Cuba’s Dictatorial Triumph - On the Backs of Submissive Neighbors

Cuba's Dictatorial Triumph: On the Backs of Submissive Neighbors
Even the Last Bastion of Opposition, the United States, Is Softening
By María Teresa Romero on Friday, February 14, 2014

EspañolWhen assessing the current state of radical collectivist and
authoritarian governments in the continent, there is no doubt that the
Cuban regime is enjoying one of the most favorable periods of its long
history. The governments of Ecuador, Bolivia, and Nicaragua have also
achieved high growth rates, and long periods in political power, but the
regime headed by Raúl Castro today has achieved more than any of them.
In addition to maintaining Castro's dictatorship in times of transition
and improving the always-critical condition of its economy, it has
enjoyed an unprecedented level of power and political influence in the
region.
This is largely thanks to the politically submissive, cash-rich
administrations of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela. They
were the ones who implemented the "revolutionary integration" project,
devised by Fidel Castro in the 1960s and materialized in organizations
such as the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA).
Due to the enormous amounts of aid granted to Cuba and other
international partners, in addition to wasteful and corrupt business
initiatives conducted with public and private sectors of these
"strategic friends," Venezuela is going through the worst economic and
debt crisis of its modern history.
Without sufficient reserves or the financing options it had in the past,
it has become the country with the riskiest investment climate in the
world — surpassing Argentina and Belarus on this score.
The Second Presidential Summit of the Community of Latin American and
Caribbean States (CELAC) held in Havana proved beyond any doubt the
strength of the Castro regime's political influence, and the solid
support it enjoys from virtually all Latin-American governments, as well
as the heads of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the United
Nations (UN).
This international support and current political influence are also
evidenced by the European Union's recently adopted policy of openness
towards Cuba.
Despite the intense political persecution against Cuban dissidents, the
EU Council of Foreign Ministers just agreed to launch negotiations for
political dialogue and cooperation with Cuba, in which the regime's
political opponents will not participate. The objective is to support
Raúl Castro's reforms — which have been few and slow — and a supposedly
greater respect for human rights that in practice is nonexistent.
As recent as January of this year, more than 1,000 political opponents
were arrested in Cuba.
To make matters worse, most people in the Americas and Europe seem to
support political moderation and coexistence with the dictatorial regime.
Even in the United States, a historic anti-Castro bastion, most US
Americans — whether or not of Cuban descent — support the normalization
of trade and diplomatic relations with Cuba, rejecting the embargo on
the island.
According to a recent survey from the Center of the Atlantic Council for
Latin America, 56 percent of US Americans polled support normalization
of relations and economic opening towards Cuba. That included 63 percent
of support in Florida. But as Marc Caputo pointed out in the Miami
Herald, perhaps the biggest surprise is that respondents of Cuban
descent are adamantly in favor of normalizing relations: 79 percent in
Florida and 73 percent in the rest of the country.
The political position of former Republican leader and former Governor
of Florida Charlie Crist is gaining adherents, and putting the State
Department and more conservative members of the Republican Party on the
ropes.
In his opinion, "if our [anti-Cuban] policy hasn't changed in 50 years,
we don't have to think too much about it. We will change the policy. We
don't want to let China influence Cuba when Cuba is next door."
This unusual permissiveness with the Castro dictatorship — which only
serves to strengthen it — reveals the helplessness of current Western
governments and societies. Overwhelmed by internal economic, security,
and governance problems, their ability to believe in democratic systems,
and thus to maintain a strong fight against dictatorships, is weakened.
The multiple needs, problems, and interests of democracies in the 21st
century has made them increasingly pragmatic, selfish, and "forgetful"
of the mandates, values, ​​and democratic principles in their national
constitutions and international charters they subscribe.
Unfortunately, we are living the end of the historic democratic struggle
that the United States and Europe led with such pride and determination,
especially during the Cold War of the last century. If they continue on
this path, in the end the dictatorships will reign triumphant — like
today in Castro's Cuba.
Translated by Alan Furth.

Source: Cuba's Dictatorial Triumph: On the Backs of Submissive Neighbors
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http://panampost.com/maria-teresa-romero/2014/02/14/triumphant-ascent-cuban-dictatorship/