In Cuba, a struggle over history's march to democracy
Two recent events there underline the uncertainty that swirls around a post-Castro regime.
By John Hughesfrom the April 25, 2007 edition
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provo, utah - Two recent events in Cuba underline the uncertainty that swirls around a post-Castro regime.
On Friday, a hospitalized Fidel Castro met with a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party's Politburo, Wu Guanzheng. It may be no coincidence that Mr. Wu's specialty is Communist Party discipline.
About a week earlier, opposition parties, Catholics, Social Democrats, and liberals, in a rare and usually dangerous kind of dissent, issued a "unity agreement," pledging to work for free elections and the democratic selection of a new leader for Cuba. Such actions usually bring sharp reaction from Cuba's ruling Communist Party.
All this is taking place amid continued speculation inside and outside Cuba about Mr. Castro's ability to return to power, temporarily transferred to his brother Raúl during his months-long hospitalization. Raúl Castro is a reliable bureaucrat but lacks the charisma of his brother.
Granma, the official party newspaper in Cuba, carried a picture of Castro and Wu, presumably shot in the hospital. Castro is dressed in a track suit and is standing. Party officials claim that his recovery is going well and that he will be back to work soon.
However, there has been no indication of whether Castro will be present at the big annual May 1 celebration, where he traditionally has delivered one of his four-hour speeches. Cuban observers in the United States point out that since his hospitalization, there have been no pictures of Castro walking, nor has his voice been heard on radio or television. Messages from him have supposedly been written by him, but they have been delivered by party officials. Speculation is that the messages are going through a filter to ensure that there is no deviation from the tough party line.
Meanwhile, Cuba's rickety economy is beset by continuing problems. This year's sugar harvest was well below normal, and tourism is down by 7 percent. Cuba faces a continuing shortage of oil and has been existing on deeply discounted shipments from Venezuela, whose president, Hugo Chávez, sees Castro as a leftist brother in arms. Cuba's own oil is heavy with sulphur, which is highly corrosive.
Some power plants have been shut down as a result of using the damaging Cuban oil. Oil from Venezuela was intended for Cuban domestic use but the Cuban regime is selling some of it for badly needed cash to solve some of its financial problems.
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