|
|
NEWS
THE AMERICAS
Cubans adjust to
new life without Castro and his rhetoric.
By MARC FRANK
15 November 2006
Financial Times
Four months into Fidel Castro's convalescence from an illness that is
one of the world's best kept secrets, the Cuban government, which
controls almost every aspect of life, is under new management.
"It really doesn't matter what Fidel has, or if he lives a few months or
a few years. Politically he will never return as before," a foreign
official said after his latest video appearance. Miffed by rumours of
his imminent death, a gaunt and frail Mr Castro was filmed late last
month barely able to walk, but defiantly insisting he was far from dead.
That convinced foreigners and Cubans alike that whatever ails him is
grave indeed and the US that he will not live through 2007.
Cuban officials insist that Mr Castro is recovering from surgery for
intestinal bleeding and consulting on important questions of state.
However, they have backtracked on whether he will be fit enough to
attend a postponed birthday celebration scheduled for the end of the
month.
Felipe Perez Roque, foreign minister, gave a rare glimpse of what is
going on.
Australia put forward a motion in the United Nat-ions last week to add
the issue of jailed dissidents to Cuba's annual resolution condemning
the US em-bargo. It was Mr Castro who called the shots to defeat the
motion, Mr Perez Roque said.
"Fidel followed everything. He was on the phone to me in New York
insisting we move a vote on Australia's motion as soon as possible
before Washington could gain support," hesaid.
Mr Castro provisionally handed power to his younger brother Raul, the
defence minister, on July 31.
"Raul and Fidel share the same ideology so forget about a new Soviet
Union, China or capitalist transition," Eduardo Machin, Communist party
militant, said. "What's changed is the style of governance."
Raul appears in the role of national leader at key events, but now the
political space is being shared by half a dozen other officials.
An energy grid based on generators was being put into place, thousands
of students from the developing world were training as doctors and
vision was being restored to hundreds of thousands of Latin America's
poor when Mr Castro became ill. All three programmes continue, but
without the almost daily claim that a solution has been found to the
world's ills and boasting of socialism's merits over capitalism.
"There is less rhetoric and more trying to get to the centre of a
problem and solve it," said Daniela, a Havana university student.
The US insists a dictatorial succession is unacceptable. Washington has
established new commissions to track Cuban-American tra-vel ban
violators, increased propaganda broadcasts and put pressure on foreign
banks and companies, but there are no long discourses by the Commandante
in response. Gone are the blow-by-blow denunciations of Washington's
"crimes" over-riding television programming night after night.
"The other day we were talking at work about how everyone is doing what
they always do without Fidel. It's amazing," Gabriela, a health worker,
said.
News Archive
| Home
|
 |
|
INFOCUBA
