There can be leftist groups that have not matured politically.

I still believe in what I believed in for 20 years as a Socialist in Parliament, and being a Socialist is not the same as being a utopian.

People can come and see me, and I have the pleasure of being able to talk to them.

If the U.S. is going to defend itself, why shouldn't we do the same? We only want to be treated equally, nothing more.

Fidel Castro is a man with a great sense of self-criticism and respect for his political friends. He is not going to give me instructions, and I am not the type of man who would take them. That's not to say that I don't approve of what is happening in Cuba, but he would never send me a letter telling me what to do or not to do.

I have been to Cuba many times. I have spoken many times with Fidel Castro and got to know Commander Ernesto Guevara well enough. I know Cuba's leaders and their struggle. It has been difficult to overcome the blockade. But the reality in Cuba is very different from that in Chile. Cuba came from a dictatorship, and I arrived at the presidency after being senator for 25 years.

I have often said that it doesn't matter to me if a student tells me he is a leader of the left, unless he is a good student. We need good students.