Old Ways in a New Era

The most worn-out notion these days is that the Summit of the Americas, which ends today in Panama, is a historic event because the history books will record that President Obama and Raul Castro produced the last act of their political thaw during the conference.

However, beyond Obama’s haste to leave a legacy of a political embrace with an old enemy like the Castro regime, this summit will be remembered by the dissonance between the gestures of realpolitik and the dirty reality of the facts. In other words, while Washington and Havana seal their pact in the Panamanian capital, it becomes clear that the Cuban regime’s heartless bullying has not softened since the beginning of the secret negotiations more than two years ago.

In spite of the Panamanian government’s assurance that this gathering would be an opportunity for union, not for disagreement, the events of this civil society assembly, sponsored by the Organization of American States, have been lamentable. I had the chance to speak with Ruben Castillo, the coordinator and heart of this conference. From the beginning, his intention was to create a space in which civil society’s protagonists could freely express themselves at the worktables. However, I also spoke with him about the fear that the Cuban government and its Chavista friends would wind up disrupting the events in which the dissidents, who traveled to the island to participate in the event, have intervened. As was expected, the Cuban delegation mobilized its crowds of protestors at the conference and on the street, but Castro’s pack has savagely beaten its Cuban opposition.

And speaking of his “pack,” because that is the best term to describe Castro’s hooligans — in one of the summit’s events, I witnessed the moment in which the ex-minister of culture and Raul Castro’s advisor, Abel Prieto, congratulated his armies. Their success consisted in having kicked Guillermo Farinas out of the room with their cries and chants when he tried to participate in an event to which he had been formally invited. A few hours before, the same actions occurred against Rosa Maria Paya and Lilian Tintori, the wife of Leopoldo Lopez of the Venezuelan opposition. The Cuban demonstrators have had to withstand all types of insults in a democratic country where the Castro and Chavista riot squads have acted with impunity.

What impressed me the most about Abel Prieto, an intellectual who publishes novels in his free time, was his relentless, repressive police actions and what he said about the protestors: “They left like dogs.” Someone discreetly taped him as he helped to stir up the disdainful actions that have destroyed the work of democrats like Ruben Castillo. It is difficult to negotiate with a regime that knows no other mode of action because the only things that sustain it are fear and intimidation.

Obama returns home with the fatuous satisfaction of having taken a radical turn in the United States’ policy toward Cuba. And Raul Castro returns to Havana with the tranquility that there will be more financial inversion without having to modify the totalitarian system that he and his brother imposed on the Cubans more than half a century ago. On the flight back, he will congratulate his comrade Abel for removing the dissidents like dogs. Mission accomplished. These are the old ways in a new era.