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Proclamation by the Commander in Chief to the people of Cuba: As a result of the enormous effort [I] made to visit the Argentine city of Cordoba to participate in the reunion of Mercosur, in the closing ceremony of the Summit of the Peoples at the historic University of Cordoba, and in the visit to Altagracia, the city where Che spent his childhood, and, along with all this, to attend immediately the commemoration of the 53rd anniversary of the assault on the barracks at Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Cespedes on July 26, 1953, in the provinces of Granma and Holguin, days and nights of continuous work, barely able to sleep, my health, which has withstood all trials, was subjected to extreme stress and broke down. This provoked an acute intestinal crisis, with sustained bleeding, that obliged me to face a complicated surgical operation. All details of this health accident are evident in the X-rays, endoscopies, and filmed materials. The operation obliges me to spend several weeks in repose, away from my responsibilities and duties. Because our country is threatened in these circumstances by the government of the United States, I have made the following decisions: 1. I delegate, on a provisional basis, my functions as First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba upon the Second Secretary, comrade Raul Castro Ruz. 2. I delegate, on a provisional basis, my functions as Commander in Chief of the Heroic Revolutionary Armed Forces upon the aforementioned comrade, Army Gen. Raul Castro Ruz. 3. I delegate, on a provisional basis, my functions as President of the Council of State and Government of the Republic of Cuba on the First Vice President, comrade Raul Castro Ruz. 4. I delegate, on a provisional basis, my functions as principal promoter of the national and international program of public health upon the member of the Political Bureau and Minister of Public Health, comrade Jose Ramon Balaguer Cabrera. 5. I delegate, on a provisional basis, my functions as principal promoter of the national and international program of education upon comrades Jose Ramon Machado Ventura and Esteban Lazo Hernandez, members of the Political Bureau. 6. I delegate, on a provisional basis, my functions as principal promoter of the national program of the energy revolution in Cuba, and cooperation with other countries on this field, upon comrade Carlos Lage Davila, member of the Political Bureau and Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers. The funds required for these three programs -- health, education and energy -- must continue to be managed and prioritized, as I have been doing it personally, by comrades Carlos Lage Davila, Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers; Francisco Soberon Valdes, Minister-President of the Central Bank of Cuba; and Felipe Perez Roque, Minister of Foreign Relations, who accompanied me in these tasks and who must form a commission for that purpose. Our glorious Communist Party, supported by the mass organizations, and all the people, has the mission to assume the task recommended in this proclamation. The Summit of the Movement of Nonaligned Nations, to be held between the 11th and 16th of September, must be given the closest attention by the State and Cuban nation so it may be held with the greatest brilliance on the appointed date. [About] the 80th anniversary of my birth, which thousands of people so generously agreed to celebrate next Aug. 13, I beg all of you to postpone it until Dec. 2 of this year, the 50th anniversary of the landing of the Granma. I ask the Party's Central Committee and the National Assembly of the People's Power for the firmest support for this proclamation. I have not the slightest doubt that our people and our Revolution will fight to the last drop of blood to defend this and other ideas and measures that may be necessary to safeguard this historic process. Imperialism will never be able to crush Cuba. The battle of ideas will go forward. Long live the motherland! Long live the Revolution! Long live socialism! On to victory, always! [signed] Fidel Castro Ruz Commander in Chief First Secretary of the Party and President of the Councils of State and Ministers of the Republic of Cuba. July 31, 2006, at 6:22 p.m.