After the Presents… Then What?

After the Presents… Then What? / Juan Juan Almeida
Posted on October 13, 2015

Juan Juan Almeida, 28 September 2015 — Cynical, bitter and misanthropic,
Raul is also a man who knows all too well how to sell himself.

The Cuban nation inhales the scent of a dangerous power vacuum and
exhales a weird tension. More or less everyone on the island senses it:
those on the top and those on the bottom. Some want it to happen sooner;
some hope things stay as they are. Cuba, the state that until recently
was the most authoritarian in the region, has begun emitting a
disturbing sound, the result of a curious melding of dissident voices
which had previously been silenced or sidelined. It represents the
disenchantment of a country which now knows that its "brighter future"
is not on the government's agenda, that top leadership positions give
birth to and nurture a desire for power within the rank and file, that
an overwhelmingly elderly population — stifled by fear and apathy — is
hampering productivity, that a constantly evasive youth — exhausted by
lies and pressure — poses questions that have no answers. It was under
these circumstances that Raul Castro arrived in New York.

But despite of a few protests, the general's visit was unquestionably a
resounding personal success. Though cynical, bitter and misanthropic,
Raul is also a man who knows all too well how to sell himself, and at a
reasonable price for the people he needs to bedazzle.

Protocol dictates that the Cuban president's agenda while in the United
States include meetings which yield no shortage of gifts. To facilitate
the work of his cordial staff members, friends, family members and
hangers-on, I am pleased to report that the general would be grateful to
receive "gifts or donations" in the form of articles of practical value.
He detests knickknacks, eschews medals and, while he adores awards,
prefers simple homages and tributes.

Raul is a man who values comfort, an iconoclast. For bedtime, he prefers
gifts of scented Amber hand and body lotion, Frette and Pratesi sheets,
cotton pajamas and Haro-brand underwear, which he has shipped from
Switzerland to Madrid to be embroidered with his initials, R.C., which —
not coincidentally — just so happen to be the initials of Italian
fashion designer Roberto Cavalli.

But the principal dilemma for the current president of Cuba is not the
United States, nor the great publicity he derives from this trip, nor
gifts that inspire visions of imperial grandeur. The greatest challenge
facing Raul Castro is awaiting him in Havana, where his inability to
accelerate the pace of change as quickly as people are expecting has
hurt his standing with his own political base.

The challenge in coming home is how to strengthen his authority within
Cuba without causing injury or breaking apart the fragile system that
brought about his reforms. He must also resign himself to an inevitable
loss of his power as he deals with an ever-growing libertarian streak in
a population that is discovering it has rights.

I cannot guarantee anything; the scenario is complex. But, even though
it would lead to domestic conflict, an attempt to return to oppressive
centralization and increased repression in an effort to maintain control
cannot be ruled out.

Source: After the Presents… Then What? / Juan Juan Almeida | Translating
Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/after-the-presents-then-what-juan-juan-almeida/