There is no Cuba after Castro… at least for now. The 83-year-old
comandante has been subject to jokes about his immortality for some time
now, with good reason. After Queen Elizabeth II, he is the one leader
who has maintained the position of head of government for the longest
period of time.
It is common knowledge that stability has never truly found a permanent
place on Cuban soil, and Fidel Castro certainly did not fall from the
sky straight into power. Unfortunately for Cuba, Castro has been pretty
fortunate. His rise to power was carried out without any major mishaps,
and fortunately for him, Castro is a smart guy and has, throughout the
years, perfected the strategy that keeps him in control.
Cuba was definitely doing better before the establishment of Castro's
totalitarian regime in 1959; however, this is not to say that the
country was exactly doing well. Fulgencio Batista had already taken
power by force long before that, and it would take precisely someone
like Castro to get him off the throne.
Like most leaders of totalitarian tendencies, Batista, also known as
"the Man," began his political career being regarded as a hero. A young
sergeant in 1933, he led a rebellion with labor leaders and students
against dictator Gerardo Machado. Not too long after, he conspired with
United States ambassador Sumner Welles to get provisional president
Ramon Grau San Martin off his seat.
In 1944, however, respecting the electorate's choice, Batista returned
the presidency. Not long after, in 1952, he seized power again through a
coup d'etat. From then on, it was on between him and Castro, who
belonged to the party that had been running against Batista's when he
took power by force in 1952.
When Batista's army could not take on Fidel's, Batista fled to Spain
with a fortune of around $300 million that he had managed to amass.
Ironically enough, he died after living peacefully and comfortably in
Marbella, Spain on Aug. 6, 1973 — two days before a group of assassins
appointed by Castro reached him. Perhaps it was the same bug of paranoia
that prompted Batista to flee Cuba that sent Fidel after him. That is,
after all, what a dictator's influence feeds on: paranoia and brute force.
Cuba is a nation that, before it became frozen in time by the reversing
power of a totalitarian regime, had existed for nearly five centuries,
and as a republic for 57 years. Cuba's favorable agricultural industry —
primarily sugar and tobacco — along with the collaboration throughout
the years between the island's different sectors and the hard work of
its society in general had set fertile ground for progress in the country.
But in Cuba, despotism has been a persistent enemy of progress. The
centralization of power is so ingrained into the way Cuban society
perceives everything that it becomes hard for an individual to come up
with an idea of change without the substance to even construct the thought.
Power has now been transferred to Raul Castro, but change will still not
show its face. The Cuban population is still not allowed to collaborate
for causes or organize in any way. Even if Fidel is no longer physically
active, the idea of him still hangs on all of the political proceedings
and foundations of the Cuban government. President of the Union of Cuban
Exiles in Puerto Rico Mariluz Suarez is not optimistic about Raul's
potential to direct Cuba in the right direction.
She states, "The personal history of Raul, who is not a charismatic
leader, of ruthlessness and greed, does not herald a bright future for
the Cuban people. If anything, the changes that Raul has claimed
worldwide, such as the right to own and use a cell phone, are nothing
more than cosmetic. Who can buy and pay for the use of cell phone in a
place where the average salary is equivalent to twenty dollars?"
In other words, Raul is perhaps just a puppet of this system. He
operates under the same ideology, the only ideology that will keep the
system alive: careful and coldly premeditated manipulation of the masses.
The Obama administration has certainly begun taking steps toward mending
relationships with Cuba. For example, shortly after taking office, Obama
lifted restrictions on the possibility of individuals visiting relatives
in Cuba, as well as sending them remittances.
This represents an important shift in a U.S. policy that had remained
mostly unchanged for as long as half a century. However, while we like
to look optimistically upon such "advancements," we are forced to remain
hesitant, since the system has proven stubborn throughout history — it
drives us to believe that no real change will come until it springs from
the Cuban government itself.
UCE President Suarez seems to agree. "There is a worldwide expectation
that with the 'disappearance' of Fidel from public view, the system that
has strangled the economy, the liberties, the hopes for a better life in
Cuba will somehow change positively. The system is firmly established in
the island, just as it was established in Russia for various decades. In
the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, after the deaths of Lenin,
Stalin, Breznev, Kruschev, etc. — the iron fist of Communism was not
abated. So will it not be in Cuba, where nothing will change for the
better, since the system is entrenched in all the aspects of everyday
life, and there is no liberty of expression, reunion, or political views."
In short, we must view this regime for what it is if we wish to do away
with it. The key is definitely Cuban society itself. Communism will die
when Cuba and its people are ready to let it disintegrate, when they
realize there is another way, a chance for a better life.
As younger generations come of age, communication with the outside world
will continue increasing and will subsequently feed the dreams of the
Cubans.
The regime controlling these people's minds and lives will be done away
with as soon as circumstance allows them the social capacity to shatter
the habit of fear and blind obedience that is keeping them subordinated.
The Tartan Online : Cuban society, not Castro, must change government
(14 September 2009)
http://www.thetartan.org/2009/9/14/forum/castro
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