Two days that shook Cuba

Two days that shook Cuba
JUAN ANTONIO BLANCO | Miami | 25 Mar 2016 - 10:39 am.

In the coming weeks we will have time to fully assess the implications
of President Obama's historic trip to Cuba. Its impact reminds me of the
concentric circles caused by a stone thrown into a body of water, which
slowly expand. But it is already possible to draw some conclusions.

The main one is that, for a time, the country will continue to look like
the one he found upon his arrival, but it will not really be the same.
Three earthquakes shook Cuba in just 48 hours.

One. The fabrication and export of sugarcoated perceptions and images of
Cuba's reality suffered a crushing blow. This is one of the three main
pillars of totalitarianism, along with repression and citizens' total
dependence on the State.

Cuba suffered, at its core, a blow to the regime's cornerstone
contention: the inevitability of lacking of political and civil rights
in what is a "besieged country."

As the external conflict fades, the matrix of the internal conflict is
laid bare: a model of State that denies citizens their right to freely
exercise sovereignty over their country and to determine the system of
government they prefer.

Moreover, the image of Raúl Castro that had been cultivated for almost a
decade was shattered. His performance revealed his persona – as a
moderate, pragmatic and efficient leader who was open to all – to be a
sham. From his pettiness upon Obama's arrival, at which he failed to
offer him and his family an umbrella when they got off their plane,
under the rain, to his wielding, in front of cameras from around the
world, of repression against the Ladies in White on Palm Sunday. This
was followed by a disastrous press conference at which the
general/president displayed his ineptitude and authoritarianism. The
world was able to witness first-hand the dramatic difference between
"exported" Raúl and the other, very different one that Cubans are forced
to put up with daily.

Two. Obama announced that the party was over, explaining to his
reluctant hosts that he had exhausted the unilateral concessions the
Executive could make. The lifting of the embargo is up to the Congress
and no one - the US president pointed out - can say when that will
happen. He ran down the measures he had already taken as president, and
pointed out that they still had not been taken advantage of by the Cuban
government, which is only interested in those that benefit State-owned
enterprises. He told them that if they wanted to get the embargo lifted
they would have to take not only economic steps, but also others with
regards to freedoms and human rights, in order to bolster the arguments
of those Congressional representatives who wish to end the sanctions.

The reason why Obama was able to issue executive orders that favor the
emerging non-State sector is that it did not even exist when the
Helms-Burton Law was passed and, hence, is exempt from it. Obama is
opposed to the embargo, but it can only be repealed by the US Congress.
He knows this, but he still sometimes oversteps his executive power in
an effort to weaken the measure. Raúl Castro knows it too, but keeps on
using it against Obama in an effort to salvage his "besieged country"
rhetoric, while denying Cuban businesspeople the opportunity to take
advantage of the numerous measures authorized by the US president to
benefit them.

The reason is very simple, but had remained veiled for decades: the
Castros are only interested only in strengthening their power, and
profiting from it. State enterprises are capriciously handled as if they
were they were their personal property, not the country's. For the first
time a President of the United States was able to reveal that reality,
before millions of Cubans glued to their television sets, by rendering
evident the selfishness of denying Cuban entrepreneurs the benefits of
the new US policy.

Three. President Obama explicitly called for the adoption of a model
that fosters prosperity through freedom, while the Castros only aim to
modernize their authoritarianism with the resources stemming from the
easing of the embargo.

In his televised speech, aired live across the island, Obama outlined
his view, in a respectful but effective and clear manner. "I can't force
you to agree, but you should know what I think. I believe that every
person should be equal under the law. Every child deserves the dignity
that comes with education, and health care and food on the table and a
roof over their heads. I believe citizens should be free to speak their
mind without fear, to organize, and to criticize their government, and
to protest peacefully, and that the rule of law should not include
arbitrary detentions of people who exercise those rights. I believe
that every person should have the freedom to practice their faith
peacefully and publicly. And, yes, I believe voters should be able to
choose their governments in free and democratic elections."

As tangible evidence that he was not willing to make concessions in this
area, Obama insisted on meeting with dissidents and opponents that he
himself chose, and reiterated his admiration, recognition and support
for them. He listened to the criticisms of and suggestions about his new
policy toward Cuba, and addressed, one by one, each person's concerns,
privately reiterating his commitment, which he had already made public,
to freedoms and human rights on the island.

At a meeting with entrepreneurs he compared the embargo to the current
governance regime on the island: "If something does not work for 50
years, it must be changed. "That applies to what the US is doing, but
also to Cuba," Obama said.

"Don't steal ideas from places where they don't work. There are economic
models that don't work, and that is not an ideological view of mine. It
is an objective reality," he stated, besides citing the development
achieved by Miami as a monument to the industriousness and ingenuity of
Cuban exiles, whose patriotism and pain he had already referred to
previously.

And it was in that context of entrepreneurship in which Obama identified
the truly transcendent value of the Internet. Not as a mere political
right to access different opinions, but in terms of a right to
development, and as a way to connect Cuba with the 21st century.

During all his appearances Obama went out of his way to remind everyone
that the United States was prepared to facilitate transformation, not to
impose it. The spell of the besieged nation argument, as a narrative
resource, has been broken. "Many suggested that I come here and ask the
people of Cuba to tear something down - but I'm appealing to the young
people of Cuba who will lift something up, build something new. "

And, looking at Raúl Castro, he said: "And to President Castro -- who I
appreciate being here today, I want you to know, I believe my visit here
demonstrates you do not need to fear a threat from the United States.
And given your commitment to Cuba's sovereignty and self-determination,
I am also confident that you need not fear the different voices of the
Cuban people -- and their capacity to speak, and assemble, and vote for
their leaders."

Raúl Castro decided to see off the president he did not wish to welcome.
His "old government of dead people and flowers" had been shaken in just
two days. I thought I could sense the relief when Air Force One took off
from José Martí National Airport.

Did the "genie" escape from the bottle? No. But he was able to stick his
head out for two days and to glimpse the possibility of a future better
than today.

Obama's policy requires, undoubtedly, adjustments and more focus. His
unreserved commendation of the agreement reached on 17 December
undermines his capacity for self-correction. But Cubans on the island
and in exile also need to identify basic points of agreement in order to
more effectively promote the changes they really deserve. However, I
think they are in better position to meet this challenge after this trip.

Source: Two days that shook Cuba | Diario de Cuba -
http://www.diariodecuba.com/cuba/1458898753_21197.html