Why Cuba Will Still Be Anti-American After Castro

The Atlantic ^ | 03/05/2013 | Jaime Suchlicki

[SeekAndFind]

Dressed in an impeccable, custom-tailored suit and a Versace tie, instead of his usual military fatigues, General Raul Castro addressed the Cuban Parliament on February 24. He did not discuss political or economic reforms. Instead, he announced he would be stepping down from power at the end of the five-year term for which he had just been elected. If the Pope retires, "I can also retire," he explained. Yet the Cubans would have to wait for the "younger" brother to reach 87 years of age to see the end of the Castro dynasty.

But not so fast. There are other Castros in the wings. In particular, Raul's son, Alejandro Castro Espin, a colonel in Cuba's intelligence apparatus, could be groomed in the future by becoming a general and a member of the Communist Party Politburo, Cuba's ruling body. In the meantime, Raul appointed a younger Communist, Miguel Diaz Canel, as first vice president among five other vice presidents. A hardline party apparatchik, Diaz Canel, a 52-year-old engineer and former Minister of Education, grew up under Fidel's and Raul's shadow as an obedient and disciplined Marxist. A protégé of Ramon Machado Ventura, an old communist and (till Sunday) first vice president, Diaz Canel mirrors the ideological rigidity of his mentor.

A second appointment followed. This one for President of the National Assembly (Cuba's Parliament). Raul picked another old and loyal Communist, Esteban Lazo. Lazo has been the only prominent Cuban black to occupy any high-ranking position in the predominantly white-controlled Cuban government. A bland, obedient bureaucrat, Lazo will follow the Parliaments' tradition of rubber-stamping the laws issued by the leadership.

[dfwgator]

Communist regimes cannot survive losing a charismatic leader, unless it is a dynasty, like North Korea...Look what happened to Yugoslavia after Tito passed away.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: unless it is a dynasty, like North Korea...

Raul’s son, Alejandro Castro is an Army Colonel.

Who’s to say he won’t be their version of Kim Jong Un?

[dfwgator]

Could be. We shall see.

[Slyfox]

The Cuban people have always had an appreciation for America.

[Buckeye McFrog]

When everyone who remained or has been born there since the early 60’s has been steeped in a daily brew of anti-American propaganda, its bound to have an effect.

[Youngman542012]

I think a couple million of Floridians might change this....they want their CUBA back I think..

[wardaddy]

yep

fraid so

especially in the short run

poor Jorge Mas Canosa

he might coulda rallied the exiles

now so many Cubans are democrats

young and sin juevos

[MasterGunner01]

Fidel Castro is still dead, Raul.

[driftless2]

Raul Castro:

"I wasn't installed er elected to put capitalism in place here....I'm here to make sure Cubans keep living in grinding, socialist poverty."

[LibFreeUSA]

This article is actually very correct, but the author could have saved themselves a lot of trouble by simply stating that for 54 years now, Cuba (the country and government) has been run entirely as a mafia by a mafia family, the Castros - the head ‘don’ being Fidel Castro, with Raul being head of ‘security’ for the last 54 years running, and only recently promoted to head ‘don’. There is no such thing as an “economy” in Cuba. It is “CUBA INC” run entirely under the control of the Castros. The “state” is nothing more than a figleaf cover for their entire mafia enterprise. The top government “officials” are all ‘appointed’ never elected, and they are all nothing more than mafia ‘bureaucrats’ at the control and whim of the Castros. So, when they say open up the “embargo”, all they mean is let’s deal with the Castros.

Besides, the Castros don’t NEED NOR WANT “open” U.S. Trade. If they did, they would lose a big ‘enemy to blame’ to mask their problems, they have enough trade with the rest of the 165 countries in the world.

[gdani]

Cubans (in Cuba) generally love Americans and talking about the U.S. They are careful to say they recognize the issues between our two countries are our governments do not get along, but the people do.

Cubans, by and large, want more personal freedom. But there are also aspects of socialism and the revolution they like (like universal healthcare & schooling) and do not want those to go away.

[Ax]

Having lived in Castro’s Cuba for four years (1993-1997), I had a lot of neighbors continually asking me for vitamins and even aspirin. I regularly jogged by a farmacia in my barrio. There were usually two girls behind the counter, dressed in white lab coats. The shelves behind them were usually completely empty. I lived three doors up from school. It could’ve been in Baghdad or Peshawar. The school was ramshackle with big holes in the roof, broken water pipes and no visible playground. And this was in a one-time posh neighborhood before the Castro bros, and the CCPCC took over every aspect of everyone’s life. My neighbors were generally pro-American and some rabid Castro-haters.