Has Fidel Thrown Open the Path
for Raul to Discard Communism,
Embark upon Economic Reforms?
Following the publishing of a recent Atlantic magazine article, Spanish-language blogsites went absolutely crazy today. Rajjpuut’s translation and interpretation of a couple of them follows:
Ex-Cuban president Fidel Castro stunned readers of American magazine Atlantic and the whole Hispanic world as well when he admitted in an interview (which he’d apparently plotted for all along), “The Cuban economic model no longer works and never did work.” Speculation on numerous Spanish-language blogsites zeroed in largely on just one probability . . . . that Fidel was leaving the road open for his replacement, his brother Raul, to embark upon economic reform of Cuba and lead it away from communism. Among the most interesting features of the interview was the description of an apparently resurrected Fidel putting his recent brush with death aside and showing a return to some of his past vigor.
Among those most shocked by recent events were exiled Cubans, particularly Cuban entrepreneurs in Miami, greater Florida or elsewhere across the United States. Reading about the Jeff Goldberg interview with Fidel in Havana excited Florida Cubans tremendously, “This is NOT a regrettable attack of senility, Fidel Castro is really calling his regime “un fracaso” (a failure) and . . . he seems to really be talking about deep changes . . . not just superficial ones . . .” said Miami University Communications professor F. Rafael Lima. But Cuban-Americans unlike most of us, while shocked have more understanding of the situation. Most of them have been hoping since 1997 that Raul Castro’s trip to China and his exposure to China’s nascent capitalism would bear some sort of fruit. Of course, state-sponsored capitalism in China is not necessarily a harbinger of capitalism or greater freedom in Cuba, but right about now, most changes, hell, any change is considered a good thing for Cuba and potentially for Cuban-Americans.
Ya’all live long, strong and ornery,
Rajjpuut
