Cuba gets new president

[Lucky13]

Cuba gets new president, old-guard team
By WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press Writer
32 minutes ago



HAVANA - Raul Castro, Cuba's first new president in nearly half a century, crushed hopes that a new generation would shape the country's future by promising to defer to his ailing brother Fidel and the Communist Party's old guard on major matters.

Shunning younger candidates, the island's parliament tapped 77-year-old revolutionary leader Jose Ramon Machado for the government's No. 2 spot, meaning Raul Castro's constitutional successor is even older than he is, by a year.

The retirement of 81-year-old Fidel Castro capped a career in which he frustrated efforts by 10 U.S. presidents to oust him. But despite finally emerging from his brother's shadow, Raul made it clear that Fidel will continue to play a key role in running Cuba.

"Fidel is Fidel, we all know it very well," the younger Castro told parliament after lawmakers unanimously approved the succession with a show of hands. "Fidel is irreplaceable and the people will continue his work when he is no longer physically with us."

He suggested that no quick or major economic or political overhauls are in Cuba's future, and that the Communist Party collectively would take over the role long held by his brother, who still has the important position of party head.

Fidel's power in government has eroded since July 31, 2006, when he announced he had undergone emergency intestinal surgery and was provisionally ceding his powers to Raul. The younger Castro has headed Cuba's caretaker government in the 19 months since then, and Fidel Castro has not appeared in public.

The parliament vote ended the elder Castro's 49 years as ruler of the communist state in America's backyard, but kept many of the oldest leaders in key positions. It also represented a triumph for a carefully managed campaign to smoothly transfer power from Fidel, even as the U.S. lobbied for a quick "transition to democracy."

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice criticized the Castros' succession, saying Cubans have a right "to choose their leaders in democratic elections."

She also urged the Cuban government to "to begin a process of peaceful, democratic change by releasing all political prisoners, respecting human rights and creating a clear pathway toward free and fair elections."

Though the succession was not likely to bring a major shift in the communist policies that have put Cuba at odds with the U.S., many Cubans had hoped it would open the door to modest economic reforms that might improve their daily lives. Many had also hoped younger leaders would assume more important roles.

On Sunday, some Cubans appeared dejected.

"I guess nothing's going to change then," said Yuniel, a 22-year-old waiter in a restaurant near Havana's Central Park. Like many Cubans, he declined to give his last name when criticizing the government. "There's no reason people should hope for anything."

Marleen Rodriguez, a 25-year-old store clerk in the central city of Santa Clara, said she had hoped Cuba's 42-year-old foreign minister, Felipe Perez Roque, would be chosen president.

"Fidel talked about young people, and then they choose Raul," she said.

But others said they had gotten used to Raul as head of state, and the country has been calm with him at the helm.

"I'm very content," Luis Cuevas, a 43-year-old locksmith in the central city of Ciego de Avila, said of Raul's presidency. "This is what was expected."

Raul Castro had called for debate on how to shape Cuba's economic future and even endorsed unspecified "structural changes" to the communist system. But he said Sunday that anyone hoping for radical change "overlooked the fact that it was debate and criticism within socialism."

He indicated that at least one change is being contemplated: the re-valuation of the Cuban peso, the currency most people use to pay for government services and the small amount charged for their monthly food ration. But he also noted that the government spends too much money maintaining the ration program, saying that it was "irrational and unsustainable."

The overwhelming majority of Cubans work for the state, and many complain that the government pays them in Cuban pesos but sells goods in government-run grocery and retail stores in Cuban Convertible Pesos — largely available only to tourists and foreigners, and worth 24 times more.

Reinaldo Garcia, a 49-year-old mechanic, said he could live without a ration card if the regular peso gets stronger.

"If there were only one currency instead of two, Cuban money would be strong enough and the ration card wouldn't matter," Garcia said.

The new No. 2, Machado, fought alongside the Castro brothers in Cuba's eastern mountains in the late 1950s.

New members on the governing Council of State also include two top generals close to Raul and another aging revolutionary commander. The head of the military's economics ministry will replace Raul Castro as defense minister.

Cuba's young guard apparently will have to wait a little longer.

Cabinet secretary Carlos Lage, 56, who is associated with the modest economic reforms of the 1990s, had been among the most visible Cuban officials since Fidel Castro fell ill. He will continue as a regular vice president.

Raul's rise caused little sensation Sunday on the sweaty streets of Havana, where children continued to play baseball with improvised bats and gloves. During his speech, military reservists in olive-green uniforms were stationed on major street corners, but many were later recalled.

"The people didn't elect anyone," said Alejandro, a 33-year-old who was drinking rum Sunday night with friends near the capital's seaside Malecon boulevard.

"There is no democracy, no human rights," he said. "And with that old guy (Raul), there won't be any in the future."

[Konigstiger205]

Fidel Castro must the oldest dictator in the whole world....

[chuckn49]

The consensus opinion seems to favor the view that Raul Castro's ascension to power in Cuba will bring no significant changes in that country's tragic circumstances. I believe that may be true for a while but, dramatic changes are coming and sooner than most think -- in months, not years.

I do not think Raul Castro has the stature nor the committed support inside the Cuban government that his brother, Fidel, has nor does he have it among the people. No matter what he may wish, he will always be the "little brother" to his "big brother", Fidel.

Fidel has held power for nearly 50 years by dint of personal strength and a certain charisma that poor Raul has never had. Thus, he will never enjoy the loyalty nor inspire the fear that his brother can. Raul's power will be in direct proportion to his brother's perceived power whether or not Fidel is the official ruler. As Fidel fades (and he is fading fast, I believe), so will Raul's power and influence fade. Once Fidel dies or is perceived as being too weak or infirm to matter, Raul's support will vanish.

I would not be too surprised if one morning poor Raul wakes up to find he no longer has a government to rule. The upper echelons of his power structure, the party elite, the generals and ministers, will have taken the opportunity to flee to where ever they have made arrangements for sanctuary along with the monies they have stolen from the people. Don't be too surprised to find them ending up in Venezuela, China, Russia, France or, even, the USA. I think they know, in their hearts, that the jig is up and will want to get out while the getting is good.

It will fall to the lower echelons, the majors and captains to form a new government in coordination, hopefully, with the minor civilian (if such exist in Cuba) bureaucrats. Despite a lifetime of indoctrination, these younger Cubans are far less committed to Fidel's dream of a Marxist workers' paradise and far more cognizant of Cuba's misery and failures to want to continue down that road either for themselves (selfishly) or, hopefully, for their people.

I hope these changes, this new revolution, follows the more peaceful pattern of similar evolutions in many of the former Soviet bloc countries. If the US is wise enough to reach out to these new revolutionaries and offer aid in a timely manner, Cuba could have a successful transition to a more open and free society. After almost a half century of Marxism, though, it will not be easy. Maybe the ex-patriots living in the US can return home and apply the skills they've learned here to their former homeland.

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Dont bet on it. He is more hardline than his brother was.

[Lucky13]

And maybe the people will get enough and....rise?

[wilbur1]

I doubt it

[chuckn49]

Originally Posted by DerAdlerIstGelandet

Dont bet on it. He is more hardline than his brother was.

The role of the "little brother" in Cuba and that of most "second fiddles" in dictatorships is usually to be "more hard lined" than the leader. They function to make even a brutal dictator seem moderate by comparison. Raul filled that role admirably. But, does he have the support necessary to carry-on? I am not so sure.

Heirs to the throne in dictatorships do not have a great record of survival. They often become the target for all the repressed/suppressed frustrations generated in those who served their predecessor.

Cuba is a sick country and getting sicker. Raul is an old man. Fidel is a dead man walking. Neither, I hope, will generate much loyalty for very long. That could result in a blood-bath but, hopefully, the upper mucky-mucks in that government will see the handwriting on the wall and bail out before they are stood up in front of a wall.

[pbfoot]

I think the people in Cuba are better off then those in Mexico or most central american countries, if you talk to the avg Cuban that can remember Batista they prefer the way it is now . But then again I'm probably the only one here that has talked to a Cuban in Cuba

[jednastka]

Pbfoot, couldn't agree with you more. When compared to pre-revolution to today, the Cubans are much further ahead.

Having both worked and visited Cuba quite a bit in the last two decades, what most people do not realize is that it is the US embargo blockade that has kept Fidel Castro in power.

[FLYBOYJ]

Originally Posted by jednastka

Pbfoot, couldn't agree with you more. When compared to pre-revolution to today, the Cubans are much further ahead.

Having both worked and visited Cuba quite a bit in the last two decades, what most people do not realize is that it is the US embargo blockade that has kept Fidel Castro in power.

Agree but at the same time look at the percentage of the population that has left Cuba. Unfortunately the last time ole Fidel let the flood gate opened we got all their criminals.

[chuckn49]

Originally Posted by pbfoot

I think the people in Cuba are better off then those in Mexico or most central american countries, if you talk to the avg Cuban that can remember Batista they prefer the way it is now . But then again I'm probably the only one here that has talked to a Cuban in Cuba

I am sure that opinions can vary greatly but, just today 20 or so Cubans who were better off now than under Batista risked their lives trying to sneak into the USA. The Cuban population in Miami exploded under Castro.

I, too, have connections to Cubans inside Cuba and in little Havana and get a totally different viewpoint from them. Batista was no angel but, during his era there were no immigrant waves to the US as there has been since. In fact, in the whole history of Cuba from its days as a Spanish colony until Castro, no such immigration ever occured. When there were immigrations they were usually upper class professionals, frequently bi-lingual.

I would never argue that things are great in Mexico just based on the number of Mexicans escaping to here, either. Until Castro, though, the Cuban refugee population here was miniscule.

In the first year of Castro's reign, nearly 100,000 Cubans came to the US -- mostly Batistianos. Since then, almost 9% or nearly 1 out of 10 have emigrated to the US. One can only guess at the number who drowned and this does not count those emigrating to other Caribbean countries and Latin America.

In Operation Peter Pan, nearly 14,000 unaccompanied Cuban children were smuggled into the US in just 2 years -- sent by parents who feared they would never see their children again. I can only imagine that kind of despair. This is the largest such operation ever conducted in the Western Hemisphere.

[pbfoot]

Originally Posted by jednastka

Pbfoot, couldn't agree with you more. When compared to pre-revolution to today, the Cubans are much further ahead.

Having both worked and visited Cuba quite a bit in the last two decades, what most people do not realize is that it is the US embargo blockade that has kept Fidel Castro in power.

Your correct the embargo is what galvanized the avg Cuban they didn't want to be told what to do nor would anyone anywhere

[chuckn49]

Originally Posted by pbfoot

Your correct the embargo is what galvanized the avg Cuban they didn't want to be told what to do nor would anyone anywhere

I can understand Cubans feeling frustrated by an embargo but, since they don't like being told what to do how can they expect another country to agree to being told they must trade with them, either. It is the US prerogative to trade with whomever they choose, too, isn't it?

Also, since the US is just about the only country not trading to any great degree with Cuba, why are they so broke when they have the whole rest of the world to trade with? Certainly Canada or France or England or China or the whole rest of the world are free to trade all they want with Cuba and yet, Cuba is an economic basket case just because the US refuses to trade with them?

[ToughOmbre]

Hillary would make a great president of Cuba, don't ya think?

TO

[chuckn49]

Originally Posted by ToughOmbre

Hillary would make a great president of Cuba, don't ya think?

TO

Look, an embargo is one thing, but that would be an act of war!