But the people get nervous just for the fact that they KNOW when Fidel is truly gone a new age is going to happen in Cuba. Hopefully the hard line Communists in Havana AND the hardline anti-Communists in Miami and Washington will all step aside and we can start this new beginning without them. Many of them are driven by hatred and we can do this better without any of that.

What free trade going to bring to Cuba we can only guess at but hopefully it will mean more prosperity for everyone on the island while at the same time retaining the good values from the recent past. Low crime. High education. Peace and family.

I am not a writer or a tank thinker or a politician. However for many years I have been of the opinion that the true intentions of FC can be found in a letter that Jose Mari wrote to his friend Manuel Mercado from Dos Rios on May 18, 1985 where he writes: “Vivi en el monstruo y le conozco sus entrañas y mi honda es la de David” or “I lived in the monster and I am familiar with his guts and my sling is that of David”. He wanted to become the David of the world and more specifically of Latin America where the influence of the United States (The Goliath of the world) has determined the destinies of most countruis since the early 1800’s.

I strongly believe that what is going on in Cuba is not something that just happened. I think that the scenario has been carefully prepared for a long time. It is only logical that if I am right, the only thing that was left to do was to determine when to implement it.

There are three reasons why the decision to implement was now. First, Fidel is ailing and no ones knows how long he may last. The second is probably the most important. For years FC worked to revolt the Latin American countries and rebel against the US hegemony. Right now he can feel that thru Chavez, Morales, Correa, Lugo, Ortega, Lula, etc, his mission has been accomplished. If he dies there is a very good chance that the his post mortem tee shirts will equal those of El Che Guevara”. The third reason has to do with the fact that China is buying the nickel and chrome that nobody dared buying before at the highest prices that these commodities have in the present market and the deal with Venezuela to trade of oil for teachers and doctors, has filled the treasury of Cuba, probably, to its highest levels.

So now it is time to pass the responability of the future of the Cuban Revolution and its Economy to others. Obviously there was no other alternative than his brother Raul. If Raul succeeds, then FC could claim part of the success for his final decision to transition while he was alive. If Raul fails, he will could also claim sucess because, like we say in Cuba, “La culpa de todo la tuvo el Toti” which in this case would be those that tried to go a different route than his.

How deep the transition will go and how far it will travel is very hard to forecast. However if they solve the need that the Cuban youth has to have a future in Cuba, the need to emigrate will disappear and very few will really care about the political power structure of the Nation

Miguel Centeno

Then we have Miguel Angel Centeno, who wrote,

“The only certainty at this juncture is that Fidel’s departure will signal
the end of the regime. It is difficult to imagine that large parts of the
population would not use the occasion to demonstrate their discontent.”

Source: “Cuba’s Search for Aternatives,” in Migue Angel Centeno and
Mauricio Font, eds. Toward a New Cuba: Legacies of a Revolution, London:
Lynne Reiner Publishers, 1997, p. 16.

Walter Lippmann
Los Angeles, California