Cuba Solidarity Day, May 21st

Although it might seem that there is change brewing in Cuba, since Fidel's brother Raul Castro has taken over the mantle of chief honcho, don't be deceived.

Like China, Raul is trying to liberalize the economy, but the oppressive political system remains the same. The political prisoners remain incarcerated, the internet still remains out of the purview of the common man, people still are not allowed to travel freely outside the country.

People still earn wages ranging from $6.00 per month for unskilled workers to $20.00 for university-trained professionals, including lawyers and doctors. So, in spite of the fact Cuba has lifted a ban on cell phones, the new leniency is totally bogus, when the cost of a cell phone ($280 for a basic phone) is more than someone makes in a year.

Cuba has no intentions of embracing democracy, and economic reform rings hollow when a citizen's basic human rights continue to be violated.

If you'd like an inside glimpse of Cuba, I posted a while back about a trip I made there in the Early 80s. I'm sure not much has changed since then.

Others blogging for Cuba Solidarity Day:

Hos Report
A Colombo-Americana's Perspective
Babalu
Plains Feeder
e the people
Brandon's Puppy
This Ain't Hell
Fausta's Blog

Castro assures Bush "You will never have Cuba!", so there!

There are people who love to blame the U.S. for the ills of the world. And, why not, I guess? Someone has to be blamed, and it's easier to blame others for our own failures, so why not the U.S. There are also those who seem to think that we have some grand, nefarious, imperialistic goal of eventually taking over the whole world. Uh, no, there are other political and religious ideological entities that have that end result in mind. You just have to look back through history to see who the worst imperialist offenders were, and that mind-set hasn't changed much since those days. The U.S. could care less about establishing an Empire, and who, in their right (civilized mind), would want that responsibility, anyway? But there are those who keep attempting to perpetuate that myth. Fidel Castro, it seems, is one such person that is convinced that we have our eyes firmly set on his small island, and by God, says he, the people of Cuba and their "revolution will fight until the last drop of blood" to defend that land. A mere 90 miles from the Florida Keys, I guarantee you, that if we truly wanted Cuba, it would have been ours a long time ago.

Castro shared his quite laughable paranoia in a full page manifesto to the people, published in the Communist Party newspaper, Granma, on Monday. (Definitely worth a read.) It's a long diatribe on how the U.S. is responsible for all their woes and how:

"Bush has intensified his plans for an occupation of Cuba, to the point of proclaiming laws and an interventionist government in order to install a direct imperial administration."

Huh? What laws and what interventionist government?

He also broaches the subject of the U.S. embargo against Cuba:

"It will very soon be 50 years since our people started suffering a cruel blockade; thousands of our sons and daughters have died or have been mutilated as a result of the dirty war against Cuba, the only country in the world to which an Adjustment Act has been applied inciting illegal emigration, yet another cause of death for Cuban citizens, including women and children."

As far as I know, the U.S. is the only country that has an embargo against Cuba, and that was initiated only after Cuba confiscated the property of U.S. Citizens. Why should a country be allowed to forcibly seize property belonging to others without repercussions? Is that fair? I think not. That's just common, government-mandated thievery. Granted, Cubans did lose their main source of supplies, 15 years ago, with the collapse of Communist Eastern Europe and the USSR, but surely, they can do business with other countries. The U.S. has never forced global sanctions on Cuba, so there are plenty of other countries that certainly could trade with them. What about China? And, I always thought the whole concept of Communism was to be self-sufficient, and to share the wealth amongst the people. Shouldn't they be thriving, by now? As far as I could tell, when I visited there in the 80s, the top Communist Party officials seemed to be living quite well, while the impoverished people continued to suffer, a mere 20 years after Castro's glorious "revolution". A revolution that was meant to better the lot of the Cubanos, and which has managed to do the opposite, through no fault other than a failed political system.

He's, obviously clueless as to why so many of his people will do anything to get off that communist 'paradise', including risking life and limb, by setting out to sea on a tire. He touts the Revolution for:

"training hundreds of thousands of teachers, doctors, scientists, intellectuals, artists, computer engineers and other professionals with university and post-graduate degrees in dozens of professions. This storehouse of wealth has allowed us to reduce infant mortality to low levels, unthinkable in any Third World country, and to raise life expectancy as well as the average educational level of the population up to the ninth grade."

But, who cares, frankly, about free education, sub-par medical services, reduced infant mortality and a higher life-expectancy, when you have no freedom and your quality of life is sorely lacking.

He also blames imperialism for global warming:

"Hunger and thirst, more violent hurricanes and the surge of the sea is what Tyranians and Trojans stand to suffer as a result of imperial policies. It is only through drastic energy savings that humanity will have a respite and hopes of survival for the species; but the consumer societies of the wealthy nations are absolutely heedless of that."

What can I say?!

He ends his missive with a message to George W:

"I assure you that you will never have Cuba!"

Guess what, we don't want Cuba! We might want freedom for your people, but don't flatter yourself, Fidelcito, the U.S. has no designs on your small, crumbling piece of real estate.

Joke of the day: Castro to run for re-election in 2008!

Fidel Castro (if he survives that long), has said he will run for Prez, again, in 2008! He's seeking re-election!? Does this make anyone else laugh, as much as it does me?

Let's see. Fidel was Prime Minister from 1959 until 1976. That position was abolished and replaced with a Presidency, and he held that office from 1976 until last year, when he became too ill to govern. He has been re-elected, every 5 years, since 1959 and holds the record for the longest-sitting ruler in the world: 47 years! So when he says he's seeking re-election you just have to laugh. Ricardo Alarcon, head of the National Assembly says this of Castro: "I would nominate him. I'm sure he will be in perfect shape to continue handling his responsibilities." Of course, he would nominate him! If he didn't, he'd be packed off to some Havana prison to rot away there for the rest of his life. No-one would ever dare nominate anyone else.

Besides, athough it's called the Socialist Republic of Cuba, the Communist Party is considered the only legal political entity, and members are not allowed to nominate or campaign on behalf of anyone. So, even if there were other viable candidates, they would never be nominated to begin with. Unless, of course, it was brother Raul, and then only if Fidel was dead and gone.

And so continues life in Cuba.

Trouble in Paradise: Food shortages in the socialistic republic of Venezuela!

I have been very blessed to have travelled extensively throughout my life, and I've explored some truly incredible places. But from all the countries I have lived in and visited, one journey stands out from all the rest: an extremely enlightening, eye-opening sojourn in Havana, Cuba in the mid '80s. My Dad happened to be stationed there, for several years, with the U.S. Interests Section. Prior to that, I was totally unaware there were even officials with the State Department working in Cuba, considering the lack of formal diplomatic relations between the 2 countries but, surprisingly, the U.S. has had representatives there since May, 1977. Cuba, correspondingly, has an Interests Section under the protection of the Swiss Embassy in Washington D.C., although in the mid '80s it was housed in the Czech Embassy.

As the daughter of a U.S. Diplomat, I was allowed to visit my parents there, so when the opportunity presented itself, off I went. My trip was rather short, a mere 15 days, but even after some 20 or so odd years, certain stark observations have remained forever etched in my memory:

1. The first thing that struck me, upon arrival, was the amount of gun-toting military personnel at the airport, and everywhere else for that matter. I can't be sure this still remains the case, but it was pre-9/11 and all the security precautions that have sadly become a necessity these days, were not prevalent in those, so the presence of so many uniform-clad men was a rather ominous sight.

2. The paranoia that is part of the Cubano's daily life was clearly evident, and there was a constant, palpable sense of fear. I recall chatting with several young men in a secluded area of a bookstore, one day. I don't remember the conversation, per se, but what I do vividly recollect was the panic in their faces when someone wandered into our section of the store; without another word, they turned away and quickly exited the premises. The reason: Cuba has a system of neighborhood snitches called Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR), so people are very careful not to associate with foreigners. There's a lot at stake if they are reported.

3. Driving around Havana was like stepping into a time warp, and I don't think much has changed since. The once beautiful buildings were dilapidated and dirty, and other than a few new cars that were imported from Iron Curtain countries, the majority of the vehicles were circa 1940s to '50s. The only areas and buildings of Havana they bothered to maintain, in somewhat decent condition, were those populated by tourists. In spite of Castro's promise to eradicate poverty, most Cubans lived (and continue to do so) in abject poverty.

Dilapidated building in Havana, Cuba

4. The lack of available food was a major problem then and now. There were Diplo-mercados (exclusive Supermarkets for members of the Diplomatic Corps, who had to pay in U.S. dollars, by the way) that were sufficiently stocked (though with nothing too exciting), but the local markets were often bare, a few tins from the Soviet Union, Canada or Panama gracing the mostly empty shelves. Trying to find fresh veggies (other than potatoes) was well-nigh impossible, which was not very pleasant for this vegetarian. Meat, however, was plentiful for the foreigners, but rationed for the Cuban people who were allowed to purchase it once a week. Most other food items were also rationed, if you could even find them. Free education and medical care do not a stomach feed.

Empty market in Havana, Cuba

So it was with great interest that I read an article in the Washington Post, about the problems Venezuela is currently having with food supplies. According to the article, meat and sugar are very scarce now, and other staples are hard to come by. I've talked about how Chavez seems destined to drag Venezuela down the same miserable path that Castro did with Cuba, and I find it fascinating that they're already having food distribution problems; although the country did begin having sporadic food shortages commencing in 2003, after Chavez started regulating prices on 400 different products from milk to coffee. His rationale for fixing prices on those items, was to counter inflation and protect the poor, but what it has obviously caused is greater hardship for everyone, including 'the poor' that he claims he is trying to protect. And instead of curbing inflation, it is now at a hefty 78 percent, in an oil-rich country to boot. Food prices have also increased substantially, and the problem distributors are having, is that the actual cost of food far surpasses the prices the government has set for said items. Of course, the government is quick to deny any inherent problems with price-fixing.

Supermarket in Caracas, Venezuela

And reminiscent of Cuba's CDR (snitch system) the Venezuelan government has created a toll-free number for people to "denounce the hoarders and speculators". According to the Information Ministry,"The weight of the law will be felt, and we demand punishment."

It's only going to get worse!

Click here for more information on the real Cuba. And another Cuban blog.