October 22 is the 18th anniversary of the physical disappearance of the prime minister of science, technology and environment.

Some remember your voice. Others remember his deep gaze with a dose of sweetness that doesn’t require words. Those who remember her passion for science, the environment and people are not missing… Rosa Elena Simeón Negrín is remembered as a scientist, mother, minister, companion and grandmother.

This October 22 marks 18 years of his departure. But if you look at his legacy, his ideas and his example, he has made his mark in the current constitution, in environmental laws, in the integrative approach of science, in the concepts of sustainable economic and social development and environmental education, and in every project. Without forgetting the value of humility, it contains these maxims from the high positions he held, from which he formed the essence of his work.

When the interviews he gave are examined, the qualities that enable him to be remembered with love and respect emerge.

Born on June 17, 1943, in Bejucal, the daughter of a tobacconist and pharmacist, she “could have studied medicine with the added effort of her parents, but never became a scientist,” she said. However, he is a medical doctor who graduated in the 1966-1967 academic year, and besides his graduate education in France, he also traveled the paths of veterinary medicine, virology and corporate management.

At the Center for Scientific Research (CNIC), the first of its kind in the country, African swine fever, Cuban Academy of Sciences (ACC), National Commission for Environmental Protection participated in their research. and Rational Use of Natural Resources (COMARNA), Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (Citma).

He was the hero of a new age for the planet. According to his close collaborators, he was “an exceptional witness to the historical moment of the rise of environmentalism in his modern vision of incorporating environmentalism into development and knowing how to transfer the best of these processes to Cuban work.”

With his guidance and direction, studies were carried out on a new environmental framework law, the structuring of an Environment Agency, environmental regulations, the inclusion of the environmental dimension in foreign investment legislation, and the creation of licenses and conditions. that protects the environment.

He tirelessly chose the catalyst and integrative role of Citma, played a relevant role in the preparation of Cuba’s first Environmental Strategy, focused and contributed to the identification of the country’s main environmental problems and political action to reverse them. Establishment of the National Hydrographic Basin Commission.

Nothing could stop him, and only death could. Neither medicine, nor the love of his family and friends, nor the respect of his people could hinder him.

Reflections and news

Some of the thoughts that Rosa Elena Simeón expressed more than 20 years ago are completely current today. Knowledge management, he thought, provides an opportunity for its consistent application in business management, as a country with limited material and financial resources, it has been subjected to and needs a strict economic and trade blockade by the largest world power for more than 40 years. there is to enter the international market in conditions of competition, not only to survive, but also to develop.” Although the blockade has been in place for more than sixty years, this statement in 2001 is fully valid.

Another of its benchmarks remains challenging, although progress has been made. “Undoubtedly, a woman needs to work harder than a man to reach a certain management position, because whatever she does, she is the one who continues to run the house even though she has a great job. my husband. like I have.”

Having risen and held various management positions over the years until he led the Cuban Academy of Sciences and later the newly formed Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, he admitted that his managerial activity also pleased him. “This uses the same tools used in research to look for the causes of a problem, draw conclusions, and see how it is resolved,” he said in an interview in 2001.

Although he claimed he preferred the doctor-patient relationship, he admitted that he had learned in the laboratory to “discover the extraordinary wonder of scientific research, namely to look for new things and find explanations for phenomena.” If I had to start over, I have no doubt about it, I would have gone the same way”.

He also placed special emphasis on personal example: “I cannot ask others what I cannot do”.

“He’s an extraordinary person,” said one biologist. One doctor expressed the view that “the paradigm of the Cuban woman”. She was a comprehensive, very humane and extremely prepared woman, an exemplary mother, she had a high sense of responsibility and knew how to nurture and create the appropriate atmosphere in the group.” These and others were Rosa Elena, who was born in Bejucal and conquered the world with her intelligence, perseverance, will and dedication.