Undoubtedly the
biggest news story of the day has been the resignation of Fidel Castro from the Cuban presidency.
Castro stepping down his caused mixed reactions around the world and the blogosphere is no exception to that.
Here are several blog posts on Castro and the future of Cuba:
Fidel Castro has finally turned in his resignation as president of Cuba. His decision to step down on Tuesday has brought mixed opinions from all over the world. President Bush is speaking out and voicing his concern that post-Fidel rule should be one of a democratic nature. Our fellow allies, France and Spain, are echoing Bush’s call to democracy. If this is Cuba’s first real change in almost 50 years, can a democracy immediately work? The leader of Russia’s Communist Party is actually commending Castro’s decision today stating,” “It’s a brave decision and in taking it, I’m sure Fidel Castro was guided by the interests of his country and his people.”
For those who think this means change and freedom in Cuba, it doesn’t. Not until the entire Castro cabal is out. Sure, there will be some so-called “reforms” under Raul, but they will be nothing but meaningless window dressing, as they have been since Fidel “temporarily” handed power to his brother.
Three quick things: (1) Obviously this is to lessen the political turmoil that would otherwise have been caused by his (imminent?) death. (2) What happens in Cuba now? My optimistic predictions from 2005 still hold. (3) I’m offended by the opening sentence of Frances Robles’ article: “Saying he is no longer healthy enough to hold office, Cuban leader Fidel Castro has announced he will not seek reelection after 49 years in power and nearly 19 months sidelined by illness . . .” When elections are universally believed to be a travesty, why mention them in the opening paragraph about a leader’s resignation? At least put quotes around “seek reelection” so we know you’re in on the lie.
The fact that Castro’s resignation was announced overnight and online in a country where home Internet access is forbidden, meant that most Cubans found out through the grapevine, which likes to inject its own flavor into the news. But all this points to a more interesting pattern: the inclination to toss Occam’s razor into the trash and look for an alternative explanation when explaining an inexplicable government.
Hillary Clinton said it's time for Cuba to join "the community of democratic nations." "The American people have been on the side in the Cuban people's struggle for freedom and democracy in the past and we will be on their side for democracy in the future," she said in a statement released by her campaign.
Barack Obama said that Castro's announcement marks the "end of a dark era in Cuba's history," but is "an essential first step" in bringing freedom to Cuba.
John McCain said Cuba's transition to democracy is "inevitable." "We must press the Cuban regime to release all political prisoners unconditionally, to legalize all political parties, labor unions and free media, and to schedule internationally monitored elections," McCain said in a statement.
I wish I could share their excitement at the news, but like all Cuban - inside and outside the island - I know that when it comes to Castro, nothing ever is what it seems. That just because the man who has ruled over his 11 million subjects for close to half a century says he is stepping down from some of his (many) official positions, it doesn’t mean it’s the end of the Castro era. No matter what the papers say.
We all know that the news of Castro’s “retirement” is not really news and in the end will do little to affect the lives of the Cubans on the island; the repressive machinery is still firmly in control and has shown no intention of loosening its grip. But there is some good news associated with this announcement that some of us may have overlooked. Now that fifo is no longer an “official head of state,” he is now free to stand trial in an international tribunal for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Now that Fidel Castro has announced his retirement, it's time to retire our Cold War era Cuba policy. It failed.
Every U.S. president since Eisenhower has tried to kill or topple Fidel Castro and replace Cuba's government and economic system with something more to our liking. They never succeeded…
Now would be a perfect time to send the long overdue signal that the United States is no threat to Cuba's national security, that we honor the aspirations of average Cubans, and that we are capable of having a constructive relationship with their government.
Europe has two advantages over the USA and China: (1) unlike the USA, Europe hasn’t been harming Cuba with a trade embargo, and (2) Cubans are linguistically and culturally a European people. So if the EU doesn’t do anything incompetent, it will have a lot of influence over the new Cuba. Maybe it could offer Cubans the status of an EU colony — like Bosnia and Kosova currently are in effect — in return for a fast-track to EU membership?
Image- CBC
Sources- Amused Cynicism, Huffington Post, Babalu Blog, Child of the Revolution, Hotline On Call, Big Think Blog, Critical Miami, Castro Death Watch, Off the Grid, The Latin Americanist
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