Biden Exasperates Cuba

Published in El País
(Spain) on 16 March 2021
by Juan Jesús Aznárez (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Rebecca Reekie. Edited by Gillian Palmer.
The president is no rush to think about Cuba, so that the island, which is in a rush, can present its case. Biden will be able to do so before Cuba’s next party congress.

During his trip to Cuba, Barack Obama did not give interviews to the official press but preferred instead to attend the comedy program "Vivir del Cuento," the most popular show on television, to humanize Yankee imperialism and woo the audience with a game of dominoes. Some applauded his wide-ranging speech at the Havana Theater when he rejected the embargo, and others applauded when he demanded respect for human rights. It began to circulate that he had won a seat in the National Assembly for a neighborhood district. It seems hard to imagine Joe Biden messing about in shirt sleeves, as convinced as Obama that carrots are better than sticks for achieving immense change on the island. The president is no rush to think about Cuba, so that the island, which is in a rush, can present its case. Biden will be able to think about Cuba before Cuba’s next party congress.

The Cuban regime’s press seems neither convinced of its direction nor of its influence; the bureaucracy, aware that communication is a strategic tool, practices occultism and abstention with more fear than one has for one’s life and soul. Unraveled by globalization, and without the marvelous speaker that Fidel Castro was, communication of the Cuban revolution is shipwrecked. The main challenge that its press and institutions face is the defense of basic fundamentals, pestered by the internet, generational change, exhaustive slogans, digital anti- government campaigns and U.S. campaigns aimed at young people. But the most pressing issues do not come from abroad or from invisible demonstrations for democracy, but from an ineffective economy, which generates emigration, shortages and lines. Hardly triumphs to write about, and barely results worth waiting for.

The news that authorization of private enterprise for 2,000 occupations has not been as powerful in the media as was intended, nor has it impressed the new U.S. chief executive, who is more interested in the regime’s response to the ideological subversion of the San Isidro Movement and the song "Patria y Vida." Moreover, there is the benefit of dissident activism by voters in Florida. Before any detente, the White House will have to ponder the scope of tolerance, repression and business; it wants signs that the eventual relaxation of Torricelli’s law and the Helms-Burton's Act will be reciprocated with ambitious measures.

It would be encouraging if the April party conclave accompanied the appointment of the new secretary, Raul Castro’s replacement, with a nomenclature committed to liberalizing reforms, and without serious delay. The regime demonstrated that it can resist the embargo on the backs of a population worthy of freedom and well-being, just like revolutionary journalists did, in reality or pretending to resist, and shackled by propaganda as they are challenged by more pressing realities than those presented by the anachronistic Radio Martí.


Biden impacienta a Cuba

El presidente se lo piensa sin prisas para que la Isla, que sí las tiene, se retrate. Podrá hacerlo en el próximo Congreso del partido.

Durante su viaje a Cuba, Barack Obama no concedió entrevistas a la prensa oficial y prefirió acudir al programa humorístico Vivir del cuento, el más popular de la televisión, para humanizar el imperialismo yanqui y cortejar a los espectadores con una partida de dominó. Su abarcador discurso en el Teatro de la Habana fue aplaudido por unos, cuando rechazó el embargo, y por otros, cuando reclamó derechos humanos. Corrió el guiño de que hubiera ganado un escaño en la Asamblea Nacional por una circunscripción de barrio. Resulta difícil imaginarse a Joe Biden cachondeándose en mangas de camisa, y tan convencido como Obama de que la zanahoria sea mejor que el palo para conseguir el cambio con mayúsculas en la isla. Se lo piensa sin prisas para que Cuba, que sí las tiene, se retrate. Podrá hacerlo en el próximo congreso del partido.

La prensa del régimen tampoco parece convencida de su rumbo e influencia; la burocracia, sabedora de que la comunicación es una herramienta estratégica, practica el ocultismo y la abstención con más miedo que alma. Desarbolada por la globalización, y sin la portentosa oratoria de Fidel Castro, la comunicación de la revolución cubana naufraga. La defensa de los principios fundacionales constituye el principal desafío de su prensa e instituciones, asediados por internet, los cambios generacionales, el desgaste de las consignas, los digitales antigubernamentales y las campañas de EE UU dirigidas a los jóvenes. Pero el cerco más acuciante no procede del exterior ni de las invisibles movilizaciones por la democracia, sino de una economía inoperante, generadora de emigración, desabastecimiento y colas. Apenas triunfos que publicar, apenas resultados para esperanzar.

La notificación de que la actividad privada autorizada alcanzará las 2.000 ocupaciones no ha sido tan poderosa mediáticamente como se pretendía ni ha impresionado al nuevo Ejecutivo estadounidense, más interesado en la respuesta del régimen a la subversión ideológica del Movimiento de San Isidro y la canción Patria y vida; también, a la rentabilidad electoral en Florida del activismo disidente. Antes de la distensión, la Casa Blanca ponderará el alcance de la tolerancia, la represión y los negocios: quiere señales de que la eventual atenuación de las leyes Torricelli y el Título III de la Helms Burton será correspondida con medidas ambiciosas.

Sería alentador que el conclave partidista de abril acompañara la designación del nuevo secretario, en sustitución de Raúl Castro, con una nomenclatura comprometida con reformas liberalizadoras, sin aplazamientos ad calendas graecas. El régimen demostró que puede resistir el embargo sobre las espaldas de una población acreedora de libertades y bienestar, igual que los periodistas revolucionarios, de verdad o fingiendo serlo, aherrojados por la propaganda cuando les desafían realidades más perentorias que la anacrónica Radio Martí.
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