The General Gains Time

The General Gains Time / Juan Juan Almeida
Posted on October 2, 2013

To the President of the Councils of State and Ministers of the Republic
of Cuba, the words freedom, prosperity, love and family are plain and
simple "persuasion" that, when it comes time for manipulation and
pressure, have more of an effect than fear. He didn't lie last Friday
when, in feverish runaway of egotism and pride, he publicly revealed
during one of the plenary sessions about the recent closure of the
Eighth Congress of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution
(CDR), "We must change the methods of struggle, but not the combat."

Developing objective. The law has allowed it; and his immorality
facilitates it.

With the rise of self-employment, the General has managed to entertain
the illusion that some sectors traditionally repressive and, in a
parallel way, has managed to gain the appreciation of some who, with
money (ill-gotten or not) today see the chance to feel and present
themselves as successful businessmen.

Changing the immigration law was a smart move, and internationally
applauded. By itself, it alleviates state inefficiency, opens the social
valve opens and results in good income. And along with the new form of
repression, more surgical, that no longer seeks to imprison but rather
to crush the internal opposition and civil society to the point of
exhaustion, it has become an essential weapon, Because following a
simple logic, the most notable figures in the opposition, on traveling
and comparing, will relocate outside or keep on traveling until they
disappear from the national scene.

Some unwittingly, and others very reluctantly, are transmuted into
spokespersons in a well-calculated government move that shows a false
but convincing transformed vision of this "Raulista" Revolution which,
in order to gain territory as part of the same combat using different
methods; instead of sending soldiers, today it signs business and/or
bilateral cooperation agreements with various countries in the world,
where it then sends a very opportunistic invasion of Cuban doctors who,
with admirable sacrifice and laughably remuneration, take on the noble
labor of returning smiles to those who lost the teeth.

In short, like I was taught one day by my late grandmother Rosario, who
could not write but was very successful with pithy sayings, "Beware of
those who always boast of wearing a cross on their chest, because they
carry the devil in what they do."

Personally I think that, lacking an element of surprise, the only thing
capable of robbing the slant-eyed pro-Russian President of Cuba of his
dream, is the regional situation. To wit, Venezuela, for fuel; and the
convenient peace talks between the FARC and the Colombian government in
Havana, in temporary recess, which should continue as of October 3rd.

The General, like any military strategist, knows that the more prolonged
these dialogs are, the smaller the maneuvering room for the Colombian
government to negotiate. And, if the FARC guerrilla group is converted
into a political force capable of participating in presidential
elections, by diving "magic" it could win and change the balance of
forces on a regional map extending the influence of Cuba in the area.

Then, what they once did with weapons, they could solve with agreeable
words, firm handshakes, and seductive female company. Trained and ready
to dance and kiss. Actually, they are very effective methods, but
nothing new.

1 October 2013

Source: "The General Gains Time / Juan Juan Almeida | Translating Cuba"
- http://translatingcuba.com/the-general-gains-time-juan-juan-almeida/