Saul Landau Gets It (Mostly) Right
in his piece for CounterPunch, Misreading Cuba, for 47 and a Half Years, Saul Landau gets it mostly right.
he is right that Fidel's death would not mean the collapse of Cubaland (if anything, it will mark the start of a slow, gradual decentralization of power as less able leaders step up to the plate, beginning with Raul Castro). He is right that for decades, Cuba's bureaucracy has run the country, and will continue to do so without Fidel. in fact, over 200,000 Cubans were evacuated over the weekend as (then) Hurricane Ernesto headed for Cuba. the evacuation went smoothly and independently of who in Havana is calling the shots.
I can hardly argue with his conclusion:
Washington once ran Cuba's economy and supported a dictator obedient to US needs. It's time to let Americans go to Cuba, erode the embargo and open the island to cultural and political currents that might bring pleasant and democratic winds of change.
but i am concerned that Landau underestimates the level of repression in Cubaland. I would invite him to read the numerous examples right here on this blog of abuses against dissidents. and that's just scratching the surface. i would invite him to investigate the political prisoners, the crackdowns during the past four years, the abuses to the civil rights and the basic dignity of the Cuban people who dare speak out.
he writes:
In Cuba, the anti-Castro "dissidents" did not organize protests, or street demonstrations. Miami-based Cubans danced and drank on the street when they heard the rumor--false as it turned out -- of Fidel's impending death. Well, some Cubans will use any excuse--even in bad taste -- to party!
let us, for now, ignore the last sentence (those wacky Cubans, always ready to throw a Latin party with lechon and some mojitos ... oh, when will they grow up?).
let us instead concentrate on the ignorance manifest by the first sentence "In Cuba, the anti-Castro 'dissidents' did not organize protests, or street demonstrations."
first, why the quotation marks around the word "dissident?" I wonder what one has to do to qualify as such in Mr. Landau's world. go to jail? endure beatings and abuses? be sentenced to 20 years in jail for speaking your mind? well, Cuban dissidents have suffered that and more. but perhaps that is not enough? perhaps since they are wacky Cubans (without the lechon and the mojitos, given the economic circumstances in Cubaland) they really don't know what "dissident" means and don't deserve that title?
second, is Mr. Landau awake? does he not realize that *before* the announcement was made that Fidel was ill all army reserves were mobilized and deployed throughout the island, particularly Havana? does he not realize that the Rapid Response Brigades were likewise mobilized, ready to disperse by force any anti-Castro demonstrations?
even in the face of such odds, the dissidents might have been able to coordinate such a response, but they are harassed, kept on the defensive, isolated, and in many cases under virtual house arrest. many of their leaders are in prison. what few groups of dissidents managed to gather were immediately placed under a state of siege by the RRB's and the National Police, with a triple objective: show the ability of the state to respond with violence; disrupt the ability of dissidents to gather in pre-arranged locations; and blockade any such gatherings in their initial location, thus preventing any public marches or demonstrations.
Mr. Landau speaks of considering the situation from a Cuban perspective. sadly, he does not seem able to consider the situation from a dissident Cuban perspective.
he is right that Fidel's death would not mean the collapse of Cubaland (if anything, it will mark the start of a slow, gradual decentralization of power as less able leaders step up to the plate, beginning with Raul Castro). He is right that for decades, Cuba's bureaucracy has run the country, and will continue to do so without Fidel. in fact, over 200,000 Cubans were evacuated over the weekend as (then) Hurricane Ernesto headed for Cuba. the evacuation went smoothly and independently of who in Havana is calling the shots.
I can hardly argue with his conclusion:
Washington once ran Cuba's economy and supported a dictator obedient to US needs. It's time to let Americans go to Cuba, erode the embargo and open the island to cultural and political currents that might bring pleasant and democratic winds of change.
but i am concerned that Landau underestimates the level of repression in Cubaland. I would invite him to read the numerous examples right here on this blog of abuses against dissidents. and that's just scratching the surface. i would invite him to investigate the political prisoners, the crackdowns during the past four years, the abuses to the civil rights and the basic dignity of the Cuban people who dare speak out.
he writes:
In Cuba, the anti-Castro "dissidents" did not organize protests, or street demonstrations. Miami-based Cubans danced and drank on the street when they heard the rumor--false as it turned out -- of Fidel's impending death. Well, some Cubans will use any excuse--even in bad taste -- to party!
let us, for now, ignore the last sentence (those wacky Cubans, always ready to throw a Latin party with lechon and some mojitos ... oh, when will they grow up?).
let us instead concentrate on the ignorance manifest by the first sentence "In Cuba, the anti-Castro 'dissidents' did not organize protests, or street demonstrations."
first, why the quotation marks around the word "dissident?" I wonder what one has to do to qualify as such in Mr. Landau's world. go to jail? endure beatings and abuses? be sentenced to 20 years in jail for speaking your mind? well, Cuban dissidents have suffered that and more. but perhaps that is not enough? perhaps since they are wacky Cubans (without the lechon and the mojitos, given the economic circumstances in Cubaland) they really don't know what "dissident" means and don't deserve that title?
second, is Mr. Landau awake? does he not realize that *before* the announcement was made that Fidel was ill all army reserves were mobilized and deployed throughout the island, particularly Havana? does he not realize that the Rapid Response Brigades were likewise mobilized, ready to disperse by force any anti-Castro demonstrations?
even in the face of such odds, the dissidents might have been able to coordinate such a response, but they are harassed, kept on the defensive, isolated, and in many cases under virtual house arrest. many of their leaders are in prison. what few groups of dissidents managed to gather were immediately placed under a state of siege by the RRB's and the National Police, with a triple objective: show the ability of the state to respond with violence; disrupt the ability of dissidents to gather in pre-arranged locations; and blockade any such gatherings in their initial location, thus preventing any public marches or demonstrations.
Mr. Landau speaks of considering the situation from a Cuban perspective. sadly, he does not seem able to consider the situation from a dissident Cuban perspective.
posted by Yimboro | 8:02 PM
1 Comments:
" if anything, it will mark the start of a slow, gradual decentralization of power as less able leaders step up to the plate, beginning with Raul Castro "
What would be the end result of such a situation makes for an interesting question, does it not?Whichever way things played out, I wouldn't think that it would happen peacefully. A more localized pover structure would undoubtedly result in tensions between various elements, both within any particular area as the different factions attempted to gain control of their area, and also between the different areas as areas with different and conflicting goals vied for more influence on a national level. I don't see how this could happen peaceably without either a system that addresses the different desires of everyone, or the rise of another Fidel type leader who has the ability to make his word law.
Considering the above, I see much more merit to the following than I have previously:
" It's time to let Americans go to Cuba, erode the embargo and open the island to cultural and political currents that might bring pleasant and democratic winds of change. "
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