As a point of fact, I am not used to making frequent appearances in public, except at times when it is required.

I hope Mr. Obama has success.

I was not chosen to be president to restore capitalism to Cuba. I was elected to defend, maintain and continue to perfect socialism, not destroy it.

In Cuba we have one party, but in the U.S. there is very little difference. Both parties are an expression of the ruling class.

No country is 100 percent free of human rights abuses.

Preventing a war is tantamount to winning a war.

The notion that Cuba is the only country in the world where you can live without working must be erased forever.

I never liked the idea of giving interviews. One says many things, but when they are published, they become shortened, condensed. The ideas lose their meaning.

In Cuba, taking into account the long fight for our independence and sovereignty, we will defend the one-party system in the face of the games, demagogy and the marketing of politics.

Only the Communist Party, as the institution that brings together the revolutionary vanguard and will always guarantee the unity of Cubans, can be the worthy heir of the trust deposited by the people in their leader.