Fidel Castro Turns Country Over to Brother

16 Comments

1. 

   Betsy L Angert on July 31, 2006 at 11:14 pm

   Dear BooMan . . .

   In the same way America seems to want wars with some nations, though they, the Administration, says it does not, I wonder.  What will Bush and his Bunch want with Cuba, a Fidel, Raul Castro Cuba, or a changed regime.

   • 

     BooMan on July 31, 2006 at 11:37 pm

     i don’t know.  I’ll look into it.

     My initial suspicion is that Raul Castro is an unacceptable leader to the American Cuban community and that will drive early reactions.

     On the other hand, the business community would like to get back into Cuba.  It could open up an opportunity for a normalization of relations.

     A lot would depend on whatever Raul says (and does).  There is at least a chance that good will on his part could be reciprocated.  

     But he might not have that option.  I do not understand internal Cuban politics well enough to really have an informed opinion.

     • 

       Betsy L Angert on August 4, 2006 at 10:00 pm

       Dear BooMan . . .

       Nor do I have an informed opinion.  I moved to South Florida eight months ago and I am learning, though slowly.

       The more I read and hear the less hope I have for Raul.  Bush may be a dry alcoholic; however, Raul, from what they say, is still very wet.  I do not think he will be a stable leader.  His age too is a problem.  The people I have heard discuss the topic seem to have little faith.  He may be more rigid than his brother and lean slightly more to the right.

       The transition to the unknown, I feel certain, will be an interesting one.

2. 

   Arcturus on July 31, 2006 at 11:50 pm

   not to worry . . .

   the boyz already think they have an exceptional plan for plan this, trotted out in May, 2004:

   Transition to Oligarchy: Planning for the Re-Colonization of Cuba

   They’re they’re talking about “transition,” not constitutional succesion. They’ve even appointed a “transition coordinator in July, 2005.

   One skeptical observer noted at the time that in the case of Iraq, the Bush Administration had at least waited until it invaded and occupied the country before appointing a transition coordinator. Did his appointment in this case mean the U.S. intended to invade Cuba as well? And if not, what was the U.S. transition coordinator supposed to do from his office in the State Department building? Even today, that remains unclear.   [snip]

   When Castro passes from the scene, he will, under the Cuban Constitution, be succeeded by the Vice President. At this point in time, that is Raul Castro. There will be many within that new leadership structure, and many within Cuban society, arguing for political and economic reforms–just as there will be other voices opposed.

   The principal objective of the Bush Commission’s new plan, however, is to prevent the succession altogether, calling on Cuban citizens and the international community to reject the government that would replace Castro under the Cuban Constitution and to insist instead on an entirely new one. But neither the Cuban people nor the international community are likely to take so frontal a position against a successor regime. Change, rather, will have to come about slowly and as the result of an internal process, not as the result of a formula imposed from abroad–and certainly not one imposed by the United States. As Oswaldo Paya, one of Cuba’s leading dissident leaders, stated a few weeks ago in anticipation of the publication of this second report: “We do not accept transition programs made outside of Cuba.”   http://www.counterpunch.org/smith07112006.html>Bush's New Cuba Plan

   • 

     BooMan on July 31, 2006 at 11:53 pm

     pay attention then.  Little Havana in Miami is dancing in the streets at the mere word that he has undergone surgery.  Very strange.  I say, invest in Casinos as soon as the market opens tomorrow.

     • 

       Euroliberal on August 1, 2006 at 6:36 am

       my money is on brothels.

   • 

     Omir the Storyteller on August 1, 2006 at 12:31 am

     Yeah, cause, like, that’s worked out so well in the other countries where they’ve promoted it.

     • 

       Betsy L Angert on August 4, 2006 at 10:01 pm
   • 

     Knoxville Progressive on August 1, 2006 at 9:34 am

     This Cuban thing is just Satan distracting W from his holy crusade and the run-up to Armageddon, LOL!

     (More specifically, Satan’s underling Mammon – see my comment below on Cuban oil fields)

     ;-D

3. 

   Oui on August 1, 2006 at 5:10 am

   .

   Meet Raúl’s daughter: Mariela Castro

   Mariela Castro is the director of the Cuban National Center for Sex Education in Havana and an activist for LGBT rights in Cuba. She is the daughter of first vice president Raúl Castro.

   
   Daughter of Raúl Castro and niece of Cuba's President Fidel Castro, Mariela Castro is leading a Cuban revolution less well known than her Uncle Fidel's: one in favour of sexual tolerance within the island's macho society. Claudia Daut/Reuters

   Her group campaigns for effective AIDS prevention as well as acceptance of homosexuality, bisexuality, transvestism, and transsexualism.

   
   LGBT rights in Cuba  

   "But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

   ▼ ▼ ▼ MY DIARY

4. 

   afox on August 1, 2006 at 8:53 am

   The current New Yorker, dated yesterday, has “Castro’s Last Battle,” an investigative piece by Jon Lee Anderson on the succession.

   Yes, Raúl is the annointed. Yes, there are plans for all manner of US takeovers, interviews with Bay-of-Pigs wannabees.

5. 

   boran2 on August 1, 2006 at 9:20 am

   His revolution caused some of the most significant events in the 20th-Century: the Bay of Pigs, Operation Northwoods, The Cuban Missile Crisis, and probably the assassination of JFK.

   You forgot the cola wars.

   • 

     BooMan on August 1, 2006 at 11:00 am

     you mean Royal Crown?  Or Tab?

6. 

   Knoxville Progressive on August 1, 2006 at 9:29 am

   People, people, people…

   For BushCo, it’s about one thing only:  O.I.L.

   “Cuba is drilling for oil 60 miles off the coast of Florida with help from China, Canada and Spain even as Congress struggles to end years of deadlock over drilling for what could be a treasure trove of offshore oil and gas.” (reference)

   Perhaps even a more significant potential contributor to Cuba’s economic growth are the revenues from oil, biomedical and nickel industries. Cuba’s Economic Exclusionary Zone, which lies in the North Cuban Basin between Key West and Havana, potentially holds petroleum reserves amounting to an estimated 4.5 to 9 billion barrels, according to some confidential, as well as public record sources. While Brazilian, Canadian, and Spanish companies have carried out test drilling in the zone for years, although usually with only minimal returns, new exploration efforts could soon be paying off. Spanish oil company Repsol YPF carried out deep-sea explorations and found existence of high quality oil in 2004, yet not in commercial amounts, and it continues to drill in a 4,132 square mile block. In 2004, Castro announced “very promising” deposits 55 kilometers off Cuba’s shoreline, in an area called Santa Cruz. China, whose rapidly industrializing and newly consumerized economy has displayed an insatiable need for energy resources, has become a formidable new player on the Cuban oil scene. Indian and Norwegian companies are also about to initiate drilling in the zone, and Venezuela has continued its active offshore exploration efforts as well. Furthermore, an agreement this past April with an Iranian official promised to fund both exploratory drilling and building refineries on the island, according to the Tehran Times. Russia also has expressed its interest in the possible commercial quantities of oil and natural gas reserves. In conjunction with the heightened levels of investment, Cuba is planning for the construction of 36 new oil rigs built in partnership with Chinese and Canadian companies within Cuban territorial waters.  (reference)

   If I were a conspiracy theorist person, I’d find the timing of this illness very curious coming a week after the above information became general knowledge…

7. 

   Jaded Prole on August 1, 2006 at 10:14 am

   Hopefully Fidel will pull through. Having Raul at the helm will be the same. While the Miam guzanos dance in the streets and the repug imperialists drool over the prospect of re-conquering Cuba and destroying their example of sanity and resistance, the reality is that Cuba will not be collapsing anytime soon. Cubans are not willing to sacrifice their healthcare, education, and social guarantees and know that the alternative to their system looks more like Guatemala or the Dominican Republic than it does like the U.S.

   • 

     DaveW on August 1, 2006 at 11:56 am

     Cubans do seem relatively sane as these things go these days, so they might not be nuts enough to want US-style healthcare, education, and social guarantees even if they were offered. Of course they won’t be offered. What will be offered and fought for will be a return to the slavery, whoredom, feudalism, and impunity that the Miami mafia and its fool followers are so hot to get a piece of.