Cubans' fears -- and hopes

Posted on Fri, Aug. 04, 2006

FIDEL CASTRO
Cubans' fears -- and hopes
By MIRIAM LEIVA

HAVANA -- ``I delegate, on a provisional basis . . . ''

Six key words in the proclamation from the Commander in Chief to the
People of Cuba, read by his personal secretary so there would be no
doubt that nobody was replacing him, not even at a time when his health
was at its worst.

No Cuban can remember such a very ill old man as leader, or one leader
replacing another. Only the faithful and competent secretary repeating
six times: ''I delegate, on a provisional basis, my functions as . . .
'' Most probably, those words had been written a long time ago,
foreseeing an emergency.

Fresh in the memory of Cubans was the Maximum Leader, the Commander in
Chief, delivering his speeches at 7 in the morning and 7 at night, on
July 26, on the 53rd anniversary of that date in 1953. His
responsibilities as First Secretary of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of Cuba, Commander in Chief of the Revolutionary Armed
Forces and President of the Council of State and Government would pass
''provisionally'' to the heir, after more than 47 years.

His functions as ''principal promoter of the national and international
program of public health,'' ''principal promoter of the national and
international program of education'' and ''principal promoter of the
national program of the energy revolution'' were passed on to three
persons. The funds assigned to those three programs, which officially
nobody knew he handled personally, would be managed by three others, who
must create a commission for that purpose.

Suspense, uncertainty

Undoubtedly, nobody else in Cuba has accumulated so many functions;
nobody else has held so much power to control the fate of the Cuban
people. Nobody else has displayed so much charisma and sagacity. Is he
leaving definitely? No, he's there, everywhere. And he might just return
in a few weeks, after undergoing a ``complicated surgical operation.''

He announces that his birthday ''which thousands of personalities so
generously agreed to celebrate next Aug. 13'' (a bit of news that Cubans
are just learning) will have to be postponed until Dec. 2, the 50th
anniversary of the landing of the Granma. Thus, he prognosticates his
personal recovery and participation in those festivities.

Those subtleties, which slip by unnoticed, seem to be the keys to the
feeling of suspense and uncertainty that has followed the surprise
created by the reading of the proclamation. He is there, but he isn't;
nobody knows when or if he will return, but he hasn't stopped being
there. Meanwhile, the heirs ad interim at the helm try to maintain an
air of normalcy without surprises, a climate of continuity.

However, people sense that nothing will remain the same. People feel
fear and at the same time hope that the eternal savior at times of
crisis, Raúl Castro, will manage to pull the country out of the terrible
economic, political and social situation it's in. This is a source of
much concern to those in the leading circles; they need stability and
progress to hold on to power, but many of them realize that their days
are numbered and that they'll be replaced. Others wonder if Raúl will
lead the nation to democracy and the opportunities of the 21st century.

What Raúl could bring

Walking out on the street on the morning of Aug. 1 frightened everyone,
but no one said anything. In 47 years, Cubans have known no other
leader. More than 70 percent of the population was born after 1959.
Nobody knew what they would find or whether one's life, family life and
the nation's life would change from one day to the next. Later, there
was a feeling of relief for most people, but no guarantees for tomorrow.
There was fear that this might be just a pause to gauge the reaction of
the population . . . fear of greater repression . . . fear of that
uncertain future, uncertain in many ways.

It remains to be seen whether those armed forces that gradually have
assumed control of the principal institutions, that have been the real
backbone of power -- a power they will now wield more decisively -- will
take this opportunity to propitiate a fortunate future for all the Cuban
people.

Miriam Leiva, an independent journalist in Cuba, is a founding member of
the dissident group Ladies in White.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/15194238.htm