Cuba: Castro Looking To Follow the Asian Model?

Published in El Mundo
(Spain) on 2 January 2015
by Editorial (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Beth Holding. Edited by Bora Mici.
Barely two weeks after the announcement of the Cuba-U.S. thaw, the Castro regime has made it clear to the international community that the transition to democracy will be slower than expected. The numerous arrests made since last Tuesday, when artist Tania Bruguera announced plans to put on a performance in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolución, confirm that the dictatorship is no longer open to tolerating political dissent nor freedom of expression.

The act, which was never set in motion, consisted of placing a microphone in the street, so that each citizen could speak freely for a minute. Ever faithful to its repressive nature, the regime reacted in such a way as is consistent with its behavior since its initial establishment. This is a sure sign that Castro sees the new international situation as a personal victory.

However, the historic decision made on Dec. 17 simply cannot contribute to the strengthening of a party that has been governing the country for 50 years. In countries like China or Vietnam, political, social and cultural rigidity imposed by the Communist Party exist alongside economic reform. With this in mind, perhaps, Castro may be tempted to situate his regime somewhere within this difficult equilibrium between political communism and economic capitalism. But this isn’t the type of transition that worries Cuban nationals, both at home and abroad.

The international community, which applauded the agreement between Obama and Castro, must now demand of the Cuban leader that he return democratic freedom to his citizens and initiate a transition that will lead to a regime capable of respecting human rights. The beginning of the end of the political blockade alone will not breathe life into the suffocating Cuban economy, which will undoubtedly benefit from foreign investments. Although essential in helping thousands of families to overcome poverty, this alone is not sufficient. Cuba needs to abandon communism, do away with its intolerant ideology and allow political opposition to participate in the construction of a new system. Faced with a first opportunity to show his willingness to cooperate, Castro does not seem to be up to the job.


APENAS dos semanas después del anuncio de deshielo en las relaciones diplomáticas entre EEUU y Cuba, el régimen de los Castro ha dejado claro a la comunidad internacional que la esperada transición democrática será más lenta de lo deseado. Las detenciones que se vienen sucediendo desde el martes, cuando la artista Tania Bruguera anunció una performance en la plaza de la Revolución de La Habana, es la confirmación de que la dictadura no pretende tolerar, no ya la disidencia política, sino el ejercicio de la libertad de expresión. El acto, que finalmente no pudo realizarse, consistía en colocar un micrófono en la calle para que cada ciudadano pudiese hablar libremente durante un minuto. Fiel a su naturaleza represiva, el régimen reaccionó de la misma forma que viene haciéndolo desde la instauración del régimen comunista. Una señal inequívoca de que Raúl Castro ha interpretado como una victoria propia la nueva situación internacional.

Sin embargo, la histórica decisión del pasado 17 de diciembre no puede servir para que el partido único que rige la vida de los cubanos desde hace más de 50 años continúe fortaleciéndose. Con la mirada puesta en países como China o Vietnam, donde la rigidez política, social y cultural impuesta por el Partido Comunista convive con una controlada apertura económica, los Castro pueden tener la tentación de instalarse en ese difícil equilibrio entre el comunismo político y el capitalismo económico. Pero no es esa la transición que ansían los cubanos de la isla y los del exilio.

La comunidad internacional, que aplaudió el acuerdo entre Obama y Raúl Castro, debe exigirle a éste que devuelva a sus ciudadanos las libertades democráticas e inicie una transición que desemboque en un régimen garantista que respete los derechos humanos. El inicio del fin del bloqueo no puede servir para dar un balón de oxígeno a la asfixiada economía cubana, que se beneficiará de los capitales extranjeros que invertirán en la isla. Esto, con ser imprescindible para que miles de familias salgan de la pobreza, no es suficiente. Cuba necesita abandonar el comunismo, acabar con la intransigencia ideológica y permitir a la oposición política participar en la construcción del nuevo sistema. En la primera ocasión que ha tenido de demostrar su predisposición, Raúl Castro no ha estado a la altura.
This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

Hot this week

Poland: Ukraine Is Still Far from Peace. What Was Actually Decided at the White House?

Australia: Donald Trump Is Taking Over the US Federal Reserve and Financial Markets Have Missed the Point

Canada: Carney Takes Us Backward with Americans on Trade

Australia: Australia Boosts Corporate Law Enforcement as America Goes Soft

Canada: Minnesota School Shooting Is Just More Proof That America Is Crazed

Topics

Peru: Blockade ‘For Now’

Japan: US President and the Federal Reserve Board: Harmonious Dialogue To Support the Dollar

Austria: The EU Must Recognize That a Tariff Deal with Trump Is Hardly Worth Anything

Mexico: The Network of Intellectuals and Artists in Defense of Venezuela and President Nicholás Maduro

Hong Kong: Cordial Cross-Strait Relations Will Spare Taiwan Trump’s Demands, Says Paul Kuoboug Chang

Germany: The Tariffs Have Side Effects — For the US Too*

Ireland: We Must Stand Up to Trump on Climate. The Alternative Is Too Bleak To Contemplate

Canada: Carney Takes Us Backward with Americans on Trade

Related Articles

Canada: Putin Is Negotiating Victory, Not Peace

Trinidad and Tobago: US, Venezuela and the Caribbean: Diplomacy First

Guyana: Guyana’s Ongoing Subservience to the US, Jagdeo’s Really

Sri Lanka: Trump Is Very Hard on India and Brazil, but For Very Different Reasons

Egypt: The Gains of the Alaska Summit