The language of dismissals - Each of the cases of the four top regime officials who were recently dismissed seems different

The language of dismissals: Each of the cases of the four top regime
officials who were recently dismissed seems different
ORLANDO FREIRE SANTANA | La Habana | 19 de Julio de 2016 - 18:39 CEST.

In a closed society like Cuba's it is necessary to read between the
lines to decipher much of the news appearing in the media. An example of
this is when an official is dismissed, and we must sharpen our senses to
detect whether we are dealing with a sacking, a retirement with
recognition for a job well done, or a promotion.

There were recently four dismissal of top officials on the Island
exhibiting the three aforementioned characteristics. Such were the cases
of Julián González Toledo, Yuniasky Crespo Baquero, Rodolfo Alarcón and
Marino Murillo.

The terse official notice announcing the removal of Julián González
Toledo as Minister of Culture, without acknowledging his work, or the
usual "our colleague will now be undertaking other responsibilities,"
denotes that the man was sacked, and that the General-President was not
pleased with his performance.

Actually, Julián González Toledo was always a bland figure, not of
sufficient caliber to successfully design cultural policies, who
dedicated himself solely to managing resources and visiting art
institutions. He was never able to step out of the shadow cast by the
powerful Abel Prieto in his position as adviser to Raúl Castro. The
latter apparently tired of having such a weak minister, who was barely
heard at meetings of the Council of Ministers and sessions of the
National Assembly of People's Power.

Rodolfo Alarcón was looking a bit old to continue as the Minister of
Higher Education. Now, under the policy of not promoting those older
than 60 to the upper echelons, was the ideal time to make changes in the
agency's leadership. Alarcón was recognized for his work - he was also
deputy minister for several years - which means that he will go on to a
retirement in the power structure's good graces. However, the meager
future that may await him, living without his rank of minister, may not
sit well with a man used to living a life of privilege.

In the case of Yuniasky Crespo Baquero, for some time his physical
appearance made his role as the first secretary of the Union of Young
Communists (UJC) unfitting. However, at the plenary of the youth
organization, at which his replacement was announced, the regime's
second-in-command, José Ramón Machado Ventura, said that Yuniasky had
performed work yielding "results," and that henceforth he would work in
the Party. Obviously, here we are dealing with a promotion.

And now we come to the most high-profile development, as it relates to
Island's pressing economic situation: the replacement of Marino Murillo
as the Minister of Economy and Planning. There was no need to recognize
the work he had done - which they did - to see that Murillo has not lost
the higher-ups' confidence. Everything indicates that the
General-President believes that reform is progressing, slowly but
surely, and has decided that Murillo should devote himself full time to
the task of modernizing Cuba's economic model.

It is very likely that there is impatience to get rid of the monetary
duality, which could be hindering direct foreign investment in the
country – an injection of resources that the Island urgently needs to
address the economic contraction that is coming.

It would not be the first time that Cuba's leaders elect to embrace
pro-market reforms to fend off the storm that is bearing down on the
economy. In the 70s the deluded ideas of Che Guevara and Fidel Castro
pushed the country to the brink of ruin. Later, in the 90s, to
paraphrase an old Italian film, Cuba ended up "seduced and abandoned"
after the Soviet bloc's disappearance.

Neither is it the first time Murillo has been relieved of his post as
minister to work solely on the updating of the model. On that first
occasion Adel Yzquierdo was tapped to head up the Ministry of Economy
and Planning (MEP). But, apparently the latter was not a good fit in the
office, and Murillo returned to the MEP. Now we'll see whether the work
of Ricardo Cabrisas allows the economic czar to concentrate on the
implementation of reform.

Source: The language of dismissals: Each of the cases of the four top
regime officials who were recently dismissed seems different | Diario de
Cuba - http://www.diariodecuba.com/cuba/1468946389_23962.html