Cuba’s future
Castro’s passing may finally symbolize the moment that Cubans can reclaim their lives.
Now that the “biological solution” has accomplished what a succession of U.S. presidents, thousands of Cuban-American exiles and untold numbers of Cuban dissidents were unable to achieve during nearly five decades of Fidel Castro’s dictatorial rule, the question for both the small island nation and for its giant neighbor to the north is, “What next?”
Castro’s death at age 90 was, of course, no surprise. Cuba’s “Maximo Lider,” who held power longer than any living national leader except Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, has been in failing health for at least a decade. He had ceded much of his power to his younger brother Raul in 2006, before officially resigning as president two years later. Raul Castro, now 85, has announced to the Cuban people that he intends to resign in 2018, adding to the uncertainty about where Cuba goes with Fidel’s — and soon Raul’s — departure.
The question about the future awaits answers from both Havana and Washington. In Havana, Raul Castro has gradually relaxed some of the more repressive policies his brother kept in place on the beleaguered Cuban economy, culture and human rights. He can’t totally ignore his brother’s towering legacy — even if he were so inclined — but we can hope that Fidel’s death will free him to move toward openness and more ambitious reform. It’s hard to know whether that’s even a possibility, as he has resisted changes that would suggest a repudiation of his brother’s revolutionary ideals.
Anticipating this nation’s response to Castro’s passing is no less difficult, simply because, frankly speaking, we have just elected the most inexperienced, unqualified president in American history. Less than two years after the Obama administration set in motion a complex, carefully calibrated rapprochement with Cuba, an effort culminating in the restoration of full diplomatic relations, we await the administration of Donald Trump, a man whose views on Cuba, as on many other issues, are as fickle as they are uninformed.
In 1998, Trump allegedly spent $68,000 to explore business opportunities in Cuba, thereby violating the stringent U.S. embargo. Trump denied the allegations. Running for president, Trump said he favored President Barack Obama’s efforts to normalize relations with Cuba, although he later vowed to reverse Obama’s efforts “unless Castro’s regime meets our demands — not my demands, our demands.”
Who knows what the president-elect believes about our relations with a postCastro Cuba? (We wonder if he knows.) Unfortunately, we can probably anticipate that question regarding any number of international issues and concerns.
What we can hope is that thoughtful, pragmatic heads will prevail in the new administration and that this nation will continue to pursue policies of détente set in motion by Obama. Gov. Greg Abbott’s three-day trip to Cuba last year and Mayor Sylvester Turner’s trade mission to the island just a few weeks ago represent the type of engagement that not only benefits Texas and Houston but also will move Cuba toward a more open society. Now that Castro has passed from the scene, Abbott and Turner both need to push for closer ties to the island nation, and that means pushing Trump, as well. Our relationship with the communist governments of China and Vietnam can be a model.
Our hope, as well, is that Castro’s passing symbolizes the moment that the proud and long-suffering Cuban people begin to reclaim their own lives. We look forward to a time when Cuba is no longer a political pawn, when its people control their own destiny and when, for the U.S., their small nation is no more — or no less — important than any of our other neighbors in the hemisphere.
Meanwhile, we’ll warily take our president-elect at his word. “While Cuba remains a totalitarian island,” he said in a statement on Saturday, “it is my hope that today marks a move away from the horrors endured for too long, and toward a future in which the wonderful Cuban people finally live in the freedom they so richly deserve. Though the tragedies, deaths and pain caused by Fidel Castro cannot be erased, our administration will do all it can to ensure the Cuban people can finally begin their journey toward prosperity and liberty.”