Dario Lopez-Mills/Associated Press
By SIMON ROMERO
Published: January 1, 2009
Cuba marked the 50th anniversary of its revolution on Thursday amid
somber assessments of a struggling economy, even as its Communist
leaders exalted the resilience of a political system that has endured 10
United States administrations.
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Fidel Castro, 82, whose group of bearded rebels waged a guerrilla war
that toppled the strongman Fulgencio Batista on Jan. 1, 1959, remained
behind the scenes during the subdued festivities on the island nation,
grappling with an undisclosed illness that forced him into seclusion
more than two years ago.
"I congratulate our heroic people," Mr. Castro said in brief comments
published by Granma, the newspaper of Cuba's Communist Party.
Mr. Castro's younger brother, President Raúl Castro, 77, addressed the
nation Thursday night from the eastern city of Santiago. But instead of
jubilation, the younger Mr. Castro, who officially became president in
2008, seems to have been preparing Cubans for more hardships as the
revolution enters its sixth decade.
Speaking from beneath the same balcony where Fidel Castro declared
victory over the Batista government, President Castro said the
revolution would survive another 50 years.
But he also referred to a speech by his brother a few years ago, in
which he warned that "this revolution can destroy itself," The
Associated Press reported; if that occurred, Raúl Castro quoted his
brother as saying, "it would be our own fault." Nearly all of the time
since Fidel Castro seized control of the country has been spent under a
United States economic embargo. Cuban officials said in December that
the economy would grow 4.3 percent in 2008, about half the rate that had
been expected.
Even though Cuba's economy has been stabilized in recent years by the
provision of about 100,000 barrels a day of subsidized oil from
Venezuela, it is dealing with a host of other problems.
Hurricanes wrought damage last year, while agricultural disarray
heightened reliance on food imports. The younger Mr. Castro has
introduced halting reforms like allowing Cubans to buy cellphones or
stay at hotels set aside for foreign tourists, but average salaries of
about $20 a month put such luxuries out of reach for most people.
Scattered flags and small banners with slogans appeared in recent days
in the capital, Havana, but otherwise events surrounding the
revolution's anniversary were in keeping with the somber economic mood.
Illustrating just how long the enmity between Cuba and the United States
has persisted, the incoming United States president, Barack Obama, who
is 47, was not yet born when President Eisenhower ordered the first
sanctions against Cuba in 1960.
But while Mr. Obama has signaled the possibility of dialogue with Cuba's
leaders and the lifting of some restrictions on travel to Cuba, other
nations in Latin America and elsewhere have gone much further in efforts
to make Cuba less isolated.
The presidents of Brazil, China and Russia have all visited Havana in
recent months, pledging greater economic cooperation. At Mexico's
initiative in December, Cuba was admitted to the Rio Group, a diplomatic
association of Latin American and Caribbean countries. And in October,
the European Union formally renewed ties to Cuba.
"While the U.S. is dithering, virtually every other major actor in world
affairs is becoming more engaged with Cuba," said Daniel Erikson,
director of Caribbean programs at the Inter-American Dialogue, a policy
research group in Washington.
Still, Cuba's enduring revolution, which has secured advances in
education and health care, faces other challenges. It has one the
hemisphere's lowest birthrates, 1.6 children per woman, and one of its
highest life expectancy rates, 77.3 years. Emigration of thousands of
young people each year also erodes its population of 11.4 million.
Some Cubans find opportunity in a society in which revolutionary fervor
wanes while other needs prevail. One 33-year-old resident of Havana said
he studied international trade, but gave up a legitimate career in
business because of a lack of job opportunities.
Now he works on the black market. "I have my own business; I sell Viagra
pills," said the man, who did not want to be identified for fear of
running afoul of authorities. "You can't buy them in Cuban shops, so
that is a pretty good business considering that the Cuban population is
growing older every year."
Guillaume Decamme contributed reporting from Havana.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/02/world/americas/02cuba.html?_r=1&ref=americas
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