Gawronski: But China, even if it’s remained socialist politically, is trying to move away from socialism economically. On the other hand, Cuba still seems to be solidly socialist. Isn’t it difficult to be the only socialist country when everything around you is changing?
Castro: I think China is a socialist country, and Vietnam is a socialist country as well. And they insist that they’ve introduced all the necessary reforms, precisely to stimulate development and to continue advancing towards the objectives of socialism. There are no chemically pure regimes or systems.
In Cuba, for example, we have many forms of private property. We have tens of thousands of landowners who own, in some cases, up to 45 hectares; in Europe they would be considered latifundistas. Practically all Cubans own their own homes and, what’s more, we are more than open to foreign investment. But none of this detracts from Cuba’s socialist character.
What’s certain is that we will never make the mistake of destroying the country to make something new. We will not make the mistake of plunging our country into chaos, into anarchy, to solve the problems we have, because that would be the only way to never solve them.
From here:
Gawronski: But China, even if it’s remained socialist politically, is trying to move away from socialism economically. On the other hand, Cuba still seems to be solidly socialist. Isn’t it difficult to be the only socialist country when everything around you is changing?
Castro: I think China is a socialist country, and Vietnam is a socialist country as well. And they insist that they’ve introduced all the necessary reforms, precisely to stimulate development and to continue advancing towards the objectives of socialism. There are no chemically pure regimes or systems.
In Cuba, for example, we have many forms of private property. We have tens of thousands of landowners who own, in some cases, up to 45 hectares; in Europe they would be considered latifundistas. Practically all Cubans own their own homes and, what’s more, we are more than open to foreign investment. But none of this detracts from Cuba’s socialist character.
What’s certain is that we will never make the mistake of destroying the country to make something new. We will not make the mistake of plunging our country into chaos, into anarchy, to solve the problems we have, because that would be the only way to never solve them.