All gone, but still there
In the next room of Cuba’s nightmare
THE DICTATOR is gone! Long live the dictator! And what an uncanny resemblance they bear to one another. As if only their names had changed but not their essence. Not that the change of names matters much, for the new head of the Cuban state and prison is Miguel Diaz-Canel, who now takes the place of Raul Castro in the presidential suite. “Raul,” says Comrade President Diaz-Canel, “will be key to the process of making the most important decisions on the future of the nation.”
Cuba’s new-old leader calls this next chapter to come in the same old book continuity. But it’s more like just making an old-fashioned carbon copy.
“The people have given this assembly the mandate to provide continuity to the Cuban Revolution during a crucial, historic moment that will be defined by all that we achieve in the advance of the modernization of our social and economic model,” President Diaz-Canel said in a speech to the nation.
Well, there was one change, and it was for the better. Instead of launching a long rant, Raul raised the possibility that he might leave Havana and head off for the southeastern town of Santiago, not far from the family farm where the brothers Castro grew up and which Fidel later nationalized—like much of the private property in Cuba.
But any move on Raul’s part to the countryside should not raise the false hope that he might vanish altogether. All is still the state according to the tried—and failed—Cuban model for the advancement of the masses under the old Stalinist model. Cuba’s revolutionary model is not a homegrown one but an import from the old world. And when tyrants agree on a plan for “reform,” it is time for the free to look it over carefully and shudder at what is in store for the mere people. Once again the inmates on that prison of an island will be moved around like so many chess pieces. Clearly the day when Cuba Libre has arrived is no nearer than it was under the Castros.
And so it goes on the island that once was the picture of promise, however corrupt its rulers. The Pearl of the Antilles it was called back then, but nowadays it seems little more than an object lesson in how to disappoint people’s hopes. Once the pearl loses its luster, there is no restoring it by grinding away at its very heart. Surprise, surprise: Miguel Diaz-Canel’s orchestrated election to the Cuban presidency “is not by chance,” Raul Castro confessed. “It was planned by us in group, and we decided that he’s the best option in our opinion.”
Commissar Castro confidently predicted that his chosen successor would now serve a couple of five-year terms as president before taking over as head of Cuba’s Communist Party, which could leave him in command of Cuban politics until 2031. For there’s nothing spontaneous when it comes to the line of Communist succession. “When I’m gone, and that’s in the future,” Raul Castro told the party faithful, Comrade Diaz-Canel will become “first secretary of the Communist Party if he does a good job. That’s how it’s been planned.” To a T. It’s all as foreseeable as the hand in a stacked deck dealt out by a croupier who controls every play. This game is rigged and long has been. So step right up, suckers, and see how the game is played.
But here and there, the light shines through this charade. Comrade Raul acknowledged that “we thought at this point we would have advanced more.” But the regime hasn’t changed a bit and isn’t likely to so long as the Party holds all the cards. And in Cuba, alas, it still does.