Araminta Wordsworth September 10, 2010 – 1:14 pm
Another of Fidel's mistakes: Maybe the hat wasn't such a good idea after all
Full Comment's Araminta Wordsworth brings you a daily round-up of
quality punditry from across the globe. Fifty years later, Fidel tells
us: Communism is a bust or, as he put it, "The Cuban model doesn't even
work for us any more."
It's like the Pope saying he's had second thoughts about the doctrine of
the Trinity or Tony Blair admitting Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass
destruction were a figment of his imagination.
The aging revolutionary dropped his bombshell in musings to Jeffrey
Goldberg, a national correspondent for The Atlantic magazine. Summoned
to Havana for an audience with the Cuban sage, Goldberg found himself
listening to Fidel's fears about an Israel/U.S. confrontation with Iran
and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's anti-semitism, as well as the Cuban economy.
Pundits believe there is less to this than meets the eye. Fidel isn't so
much rejecting the past as laying the ground for the future, they
suggest. This way he gives brother Raul a free hand to introduce
economic reforms and build bridges with the Obama White house.
Nonetheless, the interview shows that now, as forever, Fidel still makes
news.
Under the headline "Oops," The Economist notes,
"For the man who conceived that model and then passionately defended it
for over half a century, this is quite an admission …
Some commentators have suggested that what Mr. Castro says or does these
days should not be taken too seriously. He is an elderly man who
sometimes seems forgetful. Others point out that as he reflects on his
long, eventful life, the man who once said that 'history will absolve
me' is striving extra-hard to make sure that it does.
But his comments about the economy might well be significant. They come
at a time when Raul Castro, his brother and the current president, is
embarking on a slow but apparently determined effort to give more space
to private enterprise … Those close to Raul have long argued that
Fidel's presence was a restraint on all such reforms, and that nothing
will change while he is still alive. But if the former president now
says that the Cuban economy doesn't work, could the brakes on reform be
loosening?"
Yoani Sanchez has yet to be convinced. Writing in The Huffington Post,
she views Fidel's remarks as little more than
"a fit of honesty, as assaults the elderly when it comes time to assess
their lives. It could even be another desperate try for attention, like
his prediction of an imminent nuclear debacle or his late mea culpa for
the repression of homosexuals which he came out with a few weeks ago. To
see him acknowledge the failure of 'his' political model, makes me feel
like I'm watching a scene where an actor gesticulates and raises his
voice so that the public won't look away. But as long as Fidel Castro
doesn't take the microphone and announce to us that his obsolete
creature will be dismantled, nothing has happened. If he doesn't repeat
the phrase here in Cuba, and, in addition, agree not to interfere in the
necessary changes, we're back to square one."
Reporters Charlie Devereux and Bob Willis at Bloomberg News portray
Fidel's comment as "the strongest signal yet that the communist island
is looking to private enterprise and foreign investment to bolster growth …
Since re-entering the public sphere in July following an illness that
almost killed him, statements by the 84-year-old former president have
focused on international affairs. His silence on domestic issues signals
he is willing to allow his brother Raul to reduce state control of the
economy, said Tomas Bilbao, executive director of the Washington-based
Cuba Study Group.
'These are pragmatic admissions from an idealist … Ever since he came
back he has stayed away from talking about domestic issues which in
itself is the best thing he can do to support his brother's running of
the country.' "
At the Town Hall blog, Humberto Fontova points out this is not the first
time Fidel has confessed to a mistake, but life has not improved for
ordinary Cubans are a result.
"Has any 'Cuba analyst' noticed a marked change in the rights,
prosperity and welfare of the Cuban people after any of these
'epiphanies,' 'regrets,' 're-evaluations,' etc.?
And has any 'Cuba Analyst' mentioned that Hugo Chavez (current Cuban
Sugar-Daddy) looks to lose the Sept. 26 parliamentary elections in
Venezuela 52% to 42%? (granted, there's much room for altering the
results).
And has any 'Cuba Analyst' mentioned that this will present Castro with
an economic crisis as bad as the 'Special Period' in the early 90's
after the Soviets collapsed? Will this require another 're-evaluation"
that will buttress the regime but have the same effect on the Cuban
people's rights, prosperity and welfare as all the other 're-evaluations?' "
As for Chavez, he's professing a newly awakened enthusiasm for Jews.
"We respect and love the Jewish people," said the Venezuelan leader,
adding opponents have falsely painted him as "anti-Jewish."
For the record: Chavez has been a close ally of Iran and a strong critic
of Israel. He severed ties with Israel in January 2009 to protest its
actions in the Gaza Strip. A series of recent incidents have ignited
concerns about anti-Semitic violence in Venezuela.
compiled by Araminta Wordsworth
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/09/10/fidel-thinks-again/
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