The New Cuba / Fernando Dámaso

The New Cuba / Fernando Dámaso
Fernando Dámaso, Translator: Unstated

Recently, in the face of the decline of "the model," many political
scientists that deal with Cuba have been given the task of preparing
projections for the new Cuba. As should be true, the opinions are
varied, depending on the ideological and political slant of the
speakers. But one thing is clear: the new Cuba will face several
critical issues. Among these are: achieving a peaceful transition,
without winners or losers, avoiding violence; establishing a democratic
system with broad participation of all political and social viewpoints;
creating a new state with all its institutions; and building an
efficient economy.

The demolition of the ruins of the model such as it is, built on the
base of volunteerism, is not a very difficult task, because by now it
has practically been carried out in all material respects. The difficult
task at this point is to make sure that the majority of those who have
been part of it, with varying degrees of commitment, are able to
understand and accept that change is absolutely necessary to insure that
the nation survives. And also, that the victims of the model (here I
include the exiles), marginalized and repressed for years, do not place
revenge or settling accounts as priorities at the negotiating table. A
compact, setting aside special interests before national, is the smart
thing, which does not mean forgetting, or that those responsible for the
national tragedy remain unpunished, but this should be achieved by
public consensus, in the short term, and within laws enacted for that
purpose, without witch hunts and mass purges. All of us, to one degree
or another, for over five decades, have been involved in what has
happened, and we have different degrees of responsibility, if not
material at least moral. What would be impermissible and suicidal would
be a fratricidal fight.

The full participation of every citizen in the political task of the
nation should be a respected and protected right. This will lead to
establishing the freedom to join together and form organizations of
different political and social stripes for developing and proposing
government projects capable of pulling the country out of the economic,
political and social chaos into which the current model has sunk us.
Therefore, the establishment of full democracy is an inevitable foundation.

It is necessary to create a new state. This is probably the most complex
and difficult task. The existing model, with its institutions and
organizations created on the fly, was built by systematically
dismantling the existing democratic state in the Republic, and was
conceived with purely ideological interests for maintaining power at all
costs. For this reason, the Constitution, laws, institutions, and
organizations all settled into the socialist straitjacket, inventing
ponderous control apparatuses and propaganda at all levels, and even
parallel governments within the government, superseding or multiplying
their functions. A completely new, modern, and efficient state is
required, with new laws and institutions, which continues and perfects
what existed before 1959. For this new officials are needed, who are
more professional than political, with a different ethic. This is not
the task of a day or a short time, but must be tackled at an early
stage, otherwise the rest is doomed to failure.

The establishment of a democracy is inextricably linked to the creation
of an efficient economy. We must understand that without democracy there
is no economy, and equally that without the economy there is no
democracy. All current attempts to address these two categories have
failed. A free, competitive economy is only possible in a democratic
regime that respects the rights of all social entities, and where there
are no obstacles to the free development of individual initiative.
Similarly, a free and efficient economy strengthens democracy,
facilitating the exercise and implementation of laws and social programs
that provide real answers to the needs of the population.

May 28 2012

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