By: Antony Loewenstein
Monday 7 May 2007
During a recent trip to New York, I spoke with writer, agent and
activist Anthony Arnove about his experiences in Cuba. He had visited
the communist country only once, with writer Howard Zinn, with whom he
co-edited Voices of a People's History of the United States. 'Does the
Left in Australia have the same problems with Cuba as here?' Arnove
asked. 'There is no freedom of speech in Cuba,' he added bluntly. 'Why
do many on the Left ignore this?'
A recent article by Australian academic Tim Anderson proved this very point:
In the US, 'freedom of speech' means that a handful of private
corporations dominate the mass media.
In Cuba, the media (television, radio, magazines, newspapers) are
all run by public bodies or community organisations. No private
individual or investment group can capture or dominate public debate in
Cuba. Nor is there mind-numbing, commercial advertising.
In the US, mass communications are dominated by consumerism and
celebrity trivia; politics is about individuals seeking public office.
In Cuba, mass communications are dominated by education and cultural
programs; politics is about co-ordinated social responses to social
problems … Cuba is a democracy and the US is not.
This is embarrassing rhetoric from somebody who ought to know better.
Anderson and his fellow travellers should know that pointing out the
deficiencies of one system doesn't automatically mean endorsing the
policies of another. The multitude of faults with US-style 'democracy'
can be addressed in other forums, but nothing should blunt the necessity
of critiquing the failings of Castro's reign.
Cuba is a police State.
After spending time in Cuba, it is clear that revolutionary fervour is
virtually non-existent among the younger generation; and that the
genuine successes of the country — free healthcare and education, as
just two examples — are compromised by the Castro regime's repression of
its citizens and its isolating them from information that is freely
available in the West.
Such truisms do not mean, however, that US-style disaster capitalism is
the answer. Indeed, many people I spoke to in Cuba were both wary and
highly curious about a wholesale change of their economic system. The
young, especially, were already embracing American hip-hop culture —
listening to Gangsta Rap or wearing signature fashion.
Rather than aspiring towards a Hugo Chávez-style socialism — the
Venezuelan leader, it should be noted, is not universally loved in Cuba
due principally to his undying support for virtually every aspect of
Castro's regime — many Cubans' curiosity about the outside world cannot
be restricted indefinitely by paranoid and parochial officials.
One of the key challenges for the Cuban Government is the availability
of the internet. Although many young Cubans have access to a Cuban
intranet that includes an email service and Government websites, full
access to the world wide web is unavailable for most. I spoke to a
student in Havana who knew all about the internet because he was
studying IT, but he wasn't allowed to view the net himself. 'I don't
think it's very useful to cut off information,' he said. 'Many of my
friends are frustrated by this. What is the Government afraid of?'
The answer is clear. The regime has consistently said that full access
to the internet is impossible due to the US's immoral and
counterproductive embargo of the island, but as Reuters Cuba
correspondent, Marc Frank, told me, this was pure propaganda. 'The two
main security issues for the Government are [mobile] phones and the
internet,' he said.
It is, of course, important to remember that the majority of Cubans are
not spending their days wishing for internet access. More mundane needs,
like food and solid employment, are far more pressing. But how the
regime deals with these communications issues in the coming years will
determine how fast the country embraces the globalised world.
Independent journalist Miriam Leiva is an intense woman whose husband,
Oscar Espinosa Chepe, an economist and journalist , has been jailed and
abused for opposing the Castro regime. She told me that their lives have
often become unbearable because 'for Fidel, some prisoners are really
his own' and he never forgives or forgets.
Leiva and Chepe were both quiet and determined people and didn't believe
in violently overthrowing the Government. In fact, their requests were
modest — not unlike their crumbling apartment in outer Havana, a few
rooms of clutter and leaking taps — and they both articulated a steady
move towards a more accountable and democratic system. 'Corruption here
is rife,' Oscar said, 'and if you read the newspapers every day, it's
like deja-vu. You can't find any useful information in them.'
The militant population of Cuban exiles in Miami, Florida, has led the
campaign against Castro for decades — but like for many on the Left in
the West, a profound disconnect exists between propaganda and reality.
Even many of the anti-Castro dissidents in Cuba told me that they
opposed the tactics of the Miami Cubans. 'They don't really know what's
going on here,' Miriam said, and their brazen support for dissidents
only worsened their own lives. A number of dissidents told me that they
strongly opposed the Bush Administration's attempts to unseat Castro and
never took financial assistance from the US Government.
Real democratic change must come, if at all, from the people themselves,
not via agenda-setting foreign forces reminiscent of clumsy US attempts
to support opposition groups in Iran and elsewhere.
Cuba is a beautiful, beguiling and frustrating country on the brink of
something. The future of the island depends on many factors, not least
the US response to Fidel Castro's death. I asked Marc Frank how Cubans
would react when Castro eventually died. 'They'll go to the beach,' he
said, 'just like they did when he was seriously sick.'
I doubt this — it's clear that Fidel still commands a great deal of
respect for leading a nation through decades of change, turmoil, US
pressure and Soviet collapse. It was harder to discern much love for
him, however. Fidel's death will probably bring little short-term change
— unless, of course, Washington decides to embark on a not-so-subtle
course of 'regime change.'
The so-called dissidents in Cuba may not represent a huge proportion of
Cuban society, but their voices are vital to truly understanding the
rich fabric of Cuban society.
If the international Left wants to do itself any favours — and Tariq Ali
has already articulated where they could begin — they should be calling
for reform of the Cuban system.
A truly open media, unfettered freedom of speech, and freedom of
association are not merely Western indulgences. They are essential for
any country to join the ranks of respectable nations.
About the author:
Antony Loewenstein is a Sydney-based freelance journalist, author and
blogger. He has written for the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The
Australian, The Guardian, Sydney's Sun-Herald, The Bulletin, The
Washington Post, The Big Issue, Crikey, Znet, Counterpunch and others.
Melbourne University Publishing has released his book on the
Israel/Palestine conflict, My Israel Question (2006), recently
short-listed for the 2007 NSW Premier's Literary Award. His website is
http://www.newmatilda.com/home/articledetailmagazine.asp?ArticleID=2229&HomepageID=193
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