Fidel Castro biographer expects graceful transitions
By Laura Snider (Contact)
Thursday, April 10, 2008
By the numbers
97% -- literacy rate
$16 -- average monthly income
2 -- number of currencies in Cuba: one for tourists and one for locals
1959 -- year Fidel Castro took over
75% -- work force employed by the state
2.3 million -- number of tourists in 2005
230 -- number of Cubans jailed for political crimes in 2006
Source: U.S. Department of State
The tropical island nation breaking the Caribbean waves just 90 miles
off the Florida coast might have been an afterthought in American
foreign policy if it were in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
Instead, Cuba -- the subject of one of today's panels at the Conference
on World Affairs -- became a mini-sized reminder of the Cold War
conflict with the Soviet Union. The U.S. neighbor, which is about the
size of Pennsylvania, has been vilified, strong-armed, isolated and,
eventually, mythologized by Americans for more than 50 years.
In the 1½ months since Raul Castro officially replaced his older brother
Fidel, the longtime leader of the Communist nation, Cuba is already
starting to transform. American media outlets have recently reported
that Cuban citizens can now buy computers, DVDs, cell phones and stay at
tourist-only resorts.
"These are the press releases that the government is sending out," said
CWA panelist Peter Bourne, a former assistant secretary general at the
United Nations and biographer of Fidel Castro. "The real story is the
dialogue going on in the streets. People are criticizing the government."
Even the government-controlled media has lately been able to criticize
the government, Bourne said.
Today's panel, simply called "Cuba," will likely roam around the
question on everyone's mind: Where is Cuba headed? Unrest? Massive
social reform? Revolution? Democracy?
Stability may be the answer, according to Bourne. He sees that Raul
Castro's government, with the help of a first vice president who served
with Fidel in the revolution, is sending the message that it supports
the policies of the last 50 years while subtly accepting reform beneath
the surface, skillfully nursing the country's metamorphosis.
"The next moment of truth will be when Fidel dies," said Bourne, who
explained that the end of Fidel's rule and the collapse of the Soviet
Union have both unbound Cubans. "For the first time, Cuba is an
independent country not beholden to anyone."
Contact Camera Staff Writer Laura Snider at 303-473-1327 or
sniderl@dailycamera.com.
http://dailycamera.com/news/2008/apr/10/cuba-at-the-crossroads/
No comments:
Post a Comment