OPINION & EDITORIAL
Stakes are high with Fidel gone
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by Ben Patterson
Friday, February 22, 2008
I’ve never been one to accept conspiracy theories as
anything worthwhile. Nor have I ever been one to insinuate a claim based on
events that could be easily aligned to prove a point. But early Tuesday morning
the world watched as a huge swing in international politics took place, which
not even the most fervent conspiracy theorist would have believed.
In a letter addressed to his compatriots in the state-run
newspaper Granma, Fidel Castro formally announced his resignation as commander
in chief of Cuba. In his letter, he concentrated on the various achievements
his administration has achieved while in power. It is not, however, his past
achievements as a communist leader that interests the world population; rather,
it is the future of his country that is being analyzed by leaders around the
world.
The news of a “Fidel-less” Cuba comes at a rather strategic
point in Cuban politics. His resignation came just before the Cuban National
Assembly was to meet in order to vote on a new leader. Had his resignation
letter not been in hand, Mr. Castro would have surely been re-elected and communism
90 miles off the coast of Florida would still exist. But now with Castro’s
brother Raul in power, Cuba has quite a different look to it in the
international arena.
Raul Castro has long been the counterpart to his stubborn
brother. With tendencies toward democratic and new-world ideology, Raul Castro
has countries all over the globe licking their lips. Many believe that Cuba is
ready for a major change, and the potential for Cuba to once again be a proving
ground for political ideology is a reality.
With U.S. and Cuban relations being almost non-existent for
the last 46 years, U.S. politicians are already weighing in on Cuban potential.
All four current presidential hopefuls have already called for the release of
all political prisoners and a democratic revolution. But is it really
surprising that the U.S. would stick its nose into “spreading democracy?” That
is the major issue at hand. With the rather open-mindedness of Raul Castro, one
might wonder which direction Cuba is going to go politically and what players
in the international forum are going try to sway its thinking.
Last week both Chinese and Russian leaders made rather
ominous remarks directed toward the United States and its military program.
While Russia is in a sense considered a republic, China remains communist,
along with Cuba. However, with the changing political climate in Cuba and the
relative distaste for the United States by both Russia and China, Cuba’s future
is looking more and more like an international issue to be decided by the
superpowers of the world.
Currently, there are only five countries still practicing
communism, and China — being the face of modern communism — would expectedly
like to retain a communist base worldwide. China has made investments in Cuban
tourism, biotechnology and mining for the last four years. In addition, China
has a 10-year interest-free loan agreement with Cuba, tying the two countries
together for years to come.
In a sense, the true issue of Cuba is going to be Cuba. The
decisions Raul Castro and his administration will make in the years to come
will influence and direct the goals of countries with a political and economic
interest in Cuba.
Another Cold War may be too rash to suggest, but Cuba does
have the potential to be the location for a proxy war of international
ideologies. The decisions Cuba makes in the short term has the utmost potential
to influence the decisions the United States, Russia, China and numerous other countries
make in the long run.
Ben Patterson (bpatterson@wisc.edu)
is a junior majoring in political science.
Anonymous (February 22, 2008 @ 10:05am):
Does Castro not have any children? If you're going to be a dictator, you better make sure your swimmers function first.
Anonymous (February 22, 2008 @ 11:46am):
Wow, this was incredibly inane. Cuba is Cuba, and should always be Cuba, but what all 4 candidates suggested was a return to imperial rule over Cuba, such as in the period leading up to 1959. This should not be surprising, given that the Cuban exile community is the 2nd-most influential ethnic lobby in the US (only to Israel), and those same individuals are those who were deposed and had to settle for just richness instead of the super-richness they had before. You better believe that any "return" to democracy (it was never there to begin with, thanks to US intervention) will mean that a few rich exiles in bed with the US will take political and economic control of the country, kick the poor off their land, privatize social services, and export the wealth of the island through trade deals with the US. Much of Cuba is already quite poor, but there will be an even greater disparity between the returning rich and the working poor within a month of any political transition.
and 10:05- Fidel has like 80 kids. But I don't think there are any plans for a Castro monarchy, Raul is mainly in power now because he was the #2 during the Revolution, aside from Che and some of the others who have since died.
Anonymous (February 22, 2008 @ 12:52pm):
Fidel has been DEAD ever since whenever it was that he got really "sick"
Anonymous (February 22, 2008 @ 3:48pm):
"Fidel has been DEAD ever since whenever it was that he got really "sick""
OK, take your conspiracy theories and go back to Miami...
Anonymous (February 22, 2008 @ 3:59pm):
Is Franco still dead?
Anonymous (February 23, 2008 @ 9:02pm):
Under pressure from the government of Spain, Raul Castro has released four "dissidents" after years of imprisonment:
José Gabriel Ramón Castillo, Omar Pernet Hernández, Alejandro González and Pedro Pablo Álvarez - described regular beatings, humiliation and arbitrary punishment with long periods of solitary confinement in cramped cells with cement beds.
They said they were deprived of food and water in conditions which resembled "a desert".
Arriving in Spain to be reunited with their families, they exposed the routine abuse of political prisoners which marked Castros five decades in power.
One of the four had been imprisoned for 21 years for opposing Castro's regime. Cuban jails still contain hundreds of political prisoners. It's too bad they aren't terrorists, instead of just being non-Communists. Then they might get some sympathy.
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