I remember that a couple of years ago as we faced the need to massively modernize our armament; we made a similar plea to engineers, technicians, and skilled laborers and other specialists in the military industry who were already retired. Many answered the call and are still working, among them a couple of grandparents.

Going back to the topic of wages, we would all like to proceed more quickly, but we must act realistically, unlike those who spread the absurd and in no way innocent lie throughout the world that the Cuban worker earns on average the equivalent of $17 monthly. I recall the [words indistinct] minister reported that the average salary was 436 pesos, how much is it divided by 25? Seventeen or 18 dollars? Tomorrow you will see how the international media will describe your words. They will say it is the equivalent to $17 or $18 a month.

They simply divide the average income by the exchange rate established for currency exchange offices, known as Cadecas, in other words divided by 25. They do so knowing that not a single capitalist country can afford to cover all that an average Cuban family has access to with $17 times 30, to quote a conservative figure.

We know there are problems. Just to give you an example. Today an average family pays about 118 pesos a month for regulated products, all of them subsidized, which would currently cost $61. That does not mean that we are satisfied with what we have achieved, but we are aware of the problems -the products that are scarce or insufficient -and we are working to have fewer every day.

The harder we work, the faster we will get there, but we must be aware that every wage increase we approve, or every price we establish, must be consistent with our economic possibilities. Otherwise, the amount of money circulating increases, prices automatically increase, and there is no real purchasing power increase. These are not issues that can be solved through a decree. In our case, they are more complex because the Revolution does not use shock therapy, which we are seeing in every continent today and do nothing more than put the full load of the crisis on the people. In the minds of cadres and workers there are still vices such as indiscipline, and its acceptance, which have a direct impact on productivity and efficiency.

For the worker to feel like the owner of the means of production we cannot rely solely on theoretical explanations -we have been doing that for about 48 years -nor on the fact that his opinion is taken into consideration in the labour meetings. It is very important that his income correspond to his personal contribution and the fulfilment by the work centre of the social object for which it was constituted. In order words, it meets the established production or service goals. In short, each should be paid according to their performance and the following vital premises must be fulfilled in order to attain this:

First, the work truly meets the demand of the entire population.

Second, that order, control, and rigorous discipline ensure efficiency, savings, and prevent the theft or embezzlement of resources.

Third, the elimination of unwarranted handouts and excessive subsidies. I repeat, the elimination of unwarranted handouts and excessive subsidies.

Fourth, an adequate tax and contribution system so that we all contribute to support services that are provided free of charge or at highly subsidized prices and to finance activities such as defence, domestic security and order, public administration, and many other activities vital to running any nation.

I am trying to remember when he heard that term of tax. Because a comrade was telling me the other day that in a little neighbourhood in Havana a farmer was happy with the plans to increase the prices paid for their cows and was already planning to build a second floor on his house for his son, and was already setting the first steel rods in place, and this city comrade who is not too familiar with the country asked him: How much do you pay in taxes? To which the farmer replied: What's that?

What's that?

Socialism means [pause] oh no, pardon me, that is [pause] it is not that the farmer was ignorant. At this point we still have to figure out how many veterans we might have around in the Finance and the Economy and Planning Ministries who might know something about taxes. I mention this because we have to implement them and it is a [word indistinct] that requires regulation, demands many things.

In all honesty, I can tell you that I have been waiting for weeks for the figures on how many things in this country are free or subsidized. There are so many that I still do not have a number. In all honesty, I also must tell you that all these problems we are analysing [word indistinct] social security [word indistinct] work less. This is a reality that you can confirm in any corner of the nation. Pardon the bluntness of my words. It is not mandatory to agree with them.

Socialism means social justice and equality but equality equality of rights and opportunities, not salaries. Equality does not mean egalitarism. This is, in the end, another form of exploitation, that of the exploitation of the responsible worker by the one who is not, or even worse, by the slothful.

Another vital issue is that the work force be were it is needed. This is why I was saying that each province should have its own teachers, its own doctors, its own construction workers, etc.

And since we are one single and very united nation, if one region needs any type of help, and under any circumstances, it will get it from the other but the Party, the social and mass organizations, the provincial and municipal government entities must think about these issues.

[Words indistinct] what we want is to engage our minds and focus and all those visits by the delegates, a correct decision, to the municipalities where they were elected, is correct, but we have to reduce the [word indistinct]. Avoid what has happened too often, that we are welcomed with a prefabricated programme like a foreign delegation or a member of the diplomatic corps.

The not-so-young will remember that from this very same podium, when the provinces used to present their performance reports, which they have not done so in a long time, a government president, a good comrade, read a report here, which I had no other choice, despite the embarrassment it caused me, and the shame I felt for him, but to pronounce a strongly worded address that resulted in the dismissal of the one responsible for it, beginning with the first secretary of the Party in the province, Granma, a [words indistinct] from Granma. Do you remember that?

Everything [word indistinct] and here many delegates spoke marvels about the province. I remember that we carried out some inspections and remember that when they knew we were going to visit a school they would cut down the grass in the area we had to go by. And since I went to a place where there were many mobilized workers, from the bus carrying the secretary, the president of the government, the other comrades, and I -it was a large group -there were flags and meeting everywhere. I realized they had set it all up. I asked: Why are you in a meeting, it is 4:00 PM? Flags! Cuban flags! 26 July flags! I do not remember if we were nearing some anniversary. They told me an unacceptable lie, that since they were engaged in the emulation process, they were studying -Hold it! Drive back there! And we arrived at a camp. The camp leaders immediately came over, the address was already written. The speaker had no voice from rehearsing so much. [chuckles] Because, I told him right in front of the camp leaders: You have no voice from rehearsing too much? He replied: Ah, non-stop since the Party secretary called on the phone. [laughter]

The not-so-young will still remember that. I am still very young so I still remember it. I will never forget it.

Another vital topic, as I was telling you, is for the labour force to be where it is needed, otherwise I ask you, who is going to plant and harvest the food we consume that is constantly become more expensive in international markets? At times, I put it in simpler terms and ask: Who is going to plant the beans? Who is going to build the projects needed? Who is going to produce what is required to underwrite the social security funds we were talking about, the health and education programmes, to mention only these three important social accomplishments to which the nation allocates nearly 43 per cent of its budget. If we add the budget for sports and culture, these five sectors, social security, health, education, sports, and culture represent 55 per cent of the national budget for this year. The remaining 45 per cent cover the rest of the national activities.

The slots provided by the education facilities must be proportional to the future labour needs and possibilities. I repeat: The slots provided by the education facilities must be proportional to the future labour needs and possibilities of each specific region. Also, they must be assigned to those who are truly interested in working in the field.

Look at the numbers and you will find out that several graduate in one field and three months later are working in a different one. This is wasteful. Some, to avoid being sent somewhere, register in a technical school and then find a way to go somewhere else.

Besides, in addition to giving them to those truly interested in working in that field, didn't we talk about agriculture and the lands that will be given out? Is the minister of (pause) Why did you raise your hand ahead of time? Is she the only one here? Maria del Carmen is the Agriculture minister. In the meeting of the Council of State and the Politburo that we had last night where we analysed these issues and address, she asked for a figure on how many have graduated as agronomists and how many are still working in that field.

You were very far away!

[acting Agriculture Minister Maria del Carmen Perez] Yes, yesterday we were talking with comrade Fernandez and found out that there were more than 31,000 graduates.

[Castro] How many?

[Perez] More than 31,000 agronomists. And right now in the Agriculture Ministry, not the Sugar Ministry, we have about 8 per cent, or between 6,000 and 7,000 agronomy engineers.

[Castro] There is always a number of deaths and so forth. The Sugar Ministry should have fewer. I will not ask you. I did not ask you yesterday, but you have the figure in your head, or you can give an average.

[Sugar Minister Ulises Rosales del Toro] Army General, we have 20 per cent, and those presently in school fill the gap. We have the advantage of the Alvaro Reinoso Programme.

[Castro] The downsizing of the sector. These are not the most eloquent of examples but you can verify this in your own regions. Thank you both.

I will now continue addressing these issues. A break to drink tea if I may [drinks tea].

Harmony between planning and organization is essential in socialism. I repeat: Harmony between planning and organization is essential in socialism. Its absence can lead to a chaos more dangerous than capitalism, where market laws establish a certain order and balance, though at the cost of the sacrifice of billions of human beings on a global scale.

In socialism it is vital that the allocation of resources in the economic plans strictly reflect the available funds. We cannot expect two plus two to total five. Two plus two is four. Actually, sometimes in socialism two plus two equals three.

I give you these ideas, in the first place, to encourage you to think. Not just you, comrade deputies, but all of our compatriots - the whole country. Some of these ideas are personal opinions that should not be taken as immutable. They are matters that we must study and discuss deeply and objectively, the only way to continue finding the best way to carry on the revolution and socialism.

Let us not forget the observation comrade Fidel made during his landmark address in the main hall at the University of Havana on 19 November 2005, when he said: I have come to the conclusion after many years that among the many mistakes we have all made, the largest was believing that someone was an expert in socialism, or that someone knew how socialism is built. End of quote.

Another permanently valid concept is that the fewer resources there are, the more discipline is needed, and the more we must foresee, plan, organize, demand, and save. The current world economic landscape, and therefore our own, urgently requires this.

I am not very young any more, although I feel young, and we have proven many of these matters in practice. We encountered a huge problem when we had an enormous army which came to have, including the 55,000 men in Angola at the end, approximately 280,000 men and 50,000 officers, though we had already carried out some gradual reductions when the Soviet Union fell. We applied these principals in the Armed Forces, and we saw the results. We have been successful in everything [words indistinct].

[Castro apparently repeats himself] Another permanently valid concept is that the fewer resources there are, the more discipline is needed, and the more we must foresee, plan, organize, demand, and save. The current world economic landscape, and therefore our own, urgently requires this.

In 2003, a barrel of oil cost approximately $28. At the same time last year it already cost between $70 and $80. It recently broke the $145 mark. That is more than five times the price five years ago. It is impossible to say when the price will stop climbing because the world oil supply is being depleted more quickly than previously calculated.

For example, just a few hours ago in Europe, the price per barrel surpassed $147. Brent oil, from the north. It was at $145 for a while, and then a few hours ago it went up to $147. There was no movement in the US market, and then during our lunch break it rose to the same price in New York. A little more, $147.50. The value of the dollar continued to fall. New examples. I had a paragraph left.

When speaking of oil there are other factors as well, such as agro-fuel production, financial speculation, and the devaluation of the dollar, to name just a few. These have caused a rise in price for almost every food product and the resources used in their production. Three examples: in July of 2007, the price of importing rice had risen to $435 per ton. Today it costs $1,100 per ton. It used to cost $435. A similar amount of wheat, one ton, cost $297 when we spoke in Camaguey last year. Now it costs more than $409. During that same address in Camaguey on 26 July I said that a ton of powdered milk at that time cost the astronomical sum of $5,200, whereas four years earlier it cost $2,100, less than half. Everything is more expensive. On top of everything, fertilizer prices are among those that are climbing fastest. One of the most important fertilizers rose from $303 per ton in July 2007 to $688 now. Another commonly used one, [word indistinct] cost $400 a year ago but now costs almost $700. It seems like the work of the devil.

Fidel's prediction in his reflection of 28 March 2007, which was titled More Than 3 Billion Condemned to Death by Hunger and Thirst, is coming to pass. There is no solution on the horizon, at least not as soon as needed. The situation may even get worse, though some insist on keeping their eyes shut. We will continue to do whatever we can to ensure that these serious problems affect our people as little as possible, but it is inevitable that we will suffer the effects to a degree in some products and services because on top of everything the enemy is doing everything possible to cause us problems in an absurd attempt to bring us to our knees. Recently, each time our country has adopted a measure, some US official - whether an ambassador or the president -has called it insufficient and cosmetic, though nobody here asked for their opinion.

I reiterate that we will never make even the smallest decision as a result of pressure or extortion, whatever the source: whether a powerful country or an entire continent. We showed this when, at the insistence of the United States, we were forced out of the OAS and all of the countries in Latin America, with the honourable exception of Mexico, broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba. We also remember when, in 1996, under the same imperial mandate, the countries of the European Union adopted the Common Position against Cuba.