Marifeli Perez-Stable

Published in The Miami Herald
August 3, 2006

Fidel Castro is out of sight, and we (sort of) know why. Rumors of his passing swirled a month ago but, then, he took a two-day trip to Argentina and returned home to mark the 53rd anniversary of the assault on Moncada barracks, the event that started him on the road to power. On Tuesday, a newscaster read a message from Castro saying he’s ‘’stable” but — we gather — gravely ill for, otherwise, wouldn’t he have told us himself?

In retrospect, something must have been wrong for a while. Cuban media showered unusual attention on Raúl Castro’s 75th birthday, drawing a portrait of a loving family man, steeled in discipline and organization, all of which is, by all accounts, true. On June 14, Raúl delivered a speech proclaiming the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) Fidel’s true successor. No one, after all, could possibly fill the Comandante’s shoes. Since April, in fact, Raúl’s hand — always there in PCC affairs — has been publicly seen in a series of significant institutional changes. He knows he needs more than his generals to govern Cuba.

Reforming the economy

Fidel’s proclamation of the temporary transfer of power actually revealed a lot about how he has wielded power, extraordinary and unchecked. Raúl assumes his charges as party leader, commander in chief of the armed forces and president of Cuba; four other men have been assigned his duties in the health, education and energy programs; three more are now handling the transfer of funds — which he had personally overseen — to these key programs. No one should ever again be deluded into thinking that the elder Castro was no longer micro-managing.

Raúl was right: His brother’s shoes are hard to fill. In truth, Fidel fills them only in a physical sense. His larger-than-life persona yielded him enormous political benefits, swaying Cuban and world public opinion for a long time. Some still believe, but few — least of all, those around him — think that it is normal for a man to hold power for 47 years with only his mortality as sunset. Castro simply couldn’t live by the insight he expressed to Lee Lockwood in 1965: ”All of us ought to retire relatively young.” Cuba has suffered dearly for it but so will his legacy. History may not, after all, absolve him.

Of interest in the proclamation as well is the absence of the economy. Fidel has never cared about the lives of ordinary Cubans on their own terms, which means — for starters — shoes for the kids, a functioning transportation system, decent housing and rice, beans, maybe a little pork for dinner. An old joke asks: What are the revolution’s successes? Health, education, sports. What are its failures? Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Raúl may well heed the joke. Fortunately, he doesn’t have charisma and needs to get Cubans to listen — most have turned off politics — by reforming the economy.

There was, of course, the obligatory mention of the United States. On July 6, the Bush administration issued the second report on assistance to a free Cuba. While much better in tone than the first, it still manifests a compulsive need to say something about every aspect of Cuba’s transition and again fails to acknowledge the first-rate professionals there who know better than any of us what Cuba’s problems are. I also couldn’t help but cringe at the thought of the administration which gave us Iraq advising a democratic Cuba on anything. Will Washington ever learn that a little distance might go a long way?

Listen and compromise

I’m fairly certain that July 31, when we learned of the temporary transfer of power, will mark a critical moment in Cuban history. No one knows when the end will come but it is on the way. I’m not too concerned about the succession: It will be a fact of life for a while which could lead to a transition. To get there, we should expect the unexpected and make alliances accordingly. We must dialogue, listen and compromise to attain what is possible while never losing sight of a democratic Cuba. Here’s hoping that we can summon the wisdom and generosity that will allow us all to heal in freedom.