Not Changing a Bit

The Economist has a brief piece about Raúl Castro's Cuba. Raúl claims to want to move beyond Cuba's original communist leaders, but appears to be using them even more than his brother. There have been some changes, but nothing of real import:

Since becoming president, Raúl has taken cautious steps to allow more private farming and eased a few petty restrictions that burden Cubans' everyday life. These have included lifting the bans on ownership of some consumer purchases, such as mobile-phone connections.
There has been no relaxation of political control. The message from the party would seem to be that there is not likely to be any—at least before the congress. Raúl has avoided building up a younger leadership. Yet oddly, by freezing the gerontocracy in place, he has made his new regime look impermanent.

No new tricks from these old dogs.

A Raulity Check

My interest in Latin America coincides so well with Mary Anastasia O'Grady's weekly Americas column in the Wall Street Journal. This week she analyzes the real impact of the Raúl Castro government's supposed reforms.

In terms of a real improvement in Cuban liberty, there hasn't been one. Fortunately, in the tradition of oppressed people everywhere some Cuban's aren't waiting for the government to save them. From a recent event given by Ricardo Alarcón, communist bigwig:

Student Eliécer Ávila got most of the international attention with a line of inquiry he read from a notebook. He wanted to know why workers are paid in a worthless local currency, while things they want to buy, like shampoo, are priced in "convertible" pesos, which have the value of dollars. Why are hotels and resorts off limits to locals? Why can't Cubans travel to Bolivia to see where Che Guevara died?
Alarcón seemed stunned. In a rambling, 30-minute response, he defended the hotel ban by saying that as a Hispanic he had been barred from hotels in New York City. He also gave a bizarre explanation for the travel ban: "If all the world, some six billion people, could travel whenever they wanted, the jam in the skies would be enormous."

That last quote is hilarious. Either Alarcón is a complete idiot, or he thinks the Cuban people are.

Cubans

I enjoyed this article from Pajamas Media about the supposed but apparently non-existent ideological shift between old and young cubanos. Apparently we are just as conservative as our parents.

http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/cubanamerican_generational_shi/

La Vida Cubana

I don't have any time, but I wanted to link to this interesting post about life in Cuba. Seeing how many apologists for the Castros have sprung up since Fidel's "retirement" I think it is important that we remember what it is really like. That post has some beautiful photos of Varadero Beach, where my mother used to go as a child.

Instapundit also has some commentary on whether Fidel has left his people better off. You know how I feel.

¿El Fín?

Not really.

Fidel Castro's decision not to face "reelection" after 49 years in power will likely mean nothing for the people of Cuba, at least for the time being.

It has never been likely that Cuba would reform from the top down. Despite the decades-old embargo there is little incentive for Cuba's leaders to liberalize economically or politically in the dramatic way that many Cuban exiles hope for. This has left little room for citizen reformers in Cuba's tightly controlled society.

So what does this mean? Most people thing Fidel's brother Raul will assume control. but as this article explains, Raul may prefer to rule from behind the scenes. There are various potential candidates that would also promote a false idea of change, which could ease internal pressures on the transitional government.

This article from Pajamas Media agrees that little will change as a result of Fidel's resignation.

Fidel goes out a winner. Regardless of the state of the Cuban people, he is leaving on his own terms, thumbing his nose at America, and leaving his regime in place. U.S. policy towards Cuba has been a failure, and this can be traced quite clearly to the Kennedy Administration's failure to support the invasion force at the Bay of Pigs. Now that would have been a nice act of imperialism.

Now the Cubans will wait, as they have for so many years.

Cuba and Poland UNITE!

I majored in International Politics at BYU. One of my favorite classes was Latin American politics, examining various political systems in the Latin American world. For my final paper I elected to explore the way that Catholicism influenced communism in Poland and in Cuba, in order to examine why it was such a powerful liberalizing force in the former and so impotent in the latter.

Religion was not the only component of Poland's liberation from communism. Brave individuals like Lech Walesa also contributed. He is now among the individuals initiating a petition imploring the Castro government to free political prisoners. The petition:

We are appealing to the Cuban government to free all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Cuba. Their continued imprisonment violates the fundamental humans rights. During her own enslavement, Poland experienced a great deal of solidarity from the free nations of the world. It is our moral duty to support the pro-freedom aspirations in Cuba.

It is heartening to see people like Walesa take an interest in Cuba's plight. You can sign it here. Don't worry, the form is also in English (thanks to DumSpiroSpero for the information).

Cuba in transition?

I wish I had more time to write about this one, as it involves Cuba. This is from last week's Wall Street Journal. It deals with the seemingly inevitable succession of Raul Castro to the presidency of the State.

It provides some insights into what a post-Fidel Cuba may look like. There is reason for hope, though real progress will likely take time.

SPOTD #135

I have some resolutions for the Spanish Phrase of the Day. I resolve to send it more frequently, and actually focus more on Spanish. I will continue to update the blog with all manner of eclectic news, views, and entertainment. Occasionally the SPOTD e-mail will contain personal anecdotes and recommendations as well, but for the most part I will try to make it more "spanishy."

Therefore the SPOTD will be shorter, and I will refer my readers to the blog for more fresh SPOTD goodness. So visit the blog, si quieren (if you want). Onto the phrase:

Today's phrase:
In keeping with the New Year-inspired feeling, tu frase (your phrase):

Actual:
Es bueno fijar metas.

Phonetic with emphasis on bold syllable:
Ess bway-no fee-har may-tahs.

Translation:
It is good to set goals.

It is, trust me. Now you can seem wise and multicultural the next time that your boss or supervisor wants to know your plan for the future.

Holiday Greetings
Check out my family Christmas Card:
http://blog.spotd.net/2007/12/happy-new-year.html
I think you'll like it.

Link of the Day
An interesting website made by an artist named J.A. Sierra, The History of Cuba. I can't vouch for its total accuracy, but it seems well-researched and has an interesting focus on the period between the mid-1700's and the turn of the last century, when Cuba earned its independence from Spain.

A Worthy Recipient

In this age of meaningless awards, it is gratifying to see someone receive praise for showing true courage. In today's Wall Street Journal, Mary Anastasia O'Grady writes about Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bush today, but could not attend because he is in a Cuban prison:

While practicing medicine in Cuban hospitals for more than a decade, Dr. Biscet became increasingly concerned about the government's abortion practices. In 1998, at a Havana hospital, he took the risk of engaging in a clandestine study on the administration of a drug called rivanol to abort advanced pregnancies. The drug was being widely used, particularly on girls as young as 12, who, having been forced to leave their parents and work in rural areas as part of their schooling, found themselves "in trouble."
The study concluded that rivanol resulted in viable fetuses being born alive. What often happened next horrified Dr. Biscet, who later wrote that, "the umbilical cord was cut and they were allowed to bleed to death or they were wrapped in paper and asphyxiated."
As a result of his vocal opposition to these abortion practices he lost his job, his family lost their home and Castro's goons were sent to beat him up. But the bullying didn't work. By now he was actively engaged in resistance against the regime and, as he has written, his conscience would not allow him to back down. Those familiar with Dr. Biscet's work say that he was instrumental in building -- at the grassroots level -- on the impact of Pope John Paul II's visit to Cuba in January 1998. The regime took notice. Dr. Biscet became one of the few dissidents that Castro has ever attacked by name in a speech to the nation. As a proponent of Cuban democracy told me, "It proves that Biscet really got under Castro's skin."

Few Americans will have heard of Dr. Biscet before today. Not many more will remember him tomorrow, yet we have Gore, Britney Spears, and other meaningless personalisites shoved down our throats.

We have to remember that freedom IS worth fighting for. Dr. Biscet is a great example of that.

Quejas for Cuba

The eventual death of Fidel Castro will likely mean that Raúl Castro, his brother, takes full and open control of the country. Most expect that Cuba might then enjoy some economic liberalization, without initial relaxation of dictatorial control over Cuba's politics. There are signs that the government may allow some of that economic change to occur even sooner than that, though rumblings do not a permanent change indicate. From last week's Economist:

“WE HAVE a system in which anything you do is either forbidden or compulsory,” complains Miguel, an academic and a member of Cuba's ruling Communist Party. “Perhaps we need to change that to become more efficient.” He notes angrily that what he earns in a month, a trainee waiter can pick up in tips in a day in the island's tourist hotels. It is a common complaint, and only one of many. But now it is Cuba's government that is encouraging everyone to grumble.
...How will Raúl Castro respond to all this? Unlike Fidel, he is thought to favour the course pursued by China and Vietnam, in which markets and private investment have been combined with Communist political control. Even before the debate began, government economists had been studying measures such as allowing more self-employment and private or co-operative ownership of small and medium-sized businesses, as well as reforming land tenure and freeing agricultural markets.

In both China and Vietnam, the relaxation of state economic control has led to to incremental improvements in political freedoms, though neither country is near to being called "free." This may be all we can hope for in the present. It's better than nothing.

The Real "Sicko"

Michael Moore is an effective filmmaker and propagandist. His work is often as engaging as it is misleading, and his most recent film is no exception. Sicko claims to show the serious deficiencies in the U.S. health care system by looking at how we compare to nations like Canada, the U.K., and Cuba.

David Gratzer, a practicing physician licensed in the U.S. and Canada, debunks many of Moore's assertions about the superiority of state-provided healthcare:

Consider, for instance, Mr. Moore's claim that ERs don't overcrowd in Canada. A Canadian government study recently found that only about half of patients are treated in a timely manner, as defined by local medical and hospital associations. "The research merely confirms anecdotal reports of interminable waits," reported a national newspaper. While people in rural areas seem to fare better, Toronto patients receive care in four hours on average; one in 10 patients waits more than a dozen hours.
This problem hit close to home last year: A relative, living in Winnipeg, nearly died of a strangulated bowel while lying on a stretcher for five hours, writhing in pain. To get the needed ultrasound, he was sent by ambulance to another hospital.
In Britain, the Department of Health recently acknowledged that one in eight patients wait more than a year for surgery. Around the time Mr. Moore was putting the finishing touches on his documentary, a hospital in Sutton Coldfield announced its new money-saving linen policy: Housekeeping will no longer change the bed sheets between patients, just turn them over. France's system failed so spectacularly in the summer heat of 2003 that 13,000 people died, largely of dehydration. Hospitals stopped answering the phones and ambulance attendants told people to fend for themselves.
With such problems, it's not surprising that people are looking for alternatives. Private clinics--some operating in a "gray zone" of the law--are now opening in Canada at a rate of about one per week.

His use of Castro's Cuba to demonstrate a better system is the icing on the cake. Many people are not aware that for certain procedures Cuban citizens are required to provide many of their own materials. The system works very well for medical tourists but is atrocious for the average Cuban:

Dr. Julio Cesar Alfonso, 39, who practiced medicine in Cuba for four years before coming to Miami in 1999, describes the Cuban healthcare system as ''a disaster,'' from doctors reusing needles to draw blood from patients (and keeping a sharpening stone for the needles ) to the X-ray machine at Cardenas Regional Hospital, which hasn't been replaced since 1959.
''The treatment Moore and the rescue workers receive in the film was done specifically for them, because they knew it would make great propaganda,'' says Alfonso, a general practitioner in Little Havana. ``The medical centers in Cuba that treat tourists and government officials and VIPs are very different than the ones that treat the general population. If you're a Cuban citizen and need a prescription drug, most doctors either tell you to ask your relatives in the U.S. to ship it to you or recommend alternative herbal remedies. That's the degree of scarcity on the island.''

Michael Moore lives in a dream world. His ambition is to make it a reality. He has admitted that he would like to see the government handle all health care. Forget his dream- for us it would be a nightmare.

El Viente de Mayo

Although not as well known as Cinco de Mayo, Viente de Mayo is an important date- it is the anniversary of Cuba's independence from Spain. As you can see on my sidebar, I have a Cuban flag. My heritage on my mother's side is Cuban, and I have included the inscription, "Esperando la libertad," which means "Waiting for freedom."

El Diario de las Américas (a Spanish-language newspaper based in Miami) commemorated this day in an editorial. You can read it here (in Spanish) and I wanted to relay an excerpt:

Qué doloroso es para los cubanos llegar a otro 20 de mayo con su patria esclavizada, cuando normalmente debería celebrarse el ciento cinco aniversario de la proclamación de su independencia ejerciendo la libertad republicana. El primero de enero de 1959, se diera cuenta mucha gente o no de que se había hundido la libertad de Cuba en el mar de la tiranía comunista, esa patria dejó de ser república. En la actualidad, pues, ese pueblo que Martí soñó para la libertad, por cuya causa murió en el combate de Dos Ríos, recién iniciada la guerra, lleva ya casi cuarenta y ocho años de no tener libertad ni independencia. Lleva ya casi cuarenta y ocho años de no ser república, ni cosa por el estilo.

A quick synopsis for English-speakers: It is sorrowful for Cubans to come to another May 20th with their homeland enslaved. It should be celebrated as the 105th anniversary of her independence but in 1959 it stopped being a republic and fell under communist tyranny. Almost 48 years have passed with liberty or independence.

That is far too long, and the continued sorry state of the Cuban people is due in no small measure to the deference leftists have shown to Castro's communism. Hailed early on as a hero, to this day you find intellectuals that defend his sorry government, despite incontrovertible evidence that Cuba is not free.

Now we find ourselves facing a similar danger in the form of Venezuelan despot Hugo Chavez. Again, leftists defend him, even treat him with respect. I received a comment on my blog the other day from someone named Julia_1984. She wrote:

I was impressed when I read the list about things cubans cannot do and find that some of them, are starting to happen (in a lower way, still) here in my country. And there's still some left intellectuals saying that the US media over reacts...

She has a blog where she talks about what is going on in her country today. I encourage you to visit it. We have been given a gift in this country. We are free. I have always believed it is our duty to bring that freedom to other people. This reminder is my small effort in that struggle. Don't allow the blessing of your birth to cause you to forget those who were not as fortunate.

No Cuba Libre

I haven't posted anything about Cuba in a long time, so I am glad to have this list, which I received from Maret Mitchell. It comes from the Cuba Transition Project, a program of the University of Miami. Enjoy:

What Cubans Can Not Do:

Cubans can not:
 Travel abroad without government permission.
 Change jobs without government permission.
 Change residence without government permission.
 Access the Internet without government permission (the Internet is closely monitored and controlled by the government. Only 1.67% of the population has access to the Internet).
 Send their children to a private or religious school (all schools are government run, there are no religious schools in Cuba).
 Watch independent or private radio or TV stations (all TV and radio stations are owned and run by the government). Cubans illegally watch/listen to foreign broadcasts.
 Read books, magazines or newspapers, unless approved/published by the government (all books, magazines and newspapers are published by the government).
 Receive publications from abroad or from visitors (punishable by jail terms under Law 88).
 Visit or stay in tourist hotels, restaurants, and resorts (these are off-limits to Cubans).
 Seek employment with foreign companies on the island, unless approved by the government.
 Run for public office unless approved by Cuba's Communist Party.
 Own businesses, unless they are very small and approved by the government and pay onerous taxes.
 Join an independent labor union (there is only one, government controlled labor union and no individual or collective bargaining is allowed; neither are strikes or protests).
 Retain a lawyer, unless approved by the government.
 Choose a physician or hospital. Both are assigned by the government.
 Refuse to participate in mass rallies and demonstrations organized by the Cuban Communist Party.
 Criticize the Castro regime or the Cuban Communist Party, the only party allowed in Cuba.

It is disconcerting to see such repression just 90 miles off U.S. shores.

Cuba e Hipocrecía

The entire existence of the Spanish Phrase of the Day is rooted in my heritage. My mother came from Cuba with her family in 1961. They fled Castro's communism, and were fortunate to do so. Cuba is repressive economically and politically, and it is about the latter that I choose to comment today.

Yesterday I read this blog post from David Corn. He is not someone I read often, as we fall on very different sides of the ideological divide. He is responding to a piece written by the President of Cuba's National Assembly, Ricardo Alarcon. Alarcon writes in praise of a U.S. communist, C. Wright Mills, that persisted in writing and working even in the face of McCarthyism. Corn finds exception with Alarcon in this way:

Imagine a Cuban who wants to write and publish a Cuban version of The Power Elite [Mills' book]. That person would be locked up in a modern-day dungeon by Alarcon and his comrades. Alarcon, thus, has no standing to bemoan the harassment of Mills or to pontificate about the glories of pursuing establishment-defying truths. (Stating the obvious about the gross absence of political and human rights within Cuba should not be equated with support for the economic embargo maintained by the Bush administration against Cuba. The wrongs of each side do not justify the other.)
"Today," Alarcon writes, "Cuba forges a path to craft its own unique socialist system, rooted on its own historical experience and with the active participation of its people." Not the active participation of anyone who wants to write or report news and ideas not sanctioned by Alarcon and his colleagues. It takes nerve for a person who runs one of the ten most censored countries to praise a pioneering and influential free thinker. That's why Alarcon's accolade for Mills is best read as farce.

I despise communism, therefore I enjoy any opportunity to showcase its inevitable hypocrisy. I don't care for the work or ideas of Mills, Alarcon's subject, but I am glad that I live in a country where he could live and write. I wish it were so from Cubans. Someday it will be.

Cuba's role in the Drug War

When you take a moment to think about it, nothing in this article is surprising. Cuba holds a strategic geographical advantage for drug smugglers. Castro hates America. Drugs hurt America, therefore Castro (Fidel or Raul, doesn't really matter) helped facilitate the passage of drugs into America. Pretty cut and dry.

Nor is it surprising that the Clinton Justice Department prevented Federal attorneys in Miami from making a case against Raul Castro. It is another example of Clintonite excellence.

Fidel

I can't believe I haven't addressed this yet, but my trip to California and subsequent work has left me little time for blogging. Better late than never I guess.

I wanted to comment on two pieces, but first an introduction. Just so everyone knows, my mother is Cuban, having fled the country with her family shortly after the Bay of Pigs. I often spent time as a boy doodling battles between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. I think my anti-Communist credentials are pretty sound. As you can imagine, I have no love for Fidel. I would not consider his assasination immoral- it would be justice.

First a hopeful look at Raul, Fidel's brother and temporary(?) successor, from the WSJ.

I don't know that I agree with their assessment of Raul as reformer. I don't think he is that interested in helping the Cuban people in any material way. He has been known as Fidel's enforcer and their is blood on his hands. Perhaps he has moderated.

Peggy Noonan weighs in (with solid anti-commie credentials as well). Her position is to use this moment of transition to engage Cuba economically by removing the 40+ year trade embargo. I am no fan of the embargo. I feel it has long outlived its usefulness and welcome its removal. However, it is not a quick and easy solution.

As some pundits have mentioned (snippet found here) free exchange between Cuba and the U.S. will depend on Cuba's participation. Raul need not allow it. He might use it to shove the gesture right back in our faces. Nonetheless, sustaining the useless embargo would be worse.

As for my part, I do suspect Castro is dead or very close to it. Good riddance.

!Que juegen los Cubanos!

Opinion Journal has a piece by the WSJ editorial in support of allowing the Cuban Baseball team to play in the World Baseball Classic. I agree with their logic:

We happen to believe that the embargo hasn't worked and that trade and other contacts with the Cuban people are more productive ways to pry open their society and promote freedom there.

I also agree that removing the embargo is not a panacea for the oppressed Cubans, but it is a start. We have nothing to lose.

Sticking it to Fidel

Over at Right Wing Pundit, J-Red has posted a story about the work of members of the U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Havana. Any attempt to get the truth out to the Cuban people is a good one.

Free Cuba!

I'm pleased with this bit of news about the upcoming World Baseball Classic. In an earlier post, I lamented the exclusion of Cuba from the WBC, on the grounds that it missed an opportunity to engage an unfriendly regime. More than 45 years of embargo have failed to move Castro from his place. Disallowing Cuban competition would not have either.

This revives an old debate about containment and engagement. Looking at our experience with the Soviet Union during the Cold War, engagement seemed to bring about the final end to that communist regime. It is not definitive that engagement was the death blow, following many years of containment as it did, but it did have an impact. I think Cuba could be similarly affected. Allowing Cuba to participate demonstrates that we have nothing to fear.

Some Cuban-Americans will be upset about this. They think it will benefit Castro. If Cuba is successful it might, but I don't think it is worth closing off the Cuban people. That has been the actual result of the embargo. I understand their anger. I just don't think containment is the answer.

Cuba and U.S. Isolation

Cuba is one of my pet issues. For some time I have been unsatisfied with our response to Fidel Castro and his communist regime. The embargo may have seemed appropriate in the 60's, but it has proved to be impotent. Castro se ha enriquecido (has enriched himself) at the expense of his people. While the Chinese citizenry have benefit from engagement with the U.S., the Cubans have been isolated. The isolation will continue with the news that (for the time being) Cuba will not be allowed to field a team for the upcoming World Baseball Classic.

The embargo has survived largely due to intense political pressure from the Cuban exile community. No president since its inception has dared to go against it in any meaningful way for fear of alienating one of Florida's major voting blocs. In particular, Republicans have fought to uphold it. On this I part ways.

As the son of a Cuban exile, I understand the pain and anger of fleeing one's home and being forced to leave almost all worldly possessions behind. Such was the case for my mother and her family. The embargo has not, and will not, reverse that. Castro will not move if he has not already. Through engagement we can change Cuba more effectively than through isolation. Almost 45 years of this policy has shown that something must change. Allowing the Cubans to field a team is one step in that direction, albeit a symbolic one, but something has to give.