The King is Almost Dead, Long Live the King
is King Fidel dead, physically or politically? the answer to either question is "No."
how do we know?
because Raul Castro, his appointed successor, has not stepped forward to claim the throne. Fidel is King, the House of Communist Cuba is in order, and the Appointed Heir knows his place.
so long as King Fidel lives, he rules Cuba and will brook no competition. one is reminded of Stalin's last days, flapping like a fish while his courtesans awaited the final breath before taking any action (one can never be too cautious with dictators).
at most, we can expect Prince Regent Raul to come forward (in his brother's name) and keep things moving if King Fidel's illness is prolonged.
the day Prince Regent Raul steps forward and assumes command, we will know Fidel is dead and King Raul has been crowned.
what happens to those who dare rival King Fidel? Prince Regent Raul knows well. That is why he has survived so long as his brother's second-in-command: the key is, NEVER, EVER, EVER, RIVAL FIDEL FOR POWER. those who do end up sidelined, stripped of their rank, in jail, or dead.
the last significant "rival" to Fidel's leadership was General Arnaldo Ochoa. He ended up shot by a firing squad. A bit of history:
On June 12 of [1989], Gen. Arnaldo Ochoa Sánchez was placed under arrest and accused of extreme corruption, dereliction of duty, and narcotics trafficking. Ochoa was no small fry. He had belonged to the original band of guerrillas in the Sierra Maestra, was a member of the 26th of July Movement that formed the inner core of the revolution, had been among those Cuban internationalists who tried to raise the flag of revolt in Venezuela and the Congo in the 1960s, and had headed the Cuban military missions to Angola, Ethiopia, and Nicaragua. Perhaps he had seen too much of the outside world. Perhaps, in that year of 1989, he was one of many Cubans who saw promise in Mikhail Gorbachev's program of glasnost and perestroika.
See Source
Gen. Arnaldo Ochoa with Cuban journalist
and writer Norberto Fuentes
While in Angola, Ochoa took to calling Fidel "the Crazy Old Man," for his inane orders from half a world away. Ochoa went so far as to rig his transmission towers with explosives so he could detonate them in an emergency and claim he had to act on his own initiative, rather than follow what he considered to be suicidal orders. Ochoa went on to befriend, nurture, and in many cases shape the career of Cuban Army officers, and, in what probably signed his death warrant, dared criticize King Fidel and his policies.
Ochoa was an old comrade of Fidel's. They had fought in the mountains together. They had reached power in Havana in 1959 together. Ochoa was hand-picked to lead Cuba's foreign excursions. And yet, when Ochoa made the mistake of thinking he knew better than Fidel, that perhaps he knew better what was good for the Army and for Cuba, he was accused of trumped-up charges and murdered.
Raul won't be shot. But he might be resented. Worse, he might be side-lined from succession.
His job is to be a good nobody. He is second in command precisely because he has no desire to be first in command. He knows that. And he won't jeopardize his role by acting too hastily.
Until King Fidel is dead, Raul will continue to be the nobody he was picked to be.
how do we know?
because Raul Castro, his appointed successor, has not stepped forward to claim the throne. Fidel is King, the House of Communist Cuba is in order, and the Appointed Heir knows his place.
so long as King Fidel lives, he rules Cuba and will brook no competition. one is reminded of Stalin's last days, flapping like a fish while his courtesans awaited the final breath before taking any action (one can never be too cautious with dictators).
at most, we can expect Prince Regent Raul to come forward (in his brother's name) and keep things moving if King Fidel's illness is prolonged.
the day Prince Regent Raul steps forward and assumes command, we will know Fidel is dead and King Raul has been crowned.
what happens to those who dare rival King Fidel? Prince Regent Raul knows well. That is why he has survived so long as his brother's second-in-command: the key is, NEVER, EVER, EVER, RIVAL FIDEL FOR POWER. those who do end up sidelined, stripped of their rank, in jail, or dead.
the last significant "rival" to Fidel's leadership was General Arnaldo Ochoa. He ended up shot by a firing squad. A bit of history:
On June 12 of [1989], Gen. Arnaldo Ochoa Sánchez was placed under arrest and accused of extreme corruption, dereliction of duty, and narcotics trafficking. Ochoa was no small fry. He had belonged to the original band of guerrillas in the Sierra Maestra, was a member of the 26th of July Movement that formed the inner core of the revolution, had been among those Cuban internationalists who tried to raise the flag of revolt in Venezuela and the Congo in the 1960s, and had headed the Cuban military missions to Angola, Ethiopia, and Nicaragua. Perhaps he had seen too much of the outside world. Perhaps, in that year of 1989, he was one of many Cubans who saw promise in Mikhail Gorbachev's program of glasnost and perestroika.
See Source
Gen. Arnaldo Ochoa with Cuban journalist
and writer Norberto Fuentes
While in Angola, Ochoa took to calling Fidel "the Crazy Old Man," for his inane orders from half a world away. Ochoa went so far as to rig his transmission towers with explosives so he could detonate them in an emergency and claim he had to act on his own initiative, rather than follow what he considered to be suicidal orders. Ochoa went on to befriend, nurture, and in many cases shape the career of Cuban Army officers, and, in what probably signed his death warrant, dared criticize King Fidel and his policies.
Ochoa was an old comrade of Fidel's. They had fought in the mountains together. They had reached power in Havana in 1959 together. Ochoa was hand-picked to lead Cuba's foreign excursions. And yet, when Ochoa made the mistake of thinking he knew better than Fidel, that perhaps he knew better what was good for the Army and for Cuba, he was accused of trumped-up charges and murdered.
Raul won't be shot. But he might be resented. Worse, he might be side-lined from succession.
His job is to be a good nobody. He is second in command precisely because he has no desire to be first in command. He knows that. And he won't jeopardize his role by acting too hastily.
Until King Fidel is dead, Raul will continue to be the nobody he was picked to be.
posted by Yimboro | 7:49 AM
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