidacy. The decisive step in the negotiations with the IMF started on 4 March. Based on the results of the technical evaluation by the IMF mission to Brazil and on an analysis of Brazilian political situation, Camdessus will have to decide whether he endorses the Brazilian economic program. He must reach a decision by next weekend so that Brazil can then work out an agreement with creditor banks by 15 April. Washington's skepticism toward the Brazilian economic program was broken last week by economist Albert Fishlow, a Brazilian scholar at the University of California, Berkeley. A pessimist in his analysis of Brazilian business cycles, Fishlow accurately forecast the failure of several Brazilian attempts to curb inflation since the Cruzado Plan in 1986. On 4 March, however, he surprised an audience comprised of the upper echelons of the U.S. Government, high-ranking members of international organizations, and

FBIS3-10623_2

Creation of Latin America Trade Zone Viewed

specific agreements alone where its Mercosur partners do not have direct interests. The Brazilian Government believes its proposal will be accepted because it simply extends to other partners a practice used constantly during the GATT Uruguay Round negotiations, where Brazil upheld the principle of accepting or rejecting proposals by other countries only after consulting its Mercosur partners. The proposal also aims at repeating, with other countries and groups in the region, the Mercosur "miracle" that allowed the country to increase by three-fold its exports to the region between 1990 and 1993. Itamaraty believes the key to Mercosur's success lies in the decision to give up discussing the tariff issue product by product for a broader direct tariff reduction. What remains to be done now is to broaden the area of action and reap the benefits. At dawn on 6 March, during the program "Critica & Autocritica" ["Criticism and Self-Criticism"] (produced by GAZETA MERCANTIL and aired by Television Bandeirantes), Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said: "South America is the priority issue of Brazil's foreign policy." If South America had a geopolitical importance in the past, according to the foreign minister, it now also has an economic importance: Brazilian trade with the region (including Mexico) already represents 25 percent of its total trade, which is equivalent to the trade with the entire European Union and more than the 20 percent trade with the United States and 16 percent with the Asian and Pacific countries. Brazil, unlike Argentina, does not intend to reveal any intention to join NAFTA, the free trade agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Last week Argentine President Carlos Menem announced that in June he will begin negotiations in this direction. During the "Critica & Autocritica" program, Foreign Minister Amorim clearly stated that the Brazilian Government regards the Argentine Government's initiative as a political initiative. Technically, he explained, any negotiation for a Mercosur member to join NAFTA should be carried out by the four Mercosur member countries, according to the "Four Plus One" principle. The foreign minister again insisted that there is no disagreement with Argentina. Even the recent increase of Argentine military expenditures with the purchase of weapons (particularly the Skyhawk aircraft from the United States) -- which according to Argentina is to replace old equipment -- did not cause any concern. Amorim commented that "if rivalry did exist we would have not reached a nuclear agreement," referring

FBIS3-10623_3

Creation of Latin America Trade Zone Viewed

(including Mexico) already represents 25 percent of its total trade, which is equivalent to the trade with the entire European Union and more than the 20 percent trade with the United States and 16 percent with the Asian and Pacific countries. Brazil, unlike Argentina, does not intend to reveal any intention to join NAFTA, the free trade agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Last week Argentine President Carlos Menem announced that in June he will begin negotiations in this direction. During the "Critica & Autocritica" program, Foreign Minister Amorim clearly stated that the Brazilian Government regards the Argentine Government's initiative as a political initiative. Technically, he explained, any negotiation for a Mercosur member to join NAFTA should be carried out by the four Mercosur member countries, according to the "Four Plus One" principle. The foreign minister again insisted that there is no disagreement with Argentina. Even the recent increase of Argentine military expenditures with the purchase of weapons (particularly the Skyhawk aircraft from the United States) -- which according to Argentina is to replace old equipment -- did not cause any concern. Amorim commented that "if rivalry did exist we would have not reached a nuclear agreement," referring to the four-party, all-encompassing nuclear safeguard agreement between Brazil, Argentina, the Brazilian-Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control (ABACC), and the International Atomic Energy Agency, an agreement for mutual control signed in 1991 in Vienna and approved in early February by the Brazilian Senate. This same agreement, which sets the ground for a better relationship with Argentina as well as Germany, may have played an important role, according to Celso Amorim, in solving problems on another front, bilateral relations with the United States. Expressions of greater confidence in the country, such as that by U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor, who last week suspended U.S. investigations regarding Brazil under the so-called Super 301 law after acknowledging the Brazilian commitment to approve its intellectual property protection draft bill, represent a more broad-minded tendency, the foreign minister believes. "The United States wants the Brazilian economy to be successful. It is the largest Latin America country, with which the United States has the greatest trade volume after Mexico, and where U.S. exports have increased significantly," Amorim commented. The fact that Brazil is trying to stabilize its economy also had its impact on this change of attitude by the United States, which gave signs that commercials

FBIS3-10625_0

National Bank Official on Impact of New Currency

Language: Portuguese Article Type:BFN [Article by Coriolano Gatto] [Excerpt] The introduction of a new currency, the real, which is scheduled for mid-April, should cause heavy losses to the financial system because of its curbing effect on inflation. A study conducted by a large retail loans bank indicates that losses to the financial system could reach $10.4 billion. It is estimated that the new currency might reduce the monthly inflation rate to about 2 percent by May. This upheaval will force the financial institutions to gain money with new products, adjust their fees to higher rates, and indirectly streamline their structures. Its impact should be similar to that caused by the Cruzado Program in 1986, although the financial system has already had to go through extensive belt-tightening since then. Arnoldo de Oliveira, the National Bank executive board superintendent, emphasizes: "It will be a painful process because it will end with a dishonest system. And after this the system's profitability will decline." By a dishonest system we understand the following: The bank overlooks the huge profits yielded by floating funds -- the unused money that remains in the current accounts. And the customer, in turn, pretends that the bank does not have any operational costs. Out of a total $18 billion in profits, this sector gained $4 billion through the use of floating funds. [passage omitted]

FBIS3-10629_5

Escalona on Economy, Interparty Relations

which are contrary to what we aspire to. [Correa] You lived in countries that were under real socialism. What did you feel when the wall fell? [Escalona] A conception of the state collapsed. What was latent in my political thinking took form. I was familiar with several ex-socialist countries, and I was aware of the level of bureaucracy, the inefficiency, popular apathy, alienation from power, lack of participation. The destruction of the wall made absolutely clear that our concept of the state is completely different. [Correa] What emphasis do you want to give socialism. Make it more leftist? [Escalona] No. Humanize it. Because we are experiencing a conflict of realities. We come in from the street, from strikes, protests, and suddenly we find ourselves in the government. This is why we have a mixed party, so to speak, and, so that it may become one again, we must concentrate the activity of the party on persons. Because if today you compare the profile of a Socialist who is adviser to the minister of finance with a Socialist coal miner, you will find two very different points of view. We need to find common ground. [Correa] By making the adviser more leftist and the miner more rightist? [Escalona] Something like that. We can help greatly to improve health services, for example. People do not look favorably on health service personnel because the service is bad. We have to make an effort so that those workers do not abandon their legitimate union aspirations and at the same time understand that they are part of a people who must be well served.... Our new concept is "a party for the people." [Correa] And what is it now? [Escalona] A party for power. [Correa] As president of the PS, why did you not support Isabel Allende? [Escalona] Because the veto against me was still in effect. Last week's Plenum created a new situation in the party: that any agreement is possible. Before the Plenum, any agreement was possible, except that I could become president of the party. In any case, I never objected to her. [Correa] Would you have preferred to vote for the priest Pizarro than for Frei? [Escalona] No. The integralism of Pizarro's line spared me any problems of conscience. What a conservative! I doubt that any Communist could say that Pizarro is more progressive than Frei.... I believe that Frei is

FBIS3-10632_0

Ashaninkas Held Captive by Shining Path Manage Escape

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Text] Lima, 8 Mar (EFE) -- Military sources officially reported in Lima on 8 March that over the last eight days a total of 152 natives from the Peruvian Ashaninka ethnic group have managed to escape from the control of the terrorist group Shining Path, which had been holding them captive in the tropical forest area of Junin Department. According to an official communique released today by the Ucayali Front Political Military Command, a group of 119 Ashaninkas arrived at a countersubversive base of the Peruvian Navy located in Poyeni, Satipo Province, after fleeing from the grip of the terrorist group that had abducted them. The communique states that the group was made up of 60 children, 30 women, and 29 men. On 6 March Army patrols rescued 25 Ashaninkas, who had been virtually reduced to slavery by Shining Path, in Shanquireni, another village in the tropical forest area of Junin Department. A communique from the Political Military Command of the Central National Security Subregion states that this group was composed of 13 children, five women, and seven men. Another military source reported that another eight Ashaninkas were released in Gloriabamba, located in the same jurisdiction. All the communiques noted that the Ashaninkas were ill, suffered from severe malnutrition, and had been psychologically affected. Ashaninkas have been held captive in several areas of Peru's central tropical forest by Shining Path, who used them as activists under threat of death and as their servants for household chores and agricultural activities under a system of virtual slavery. Security forces have managed to release a considerable number of captives over the last few years, but there are still areas where the Maoist group holds them in captivity.

FBIS3-10633_0

Political Violence Statistics for Dec 1993

Language: Spanish Article Type:CSO [DESCO Special Report No 32: "Political Violence in Peru Today," issued by Peru's Center for Development Studies and Promotion (DESCO)] [Text] During the month of December, political violence generated 58 subversive attacks causing the deaths of 34 persons. The attacks increased by 22 in comparison with the November figure but, fortunately, the death toll declined by eight. Of the total victims, 16 belonged to the civilian sector, 12 were presumed subversives, four were members of the Police Forces [FFPP], and two were from the Armed Forces [FFAA]. December was marked by two commemorative dates, which were the occasions of heightened Shining Path [SL] activity. The first was another birthday of Abimael Guzman, followed by the SL's promised celebration of the centennial of Mao Tse-tung's birth. They occurred at the beginning and end of the month, respectively. Lima again ranked first insofar as attacks were concerned. A total of 37 acts of political violence (64 percent) were committed in the capital: that is, 17 more acts than in the previous month. A day before Abimael Guzman's birthday, the SL's caused a minor blackout in the capital and in other zones of the country, sabotaging part of the Mantaro interconnected system for this purpose. In conjunction with the blackout, the subversives detonated some explosives in at least three Lima districts. Ranking second for attacks was the Northern regional committee, with 10 subversive acts (17 percent). The number of attacks rose by seven compared with the previous month's figure. Three of these acts involved confrontations between the forces of order and the subversive columns. Two of these clashes occurred in the Chavin region, and the third in Sanchez Carrion Province, in the La Libertad sierra region. The Central regional committee ranked third, with five attacks (9 percent): the same number of acts of political violence as during November. Two of these incidents involved assaults upon vehicles on highways, another was a confrontation, the fourth was sabotage against high voltage towers, and the last, a selective assassination. Fourth place for attacks was tied between the Jungle and Southern regions, each of which had two acts (3 percent). In the Jungle the attacks declined by six, and in the South they increased by two. Last place for attacks was taken by the Principal region, with one subversive act involving sabotage against electric power facilities. As for victims, the Lima regional committee

FBIS3-10633_2

Political Violence Statistics for Dec 1993

these incidents involved assaults upon vehicles on highways, another was a confrontation, the fourth was sabotage against high voltage towers, and the last, a selective assassination. Fourth place for attacks was tied between the Jungle and Southern regions, each of which had two acts (3 percent). In the Jungle the attacks declined by six, and in the South they increased by two. Last place for attacks was taken by the Principal region, with one subversive act involving sabotage against electric power facilities. As for victims, the Lima regional committee also ranked first, with 17 persons killed (50 percent). Two of these deaths were selective assassinations of popular leaders: one, a member of the Huayacan patrols, and the other, a general secretary of a human settlement in Chorrillos. However, the incident with the most bloodshed occurred during the attack on the Bank of the Nation branch in El Agustino, in which three policemen, five civilians, and one subversive were killed. Ranking second for victims was the Northern regional committee, with eight (24 percent). Five of these deaths were Shining Path casualties in a confrontation with a police patrol in Mariscal Luzuriaga Province. In an invasion, the subversives assassinated a lieutenant governor as well. The Central regional committee ranked third, with seven victims (20 percent). Six of these deaths occurred during a confrontation between an Army patrol and an MRTA [Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement] group in La Merced. Five subversives and one soldier were killed in the clash. The Jungle region ranked last, with two deaths (6 percent). One of the incidents was the subversives' assassination of the wife of a municipal councilman from Amarilis, and the other was the death of a member of the police at the hands of an MRTA group. Terrorist Attacks By Region: December 1993 (in Percent) - Lima: 65 - Northern: 18 - Central: 9 - Jungle: 4 - Southern: 4 - Principal: 2 Victims By Region: December 1993 (in Percent) - Lima:50 - Northern: 24 - Central: 21 - Jungle: 6 Victims and Attacks By Regions in December Regions Victims Attacks FFAA FFPP Civilians Subversives Total Lima 0 3 12 2 17 37 Northern 1 0 2 5 8 10 Southern 0 0 0 0 0 2 Jungle 0 1 1 0 2 2 Principal 0 0 0 0 0 1 Central 1 0 1 5 7 5 Total 2 4 16 12 34 58

FBIS3-10638_0

Opening, Deregulation of Financial Markets Opposed

Article Type:CSO [Editorial Report] Buenos Aires LA PRENSA in Spanish on 24 February published on page 5 a 900-word report on the reaction of the Argentine banking sector to government decree No. 146 eliminating restrictions on foreign banks in Argentina. Declaring itself "on a war footing" over the new decree, the Association of Argentine Banks (Adeba) criticized the measure, which opens up financial markets in Argentina and eliminates the "principle of reciprocity." The association also prepared a document urging the government to "reevaluate" the 21 February decree. Adeba head Eduardo Escassany warned that an increase in banks in Argentina would not cause interest rates to drop. He asserted that "even though, in practice, reciprocity has never been enforced," Argentina has just lost a "bargaining chip" for negotiating on world markets. Former Central Bank President Javier Gonzalez Fraga deemed the measure "unnecessary" and "counterproductive," adding that globalization of the economy should be a "two-way street."

FBIS3-10662_0

Poll Shows Workers Believe in Consultation Process

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Report by Raimundo Lopez] [Text] Havana, 28 Feb (PL) -- Polls show that the preliminary results on the consultations with workers on measures to clean up domestic finances encourage optimism among the population on Cuba's capacity to emerge from these adverse economic moments. A comparison study of two polls carried out in January and February shows the trust Cubans have in the results of this consultation process, said Dario Machado, director of the social political studies center, in charge of the polls. Preliminary data shows that the percentage of people who responded positively to the question of whether the consultation process has awakened enthusiasm among workers, climbed from 62 percent in January, to 80 percent in February. Local authorities have put off taking any measures to reduce the imbalance of domestic finances until the results of the broad study made in factories and other work sectors are received, including private farming, which began in January at the initiative of the Cuban Workers Federation. The official decision to face the difficult economic moment (caused by the loss of the country's main partners, the former Soviet-European socialist field) without changing principles of social justice, encourage financial maladjustments or its worsening, local sources indicate. State Committee for Finance Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez recently recalled that despite the situation, Cuba maintains average employment and income levels, similar to 1989; in addition, Cuba raised health and social security budgets 10 percent and 33 percent, respectively, compared to 1989. President Fidel Castro said that to face the economic difficulties, neoliberal mechanisms of dramatic consequences in other countries would not be used, and no Cuban will be left unprotected. In the work site debates, popularly known as the workers' parliament, workers suggest ideas to improve productive efficiency in their direct activity, and immediately afterward, they propose alternatives to solve the country's problems. Results from the polls by the social economic center show that the percentage of people who trust that this consultation process will yield useful proposals, increased from 75 percent in January to 84 percent in February. Likewise, Machado reported, the number of those who believe that this consultation process is worthwhile increased from 86 percent in January to 91 percent in February. Conversely, the first poll showed that only 0.2 percent of those polled called for a change in the economic system, 0.3 percent were concerned that workers' suggestions were not

FBIS3-10669_0

Roundup of Economic Developments

Article Type:BFN [Editorial Report] The following is a compilation of reports on Cuban economic developments monitored through 8 March. The country's gross income from tourism in 1993 was $720 million, 30 percent more than in 1992, according to Osmany Cienfuegos, Council of Ministers vice president. Cienfuegos has added the government expects to earn approximately $1 billion this year from tourism, considered one of the strategic sectors that helps the country overcome the difficult economic situation it has been facing for the past three years. He has said by 1996 income from tourism will surpass sugar sales, the country's main source of foreign exchange, and that in the near future, tourism will be the second most important sector in Cuban foreign trade, after the medical-pharmaceutical and biotechnological industry. (Havana PRENSA LATINA in Spanish 1856 GMT 3 Mar 94) Sergio Corrieri, president of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples [Icap], a nongovernmental organization, has reported Icap received about $50 million in donations from friends of 72 countries in 1993. The donations consisted of medicines, school supplies, powdered milk, and others, Corrieri has told the weekly GRANMA. (Havana PRENSA LATINA in Spanish 0015 GMT 7 Mar 94)

FBIS3-10680_0

Russian Organization Demands End of U.S. Blockade

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Text] A society of friendship with Cuba was recently created in Russia. One of the objectives of this society is to seek the lifting of the U.S. blockade against Cuba and the development of ties between the Russian and Cuban peoples. In remarks to PRENSA LATINA, (Anatoliy Burlov), vice president of the organization, said that the legal registration of this society is to promote rapprochement between the two nations in important areas such as culture, tourism, and the probable creation of joint ventures. (Burlov) said that this new society headed by cosmonaut (Vladimir Shatalov) stems from the principles of the previous organization founded in 1964 by Yuri Gagarin. According to (Shatalov), the main objective of this society is to group the true friends of Cuba for the purpose of defending bilateral cooperation and the interests of the two nations.

FBIS3-10683_6

Social Ills, Economic Crime Discussed

has been gained in work with youngsters. I could enumerate, one by one, important and far-reaching projects that are being carried out in practically every province.... People Come First [Rodriguez Calderon] You, personally, in your work, see the gloomiest side of life, where people suffer, commit crimes, become alcoholics, are deprived, commit suicide, or lose some of their humanity. How do you, as a woman, deal with these situations? How do you maintain your optimism so that you can go on living? What are the positive aspects of doing this kind of job? [Careaga] I face it without pessimism, and with a great deal of objectivity. I am convinced that our work is necessary, because we are helping to save a misguided child or teenager, to find the seed of improper behavior and eliminate it before it grows into a crime, to extend a hand and give a second chance to someone who made a mistake and is willing to change. But I am also aware that there are people who are not capable of being guided, trained, educated, or reformed so that they can be put on the right track. It is true that we work on the gloomy side of life, but that does not discourage me or undermine our optimism. Because we feel rewarded when teenagers or youngsters with problem behavior or criminal activity are saved by the proper help and attention, and today are workers or students; some of them have fulfilled internationalist missions. And above all, because we have children and young people who fill us with pride. [Rodriguez Calderon] Do you think our society is healthy? Explain your opinion. [Careaga] Without any hesitation whatsoever, I can say that ours is one of the healthiest societies in the world. Because we can be proud of the fact that we have no street urchins or child prostitution or pornography; no children are kidnapped to become involuntary organ donors; there is no drug addiction, begging, or unemployment; we do not have children who have no school to go to, or people who die for lack of medical care. Moreover, we have young people who go to school, work, and make contributions to science; who spend part of their vacation time doing volunteer work for the food plan. Ours is a dignified and honorable society, a society, in short, where social justice prevails, and where people come first.

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Roundup of Electoral Developments

law. The three parties -- MSN, National Solidarity Movement; MUN, National Unity Movement, and the MADC, Authentic Christian Democratic Movement -- have not yet obtained 1 percent of the votes, which is necessary to remain active in politics. (San Salvador Canal Doce Television in Spanish 0300 GMT 3 Mar 94) Edgardo Rodriguez, MSN presidential candidate, said the latest surveys conducted by private universities lack credibility. He said the MSN will not get 1 percent of the votes in the next elections and added that there could be surprises on election day. (San Salvador Canal Doce Television in Spanish 0300 GMT 3 Mar 94) Ruben Zamora, presidential candidate for the Democratic Convergence, the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, and the National Revolutionary Movement, said the results of the latest surveys show there will be a runoff presidential election because no one will get enough votes to win in the first round. He added that the final vote will be between Arena and the Democratic Convergence. (San Salvador Canal Doce Television in Spanish 0300 GMT 4 Mar 94) Presidential candidate Ruben Zamora visited Zacatecoluca, La Paz Department, on 6 March and promised more credit for the agriculture sector and development projects if he wins the election. He made the promise during a rally held at the Jose Simeon Canas Park in Zacatecoluca. (San Salvador LA PRENSA GRAFICA in Spanish 7 Mar 94 p 4) Presidential candidate Ruben Zamora said the United States has remained neutral with regard to the Salvadoran elections. For the first time the United States will not support any candidate because it does not perceive any threat from any of the candidates, Zamora said. Washington has stated that it "will work with any candidate who wins the election," the leftist candidate said. (Mexico City NOTIMEX in Spanish 2302 GMT 8 Mar 94) Fidel Chavez Mena, presidential candidate for the Christian Democratic Party, promised to eliminate the Value-Added Tax and freeze the prices of staples during the first six months of his administration if he wins the election. Chavez Mena made the promise during a rally held in Chirilagua, San Miguel Municipality on 5 March. (San Salvador LA PRENSA GRAFICA in Spanish 7 Mar 94 p 5) The seven Salvadoran presidential candidates for the 20 March elections agreed on the need to promote urgent programs to improve the country's health and education systems. The seven candidates signed an agreement regarding

FBIS3-10696_5

Economy Minister Views Political, Economic Issues

may have my own merits, but the factor that led to Argentina's transformation is the political determination, leadership, and courage of Menem. Some people believe I say this just to please Menem. It is, however, how I feel... [Diaz] You believe there was a minor conspiracy against you... [Cavallo] No... Some people tried to use my communications mistakes or those verbal confrontations to attain sectorial objectives or to defend personal interests or the interest of groups with respect to the economic policy. To me this is very clear. [Diaz] What interests? [Cavallo] Economic and political interests. Economic interests, like all that occurred in connection with the automobile regulations. Such regulations, which are eight years old, stem from a total ban on importing automobiles. The ban is temporary, it is similar to the ones that are being enforced in Mexico, it was accepted by NAFTA countries, and it was suggested at the Uruguay round of GATT talks. Even though the automobile sector is today much more liberal than it was four or five years ago -- despite the fact that when this campaign began the newspapers reported a drop in car prices -- despite all that, they intend to compel us to enforce total liberalization. They took advantage of that opportunity to insist on their objectives. I believe they are being driven by economic interest. Others are doing it for, say, political motivation: it is undoubtedly tantalizing and attractive for the middle class to buy cars at half the current price, in a much larger number of installments, and with the choice of any model. Yet any responsible person will understand that transition from a totally closed economy -- like that of Argentina's automotive sector -- to a totally open economy in a technically complex sector with strong world competition, is not that easy. [Diaz] Are there any other economic sectors or interested groups that seek to sabotage your plan? [Cavallo] There was a lesser-known sector that tried it. They began to attack the customs office. There is a set of businesses linked with mail, transportation, and cargo services, which seeks to remain as a monopoly. They want me out to avoid disclosure of what comes through the airport... Nothing will be left of this monopoly, even though it began during the military government, it flourished during the Radical administration, and it managed to survive at the beginning of the Menem

FBIS3-10701_0

Menem Opposes Legalization of Abortion

Language: English Article Type:BFN [Excerpt] (DYN-NA) -- President Carlos Menem spoke out yesterday against the legalization of abortion during a speech in the Colon Theatre and announced plans for a campaign to combat the levels of infant mortality in the country. Echoing the view of the Roman Catholic Church towards abortion, Menem said: "Life begins at the moment of conception and anything done to destroy that life is bordering on crime." The line brought rapturous applause from an audience including politicians and nongovernmental pressure groups. Under current law abortion is forbidden except for cases such as rape or where the life of a mother is considered to be in extreme danger due to the birth. Some bishops have been pressurizing the government to include a law against abortion in the new national Constitution when it is reformed in August. Also in his speech the head of state said he hoped to reduce the rate of infant mortality to below 20 for every 1,000 children born. The current figures of mortality are 21.54 per thousand. Menem added that the strategy would be part of a new Federal Plan for Mothers and Children, which would seek to improve health care and nutrition. To assure that the law embraces the whole country -- Menem cited figures of three million children and 650,000 mothers who would be targeted -- he said he would introduce a Federal Pact to be signed by all provinces. The plan will be monitored by groups such as UNICEF, Caritas and the Argentine branch of the Red Cross. [passage omitted]

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Catholic Church Comments on Constitutional Reform

Language: English Article Type:BFN [Excerpt] (DYN-NA) -- The Catholic Church yesterday came out in favour of having future presidents swear by "God and country" when taking the oath of office without regard to his or her religion thus accepting heads of state of other religions while rejecting the possibility of having an atheist leader. The Church also warned that the current presidential system "sometimes leads" to an uncontrollable growth of the powers of the head of state in a nine-page document issued by the Synod of Bishops on the government's plan to reform the nation's Constitution. The religious leaders said that "other branches of government should be strengthened to obtain a balance and a real division of powers in the state." "It is not our intention to propose a reform draft; our objective was to point out issues that cannot be absent in the new Constitution," they explained. The Church confirmed that it had doubts about the way in which President Carlos Menem and Radical Party Chairman Raul Alfonsin had agreed on a reform plan through the Olivos Pact. The bishops group also accepted the dropping of the Constitution's current requirement that the president be a Roman Catholic. However, it underlined that "the cultural identity of the Argentine nation has unquestionable Roman Catholic roots." The document specifies that the definition of God included in the Constitution as the "source of all reason and justice" should be maintained in the new charter. In addition, the Church said that the new law of the land should include an article similar to the one included in the Cordoba Constitution stating that "the dignity and moral and physical integrity of human life from its conception cannot be violated." [passage omitted]

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EU To Grant Cooperation to Central America

the Isthmus deputy foreign ministers and EU representatives. It will be approved on 28 and 29 March during the ministerial summit to be held in Athens, Greece. According to the document, the European ministers will express satisfaction over the advances in Central American economic integration. The EU officials will recognize the progress made in the Isthmus by implementing actions to incorporate the area into the world economy. The text cited the elimination of obstacles to commerce and the renegotiation of the Central American uniform customs tariff, as well as the agreements on the implementation of safeguards. The 12-page declaration mentioned the European position on the expansion of economic and social development in the Isthmus. During the Athens meeting, the European and Central American foreign ministers will express their concern over the impact the economic adjustment programs have on the neediest sectors. The EU representatives reiterated their offer of support to handle the needs of the sectors hurt the most by those policies. Concerning tax uniformity, the Central American side will ask its European counterpart to provide its knowledge and experience on the matter. The European ministers will stress multilateral commercial negotiations within the framework of the Uruguay Round, with the idea the implementation of these accords will have positive effects in relaunching the international economy on clear rules. At the Athens meeting, the two regions will establish a commercial forum with yearly ordinary meetings to strengthen an exchange on the matter. Regarding access to the European market, the Central American ministers will explain their concern over the difficulties regional exports face in Europe. The document that must be approved by the foreign ministers of the two regions cited the advisability of overcoming obstacles that limit the growth of commercial flows. The officials will mention the importance of the preferences on customs tariffs the EU has granted to Central American exports. They will also reiterate the agreement established in principle to review commercial aspects on a yearly basis. Officials from the two regions will discuss the marshaling of financial resources via the European Investment Bank and reaffirm the need to promote economic aid. The ministers will assess the EU's aid to Central America in the past decade and will stress its importance for the peace, democracy, and development processes. The officials will also discuss topics concerning the environment, Central American refugees, coffee and bananas, social investment, and the area's peace process.

FBIS3-10756_1

Businessmen View Problems, Competitiveness

be? Peso Must Be Devalued Jorge Mazza, Manager of Vilmax, a dye manufacturing firm that exports two-thirds of its output: 1) Our company is regarded as one of the 100 innovators, but I think that it still has a long way to go. The problem lies in the lack of responsibility and efficiency of the Argentine people. I feel that they do not do responsible work and that they would rather be charming and "hustle" everybody else. 2) What makes things hard for SMB is the exchange rate. Argentine costs are very high, and the result is an expensive, poorly made, inefficient product. 3) Loans would start to be granted if the government felt obliged to see this happen. Many SMB's are going to disappear unless they are helped. The tariff ought to be 5 or 6 percent. 4) Argentine costs that would enable us to compete internationally. A devaluation is needed. Italy is an example that ought to be kept in mind. They devalued the lira, and as a result costs did not rise. Our currency could be devalued if we did things in earnest. Halt the indiscriminate economic liberalization, and control and determine the usefulness of things entering the country. Let us educate ourselves so that we do better work. Fine, But Without Anyone's Help Omar Bacchi, owner of the Nogali cookie company: 1) I do not think that 1994 will be much different from 1993. Support for small and mid-sized industry will remain grudging. We can see the proof in what is happening with the federal fiscal pact. Everything is happening there as if industry, particularly SMB, did not exist. In spite of the risk, my company is investing in technology (to the extent of my potential and by going into debt). 2) One of my main competitive disadvantages on the domestic market is having to convert my products and sales structure quickly to reach other segments of the market amid a recession and stiff competition. On foreign markets, although we have the potential advantage of being an agribusiness, we have all of the disadvantages of the manufacturing sector in general and the lack of dependable government support (which is only talked about). 3) I do not think that there is going to be affordable credit, either private or governmental. The interest rate on loans should be in line with anticipated inflation. 4) To have a recovery

FBIS3-10772_0

Human Rights Official Comments on U.S. Blockade

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Report on interview with Vilma Nunez, president of the Commission for the Defense of Human Rights in Central America, by Beatric Padron; place and date not given; from the "Evening Information Review" newscast] [Text] The Commission for the Defense of Human Rights in Central America [Codehuca] has denounced in Geneva the ongoing U.S. blockade against Cuba as a vile aggression on an entire nation. Vilma Nunez, president of Codehuca and of the Nicaraguan Human Rights Center, has traveled to Geneva to participate in UN Human Rights Commission sessions to expound on the current situation of those rights in the Central American region. Nunez discussed this and other related issues with Radio Havana Cuba. [Begin Nunez recording] With regard to the human rights situation, there exists what we might call a news embargo at the international level. The international media are telling the world that there is peace in Central America and that human rights are not being violated, but this is not true. Human rights violations remain part of the official policy of many governments. There are other cases. For example, in Nicaragua, Panama, and Costa Rica, neoliberal policies are pushing our people into poverty. This is taking place as part of a pattern of economic repression. The implementation of this policy, whether speaking in practical terms or in terms of human rights, comprises a systematic violation of economic and social rights. Neoliberal policies are pushing most of our people into poverty. [end recording] One of Codehuca's strategic objectives is to mobilize its nongovernment member-organizations in defense of the Cuban people's self-determination and sovereign rights. [Begin Nunez recording] We have asked nongovernment organizations that have the opportunity to speak at international forums, and particularly at the United Nations, to try to denounce the blockade as the main source of human rights violations in Cuba. Cuba is the only Latin American nation that has been able to produce specific achievements in the field of economic and social rights. This must be recognized and firmly pointed out. This is what we are promoting. We are also looking for ways to promote standard international laws and human rights in order that third-party countries may be considered violators of human rights in other nations. Governments violate the human rights of the people in their own countries. In terms of the law, it is unimaginable that a foreign country be allowed

FBIS3-10774_0

Spanish To Help Train Technicians, Teachers

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Text] The universities are going to train technicians in materials-efficient construction. Spanish experts in building materials-efficient housing are in Santiago de Cuba, where they will spend three days implementing a training program to turn out professionals who have mastered the technique. Eduardo Hernandez, head of the habitat commission of the nongovernmental organization (Sur) and Inez Sanchez, the representative in Cuba of that Spanish institution, exchanged views with the people of Santiago on the importance of moving forward in that specialized field. Graduate-level courses on restoration and materials efficiency in housing construction will begin in Cuban universities at the end of this year. The courses will last 15 days. It is hoped that, nationwide, some 500 technicians and 50 teachers will be trained in two years.

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Editorial Views U.S. Customs Response to Caravan

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN ["Our Opinion" station editorial by Orlando Contreras] [Text] The activists of the U.S.-Cuba Friendship Caravan arrive in Havana this afternoon, after having successfully dodged more than a few difficulties during the caravan's gigantic tour, from the time it began in Canada and several different points in the United States until it crossed into Mexico and loaded onto a ship the 140 tons of medicines, foodstuffs, and other products valued at some $3 million. As we have said on several occasions, this solidarity assistance does not solve our problems; it is, however, a gesture of enormous human value, which our people appreciate. I think it only fair to point out that this time the U.S. Customs authorities in Laredo did not give the caravan as hard a time as they did last year; although one piece of equipment was stopped, no particular desire to obstruct the passage of the caravan was observed. In the same way that we do not economize on words criticizing hostile actions against our country on the part of the profuse [profusa] U.S. Administration, we point out this fact, which in essence also constitutes a change from preceding years. Other interpretations of this conduct on the part of Laredo Customs could be made, without there being a direct cause-and-effect relationship. It appears evident that as the conviction that these are not times for blockades and that such museum pieces of symbolism do no one any good gains ground in U.S. political and business sectors, it has little by little been turning into a de facto presence and a call to be realistic. Nor can the fact that, for some time, not a few administration officials have not been in favor of the embargo -- as they call it in North America -- be (?omitted from) the analysis. This U.S-Cuba Friendship Caravan, whose activists arrive this afternoon and will later travel to several provinces to symbolically present the shipment arriving next week, has also contributed to the determination to open the blockade progressively. It is obvious that such a political decision on the part of the Clinton administration will not be adopted tomorrow. However, the price -- also political -- of not taking these factors into account could become significant.

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}Trade Unions Leader Admits Economic Inefficiency

Language: Spanish Article Type:BFN [Text] Havana, 12 Mar (DPA) -- Pedro Ross, leader of the governmental Central Organization of Cuban Trade Unions, CTC, admitted today that the problem of economic inefficiency aggravates the island's critical situation. "Economic efficiency is the solution to many of the Cuban problems that stand in the way of attaining a stable future and a more rapid way out of the island's difficult financial situation," Ross, also a member of the Communist Party of Cuba's Politburo, said. Cuba is experiencing a serious economic situation, the most serious since 1959, due to the dismemberment of the Soviet Union and the Eastern European bloc. In addition, Cuba's standard of living has declined due to shortages ranging from fuel and energy to food and consumption goods. Speaking to the morning newspaper GRANMA, Ross reported on ideas and proposals that arose from the so-called Workers Parliaments, which are being held in almost 80,000 places of employment, on the country's economic crisis and how to cope with it. According to government sources, the results of these meetings will be considered for a special session of the National Assembly (Parliament), the date of which has not yet been set, to discuss other economic reforms. Ross confirmed both measures to improve efficiency in each labor center and the general economy have been discussed during these debates in plants and offices, debates which will end on 16 March. He admitted, however, efficiency must be closely linked to internal finances, on which a number of proposals, including tightening control on the country's resources, were presented. He also said the nearly 3.5 million workers repudiated theft, carelessness, dilapidation, illegal acquisitions of wealth, and people who profit from the population's needs. The government-run magazine BOHEMIA admitted recently the underground economy, or black market, whose operations reached incalculable levels last year, draws mainly from state supplies and enterprises. Although Ross also admitted the existence of contradicting criteria on tax measures, he said there is a general consensus on the need to protect essential services such as health, education, and social security. After reporting most of the workers regard it as necessary to eliminate certain free services and subsidize people rather than products, Ross said the latter measure inflicts yearly losses worth 4 billion pesos on the island economy. (The peso is equivalent officially to the U.S. dollar, although on the black market one dollar equals 100 pesos). Ross

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}Trade Unions Leader Admits Economic Inefficiency

on the country's economic crisis and how to cope with it. According to government sources, the results of these meetings will be considered for a special session of the National Assembly (Parliament), the date of which has not yet been set, to discuss other economic reforms. Ross confirmed both measures to improve efficiency in each labor center and the general economy have been discussed during these debates in plants and offices, debates which will end on 16 March. He admitted, however, efficiency must be closely linked to internal finances, on which a number of proposals, including tightening control on the country's resources, were presented. He also said the nearly 3.5 million workers repudiated theft, carelessness, dilapidation, illegal acquisitions of wealth, and people who profit from the population's needs. The government-run magazine BOHEMIA admitted recently the underground economy, or black market, whose operations reached incalculable levels last year, draws mainly from state supplies and enterprises. Although Ross also admitted the existence of contradicting criteria on tax measures, he said there is a general consensus on the need to protect essential services such as health, education, and social security. After reporting most of the workers regard it as necessary to eliminate certain free services and subsidize people rather than products, Ross said the latter measure inflicts yearly losses worth 4 billion pesos on the island economy. (The peso is equivalent officially to the U.S. dollar, although on the black market one dollar equals 100 pesos). Ross mentioned certain probable measures that will be established in the immediate future, such as higher prices on nonessential articles, such as rum and cigars, but with controlled distribution to try to counter a monopoly. Criticizing strongly union leaders and workers, Ross said he confirmed a general lack of information about how much the country must pay to buy specific products abroad. People are also unaware that the prices of certain products are still the same as 20 or 30 years ago, when the cost of raw materials was lower. He said after concluding the Workers Parliaments, the proposals will start to be debated in the country's 14 provinces on Thursday and that on 29 March the CTC National Committee's plenary will devote its session to a debate on this subject. The probable measures to be debated in the National Assembly's special session include cutting state subsidies, reducing the labor force, and introducing an income tax system.