Recent events in / regarding Cuba - Opinions and predictions

[Nateddi]

As you all have heard, last week former US president Jimmy Carter has visited Cuba, the first ever president / former president to do so since Calvin Coolige.

Moreover, shadowing Carter's visit, the Bush administration without any evidence has added Cuba to the Axis of Evil for supposedly manufacturing weapons of mass destruction, and selling them off to "rogue states". Coincidence?

What do you guys think will lead as the end of all these developments? Will the embargo end? Will we plan to invade Cuba and overthrow the unfavourable tyrant regime similar to Iraq? Will "democracy" (capitalism) come to Cuba and liberate their people from tyranny and oppression similar to the liberation of the oppressed Russian masses 10 years ago? What do you all think?

[PunkRawker677]

I dont think anyone is going to invade cuba or initiate any military operation. Its unlikely. The accusations are completly without grounds. Many American Proffessors have dismissed it, and the Canadians are pretty pissed off. Canada and Cuba work VERY closley in Bio-Tech research, and are currently working on a very hopeful cancer drug. TO accuse cuba, they might as well accuse Canada.

Castro said yesterday that anyone who wishes to check out their labs are free to do so.. then everyone shut up..

[alphaq]

Carter also said that his independent examiners found no evidence for the US accusations.

[Menshevik]

yeh Carter showed how transparent that accusation is; I think good will come of his visit to Cuba.

[I Will Deny You]

Good will definitely come of Carter's visit. He's the most prominent American to visit Cuba since Castro took over, and he's definitely for better Cuba-America relations. He's no a communist, but he was a pretty good president and it will probably help to have a capitalist vouch for Cuba. Mainstream Americans will realize that it's not just big-haired kids like me who want to do things like ending the embargo, but also people who may not be communists but at least have common sense.

Let's face it, if Cuba were developing bioweapons they would have chosen a different time to invite a former US president for a visit.

[ZaPaTiStA SoCiAlIsTa]

I dont think im alone in this, but i hope with all my socialist heart that the embargo ends! so many good things would come from the end of the embargo. may this visit forshadow great things in Cuba.

[Nateddi]

Despite how I truly want the embargo lifted, I have a bad feeling about Castro turning into a Gorbochev following a lifted embargo, and you know where that will lead.

[liderDeFARC]

For some reason i have a bad feeling or a feeling of badness (never mind im a bit mental right now). I do want the embargo to end but i dont want it to bring its corruptness too. I like the way things are now , well i would wish a lot better but it seems evil. Does anybody know a site i could go to to hear carters full speech? The news seems to give only the anti-communist parts of the speech and i want to hear it all.

[Valkyrie]

I don't think this visit will be a catalyst to lifting the embargo, I don't think it will do much at all. The tenacity of the US government and the propensity it has to make the Cuban people suffer is ruthlessly manifest. They are waiting it out for Castro's immiment death wherewith they will lock-down on Cuba as if she IS being invaded. And That transition of power to whomever succeeds him is probably not going to be an easy one, and hopefully they have the foresite to consolidate it before they make the announcement to the world and the US has chance to send over the rest of it's gunboat diplomacy to rape and pillage what little they have.
It's all about real estate people, a nice piece that the US lost. As as we know, these fuckers don't take loss kindly.

Viva Cuba! Hasta La Victoria Siempre! Happy Birthday Che!!!!!

(Edited by Paris at 3:04 am on May 15, 2002)


(Edited by Paris at 3:08 am on May 15, 2002)

[Smoking Frog II]

I betca that, as soon as Castro dies.
The americans will use the hitler-esque tactic of slowly taking over...
Not if we stop 'em, comrades

Something's up with the US. I can tell

FROG II

[Vertigo]

Quote: from Smoking Frog II on 1:52 pm on May 16, 2002
Not if we stop 'em, comrades

We will for sure.

[ID2002]

good for Carter! It was really nice to see him defend Cuba. Canada is sending its support to Cuba, and Fidel with be returning to Ottawa to speak in the House Of Commons. Even Canada's right wing doesn't believe Fidel Castro could be making BIO weapons! Go figure!

[Borincano]

In my opinion, I think Carter's visit is the beginning of the end of Cuban communism. I think Fidel Casto is an old man, realizing his mistakes and has realized he is out of touch with the people, so here comes this symbolic, influential man [Jimmy Carter] that is allowed to criticize Cuba as he pleased, advocate the hopes of dissidents and their petition for a push for change. I don't think it is coincidence, I think Fidel invited him and gave him this freedom to show that he wants change but he doesn't want to seem weak and falling under pressure of the USA so quickly and just because of the embargo, so an outside influence that is critical of the USA govt but tied into can help bring out change and it can be seen as a new era for Cuba and the USA. I think Carter's trip will bring forth more capitalism into Cuba's economy and maybe democracy for a limited time under Fidel, which is fine for me as long as it remains mainly socialist and in the concerns of the people, not foreign companies like before 1959. Still, I don't think Fidel is going to take things too far to prevent the destruction of socialism and I don't think the USA will end the embargo because of it. That's the paradox!

The day Fidel dies, is the day Cuba will get it's "freedom" it wanted, but in a price of exploitation and the destruction of the govt's social concern for them. It's the end of Cubanismo, and the beginning of a global market of neoliberal hell. In reality, it won't be freedom, but a new dictatorship supported and controlled by the USA.

So what can Cuba do, live with a government now with great social concern for the people, but while at the same time with many errors, until Fidel dies, or push for neoliberalism and the end of the embargo faster and harder before he dies to the point he will just die of a broken heart from his coutnries betrayal? Either way, I think that Cuba will not be a socialist nation forever, which will be a great sadness for Latin America, and Carter's trip would have been the beginning of it, even though it had different intentions....

[ID2002]

If the Cuban people want socialism they will get socialism. If they want democracy with that, they will get democracy.

It takes the people to stand up and say what they want!

[kingbee]

Quote: from ID2002 on 7:45 am on May 17, 2002
If the Cuban people want socialism they will get socialism. If they want democracy with that, they will get democracy.

It takes the people to stand up and say what they want!

if the american goverment wants cuba to be a democracy, then dirty tricks and tactics are soon to follow, especially after castro dies.
i agree with nateddi:

"Despite how I truly want the embargo lifted, I have a bad feeling about Castro turning into a Gorbochev following a lifted embargo, and you know where that will lead"

the embargo has probably helped socialism in cuba as much as castro has, as much as id hate to say- there is no flowing in of american tourists, and no giving up to the dollar (well, not completely). castro is popular in cuba, so why not hold an election? he would be sure to win, even if the americans did get their hands in the election.

(Edited by kingbee at 8:49 pm on May 17, 2002)

[Borincano]

Quote: from kingbee on 2:48 pm on May 17, 2002
castro is popular in cuba, so why not hold an election? he would be sure to win, even if the americans did get their hands in the election.

Remember the Sandinista elections in Nicaragua in 1990? The Sandinistas were and still are a very popular entity in Nicaragua, but the people were tired of the guerilla wars and the USA gov't hands in their business. They knew that the only way to save their sons and fathers from death in the rainforests and the end of sanctions on their country, was to vote Daniel Ortega out of office. The same could happen in Cuba.

I support democracy, but the USA will make sure the people will have to choose. Being isolated from the world and their families and an embargo that is destroying their lives, or have all that lifted but with the priece of the destruction of socialism and false neoliberal "freedoms." Only until Castro dies is when Cuba's future will really be challenged and determined.

[Menshevik]

My Uncle was a commandante with the Sandanistas, he wasn't too happy with how the revolution turned out.

[honest intellectual]

There were elections for prez and vice-prez in Cuba, but only the commnist party was allowed run. Fidel won 98% of the votes for prez and Raul won 99% of the vice-prez votes.
Cuba is somewhat democratic. I would call it a democratic dictatorship (say that to a cappie and they'll laugh at you). Castro has almost absolute power, but he listens to his people and follows their wishes. It is government of the people by the people.

Isn't it convenient that Cuba is discovered to be developing weapons of mass destruction just when the rogue state is looking for another war?

[Valkyrie]

Text of Jimmy Carter speech broadcast to Cuban people

The Associated Press <http://www.sfgate.com/templates/types/gatemainpages/images/clear.gif> Tuesday, May 14, 2002 <http://www.sfgate.com/templates/brands/breakingnews/graphics/logo_ap.gif>

(05-14) 16:46 PDT (AP) --
With BC-Cuba-Carter, Bjt

The following speech was made Tuesday at the University of Havana by former President Carter and broadcast on Cuban state TV and radio. The speech was given in Spanish and this translation of the prepared text was provided by The Carter Center:

I appreciate President Castro's invitation for us to visit Cuba, and have been delighted with the hospitality we have received since arriving here. It is a great honor to address the Cuban people.

After a long and agonizing struggle, Cuba achieved its independence a century ago, and a complex relationship soon developed between our two countries. The great powers in Europe and Asia viewed "imperialism" as the natural order of the time and they expected the United States to colonize Cuba as the Europeans had done in Africa. The United States chose instead to help Cuba become independent, but not completely. The Platt Amendment gave my country the right to intervene in Cuba's internal affairs until President Franklin Roosevelt had the wisdom to repeal this claim in May 1934.

The dictator Fulgencio Batista was overthrown more than 43 years ago, and a few years later the Cuban revolution aligned with the Soviet Union in the Cold War. Since then, our nations have followed different philosophical and political paths.

The hard truth is that neither the United States nor Cuba has managed to define a positive and beneficial relationship. Will this new century find our neighboring people living in harmony and friendship? I have come here in search of an answer to that question.

There are some in Cuba who think the simple answer is for the United States to lift the embargo, and there are some in my country who believe the answer is for your president to step down from power and allow free elections. There is no doubt that the question deserves a more comprehensive assessment.

I have restudied the complicated history (in preparation for my conversations with President Castro), and realize that there are no simple answers.

I did not come here to interfere in Cuba's internal affairs, but to extend a hand of friendship to the Cuban people and to offer a vision of the future for our two countries and for all the Americas.

That vision includes a Cuba fully integrated into a democratic hemisphere, participating in a Free Trade Area of the Americas and with our citizens traveling without restraint to visit each other. I want a massive student exchange between our universities. I want the people of the United States and Cuba to share more than a love of baseball and wonderful music. I want us to be friends, and to respect each other.

Our two nations have been trapped in a destructive state of belligerence for 42 years, and it is time for us to change our relationship and the way we think and talk about each other. Because the United States is the most powerful nation, we should take the first step.

First, my hope is that the Congress will soon act to permit unrestricted travel between the United States and Cuba, establish open trading relationships, and repeal the embargo. I should add that these restraints are not the source of Cuba's economic problems. Cuba can trade with more than 100 countries, and buy medicines, for example, more cheaply in Mexico than in the United States. But the embargo freezes the existing impasse, induces anger and resentment, restricts the freedoms of US citizens, and makes it difficult for us to exchange ideas and respect.

Second, I hope that Cuba and the United States can resolve the 40-year-old property disputes with some creativity. In many cases, we are debating ancient claims about decrepit sugar mills, an antique telephone company, and many other obsolete holdings. Most U.S. companies have already absorbed the losses, but some others want to be paid, and many Cubans who fled the revolution retain a sentimental attachment for their homes. We resolved similar problems when I normalized relations with China in 1979. I propose that our two countries establish a blue-ribbon commission to address the legitimate concerns of all sides in a positive and constructive manner.

Third, some of those who left this beautiful island have demonstrated vividly that the key to a flourishing economy is to use individual entrepreneurial skills. But many Cubans in South Florida remain angry over their departure and their divided families. We need to define a future so they can serve as a bridge of reconciliation between Cuba and the United States.

Are such normal relationships possible? I believe they are.

Except for the stagnant relations between the United States and Cuba, the world has been changing greatly, and especially in Latin America and the Caribbean. As late as 1977, when I became President, there were only two democracies in South America, and one in Central America. Today, almost every country in the Americas is a democracy.

I am not using a U.S. definition of "democracy." The term is embedded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Cuba signed in 1948, and it was defined very precisely by all the other countries of the Americas in the Inter-American Democratic Charter last September. It is based on some simple premises: all citizens are born with the right to choose their own leaders, to define their own destiny, to speak freely, to organize political parties, trade unions and non-governmental groups, and to have fair and open trials.

Only such governments can be members of the OAS, join a Free Trade Area of the Americas, or participate in the Summits of the Americas. Today, any regime that takes power by unconstitutional means will be ostracized, as was shown in the rejection of the Venezuelan coup last month.

Democracy is a framework that permits a people to accommodate changing times and correct past mistakes. Since our independence, the United States has rid itself of slavery, granted women the right to vote, ended almost a century of legal racial discrimination, and just this year reformed its election laws to correct problems we faced in Florida eighteen months ago.

Cuba has adopted a socialist government where one political party dominates, and people are not permitted to organize any opposition movements. Your constitution recognizes freedom of speech and association, but other laws deny these freedoms to those who disagree with the government.

My nation is hardly perfect in human rights. A very large number of our citizens are incarcerated in prison, and there is little doubt that the death penalty is imposed most harshly on those who are poor, black, or mentally ill. For more than a quarter century, we have struggled unsuccessfully to guarantee the basic right of universal health care for our people. Still, guaranteed civil liberties offer every citizen an opportunity to change these laws.

That fundamental right is also guaranteed to Cubans. It is gratifying to note that Articles 63 and 88 of your constitution allows citizens to petition the National Assembly to permit a referendum to change laws if 10,000 or more citizens sign it. I am informed that such an effort, called the Varela Project, has gathered sufficient signatures and has presented such a petition to the National Assembly. When Cubans exercise this freedom to change laws peacefully by a direct vote, the world will see that Cubans, and not foreigners, will decide the future of this country.

Cuba has superb systems of health care and universal education, but last month, most Latin American governments joined a majority in the United Nations Human Rights Commission in calling on Cuba to meet universally accepted standards in civil liberties. I would ask that you permit the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit prisons and that you would receive the U.N. Human Rights Commissioner to address such issues as prisoners of conscience and the treatment of inmates. These visits could help refute any unwarranted criticisms.

Public opinion surveys show that a majority of people in the United States would like to see the economic embargo ended, normal travel between our two countries, friendship between our people, and Cuba to be welcomed into the community of democracies in the Americas. At the same time, most of my fellow citizens believe that the issues of economic and political freedom need to be addressed by the Cuban people.

After 43 years of animosity, we hope that someday soon, you can reach across the great divide that separates our two countries and say, "We are ready to join the community of democracies," and I hope that Americans will soon open our arms to you and say, "We welcome you as our friends."

[Borincano]

Quote: from Menshevik on 9:00 pm on May 17, 2002
My Uncle was a commandante with the Sandanistas, he wasn't too happy with how the revolution turned out.

Really? How did he feel the revolution was until it ended in 1990? Was he pleased with the rule of Daniel Ortega, how does he feel about neoliberal Nicaragua now?