Washington's response and Raúl Castro
From Havana
Read Spanish Version http://progreso-semanal.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=65&Itemid=1 ,
By Manue Alberto Ramy

During his speech on July 26, Cuba's interim President Raúl Castro reiterated his offer to dialogue with whatever U.S. administration emerges from the 2008 elections.
On the same day, U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack responded that "the only real dialogue [Havana] needs to hold is with the Cuban people" and repeated the well-known calls for "free" elections in a multiparty political system.
In connection with the topic, a report by the French news agency AFP says Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen declared that "the United States is not the problem. The problem is Fidel Castro and the communist system."
Are Vietnam and China not communist? What is the major difference between Cuba and those two countries? Do Vietnam and China have a multiparty system and do they hold elections acceptable to the United States?
Like previous U.S. governments, the Bush administration maintains very close relations with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar, to give you just three examples. In those countries there is no political pluralism or elections such as Washington demands from Cuba before engaging in a constructive dialogue, never mind relations.
I could add to that list the close relationships of different U.S. administrations with countries whose governments never maintained (or currently maintain) a transparent and fluid dialogue with their people. In Mexico, during the almost seven decades of PRI rule [Institutional Revolutionary Party], there was never a dialogue. A multiparty political system was only an acceptable fiction.
Pre-Chávez Venezuela, which was characterized by the alternation in power of two parties (Democratic Action and COPEI) and was touted as an example of representative democracy and political stability, maintained so much communication and dialogue with its people that it socialized poverty to the tune of 70-80 percent of the population. Is that the invitation being extended to the Cubans by Mr. McCormack?
The problem with Cuba is complicated, but there is a difference between Cuba and the communist governments in China and Vietnam. The latter don't weigh sufficiently in the electoral dynamics of "representative democracy," because the U.S. does not have Chinese and Vietnamese minorities with sufficient power to promote policies contrary to the majority opinion of the American people with respect to U.S. relations with China and Vietnam. However, the pressure of the Cuban minority in South Florida does dictate rules to Washington when it comes to U.S. policy toward Cuba.
The above shows the quality of dialogue between the people and the political leaders in Washington, where electoral machineries replace dialogue. No reform is needed in D.C.; here, it is -- yes.
No one questions the fact that Cuba needs reforms, not even the top leaders, who are echoing the opinions and malaise of the population. The reality of life does not allow for ear plugs. And I do not doubt that reforms will be the result of the normal tensions between the citizens and the established institutions.
In his speech during the 54th anniversary of the rebel raid on the Moncada army barracks, Raúl Castro announced that "structural changes" would be needed, and that "concepts and methods" of work that "have been superseded by life" would be abandoned. He also said that the changes would not be spectacular.
The changes cannot go beyond the country's real capabilities -- especially the economic capabilities. This is a major limitation, and very objective, too, if we realize that (according to the National Bureau of Statistics) Cuba's foreign debt is $15.38 billion. Short-term indebtedness leaped from 16 percent of that amount in 2005 to 36.2 percent last year.
The reader should remember that just as the ordinary Cuban has to invent ways to pay for his daily expenses because he doesn't have enough money, the country also has to honor its debts. Yet, Cuba has few funds to assume a great many problems that often overwhelm the national budget. The Bush administration knows that perfectly well.
Another limitation, this time of a subjective nature, lies within the political-administrative machinery, which puts into effect whatever policies are determined. As in any machine of this type, habit and routine are part of the qualities and the mentality that need to be changed.
If to this we add the fact that the top leadership is undergoing a process of generational change and creating a new style of work to which the machine has not been accustomed, we can see another factor that hampers the speed of the responses.
I think the example given by Raúl Castro in his speech -- where he described organizational problems affecting the milk-production chain and the industrial processing and distribution of milk to consumers -- opened the doors to the decentralization of solutions. Raúl clearly favors an increased participation of the community in this and other topics affecting Cubans.
Raúl fired a two-barreled shotgun: the mobilization of the communities and pressure on the bureaucracy, both of which will facilitate change. This tension is an important part of the new dynamics, which appear to fit in with the process of change.
This is a slow process, but one that cannot be put off. It won't be lineal, either. There will be zig-zags, steps forward and backward, maybe even sideways. It will be a careful process, because the objective is not to revert socialism but to re-create it. From this standpoint, I think it will be easier to understand not only the caution but also the delicacy with which the process will have to be conducted.
What the people behind Mr. McCormack are counting on is that all the doors will be opened at one time, the way it happened in the former Soviet Union. Conditioned by its supporters, the Bush administration attempts to determine the direction and depth of the changes that Cubans should make, a bit at a time.
The population wants solutions -- I wrote that earlier -- but multiparty politics is not among the priorities of the huge majority of Cubans. Not yet, anyway.
Manuel Alberto Ramy is Havana bureau chief of Radio Progreso Alternativa and editor of Progreso Semanal, the Spanish-language version of Progreso Weekly.


I am not a communist
Oscar Corral dreamed of one day being hired by the Miami Herald. He never imagined his wish would come with an existential crisis
By Rebecca Wakefieldhttp://progreso-weekly.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=78&Itemid=1,


Fidel's presence still keenly felt in Cuba

By Michael Voss - BBC News, Havana
Cuba without Fidel Castro at the helm: many wondered whether communism in the Caribbean could survive without him.
There was dancing in the streets of Miami, as anti-Castro exiles wrongly assumed the end was nigh.
A year later, and outwardly little in Cuba appears to have changed after emergency surgery forced the 80-year-old Fidel to hand over power for the first time since his revolution in 1959.
It was a smooth transition, but so far stability has not led to any improvement to people's daily lives.
Low wages, food shortages and poor public transport are the complaints that dominate conversations here much more than questions of political freedom.
Practical and pragmatic
The world's longest serving defence minister, General Raul Castro has been his brother's right-hand-man since they were both guerrilla fighters in the Sierra Maestra, struggling to overthrow the US-backed dictator, Fulgencio Batista.
In those days, Raul was considered a hardline enforcer who was a dedicated communist long before Fidel.
He doesn't have Fidel's charisma, but Raul is considered the more practical and pragmatic of the two.
This has raised expectations that some economic reforms may be on the way.
In an hour-long keynote televised address before a 100,000 strong crowd last week, Raul acknowledged there were problems with the economy and changes were needed.
"To have more, we have to begin producing more... to reach these goals, the needed structural and conceptual changes will have to be introduced."
He also said that the country may have to turn once again to foreign investment.

Elder statesman
Many Cubans and Western observers believe this to be a signal that Chinese-style reforms are finally on the way; an opening up of the economy while maintaining political control.
As caretaker president, Raul has also offered to sit down at the negotiating table with the United States. That's been rejected and under US law, there can be no lifting of the embargo against Cuba as long as either brother is in power.
Most Western observers believe Raul is running day-to-day government. What is less clear is who is setting the political agenda.
For the moment, Fidel has taken on the role of elder statesman as he continues to recuperate from a series of stomach operations.
Recent pictures show that he has put on weight and appears to be getting stronger.
In recent months, Fidel has increasingly made his presence felt through regular newspaper editorials, called Reflections of the Commander in Chief.
Many are attacks on his ideological nemesis, US President George W Bush. Only a few have dealt with internal politics. All are read in their entirety on nightly television news and the first collection has been published in book form.
In one of his editorials last month, he suggested that what the economy really needed was a renewed sense of revolutionary dedication.
"The standard of living can be improved by raising knowledge, self-esteem and dignity of the people. It will enough to reduce waste and the economy will grow."
Fidel Castro's hand may not be on the tiller but his presence remains immense.
Many believe that there can be no major changes in Cuba without his approval, much less against his wishes.



EXISTE AUGE REVOLUCIONARIO EN AMÉRICA LATINA, AFIRMA DIPUTADO CUBANO
POR FRANCISCO FORTEZA - WORLD DATA SERVICE -Ricardo Alarcón, presidente del parlamento cubano, estimó ante una cumbre social que transcurre en Caracas que América Latina vive un momento de auge revolucionario. En una exposición ante la VI Cumbre Social por la Unión Latinoamericana y Caribeña en desarrollo esta semana en la capital venezolana, el legislador, subrayó que en ese contexto en la región se viven "grandes desafíos", y pidió "mucha reflexión, pensamiento y sobre todo unión". A esa cumbre social asisten delegados de 26 países y sus objetivos son analizar nuevos procesos sociales regionales, como el desarrollo del programa integracionista ALBA (Alternativa Bolivariana de las Américas) del cual son miembros Cuba, Bolivia, Nicaragua y Venezuela, y rechazar el neoliberalismo y el capitalismo. Ante uno de los foros de debate que funcionan en el seno del encuentro, Alarcón estimó que América Latina está en una etapa de avance de las formas de desarrollo independiente "y a la par ensaya vías de búsqueda del socialismo", de acuerdo con citas hechas desde Caracas por la agencia Prensa Latina.. "Somos un punto de referencia para otros pueblos del planeta y constituimos una muestra de que la historia no se había detenido, tal como anunció en 1992 el politólogo estadounidense Francis Fukuyama", dijo el presidente de la Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular (parlamento) de Cuba. Agregó que "el capitalismo neoliberal trata de detener su caída e imponerse sobre el resto de mundo, ejemplo de lo cual es la actual administración de Estados Unidos, cuyos gastos militares superan a los del resto de las naciones del planeta juntos y a los propios durante la Guerra Fría, expuso. En su intervención, Alarcón denunció que en Estados Unidos la justicia está parcializada "en contra de quienes defienden al pueblo cubano de ataques terroristas". Al referirse a los casos de cinco cubanos presos en Estados Unidos quienes, subrayó, cumplían misiones antiterroristas en ese país, y al de Luis Posada Carriles, considerado como un connotado terrorista anticubano quien, sin embargo, reside en libertad en Miami, Florida. "Yo tengo a cinco compatriotas a los que le fueron dictadas cuatro cadenas perpetuas y 75 años de prisión, por haber espiado al terrorista Luis Posada Carriles", subrayó Alarcón, de acuerdo con un reporte de la agencia venezolana ABN. Los cubanos que cumplen esos términos de prisión en Estados Unidos son René González, Antonio Guerrero, Fernando González, Gerardo Hernández y Ramón Labañino. Sobre Carriles dijo que "quien torturó, asesinó, mandó a matar a gente inocente de este país (Venezuela), Cuba y otros países, seguirá contando con el apoyo de Estados Unidos, mientas se condena a quienes descubrieron los planes de Posada y su grupo, que aún opera con total normalidad en Miami".



Exiles' frustration at Castro status quo
By Emilio San Pedro - BBC Americas Editor
It was the moment the Cuban exile community in Miami, which numbers more than a million, had been awaiting for decades - the news that Fidel Castro had for one reason or another transferred or left power altogether.
The official news a year ago was that Mr Castro had undergone emergency intestinal surgery and was transferring power for the first time since he took over in 1959, but only temporarily, to his brother Raul, his designated successor.
Minutes later, exiles in Miami began pouring into the streets of the city's Little Havana district to celebrate the news which many of them believed signalled the end of Mr Castro's rule.
Most of them - being used to having to extrapolate different meanings from the news that comes out of the island - were certain that the transfer had occurred because Mr Castro had possibly already died.
'Focal point'
Their speculation was fuelled even further by the secrecy with which the Cuban authorities dealt with Mr Castro's illness, which has been designated a state secret.
Soon there were thousands of people gathering or driving by the emblematic late-night Cuban cafe, Versailles, which became the focal point of the celebrations.
Leading political figures of the exile community also took part in the celebrations, echoing the thoughts of people on the streets that the end of the revolution was nigh.
There was a great deal of talk about Raul Castro and whether he would differ or remain the same as his older brother if he were to remain in power, even for a short while.
The celebrations continued for nearly a week, but began to dwindle as the news from Cuba seemed to indicate that Mr Castro had indeed survived his operation and that little had changed either politically or on the streets of the island.
Renewed frustration
There were no signs of popular revolts against the regime as many in Miami had hoped for or predicted.
Nor was there any sign that the carefully crafted plans for a smooth transition of power had suffered any kind of internal revolts within the all-powerful Communist Party.
That initial euphoria in Miami has turned into renewed frustration among exiles as the political change they believed was possibly imminent has failed to materialise.
Dissidents on the island have also not received the support they needed from the international community Andro Nodarse Leon Cuban American National Foundation
For Andro Nodarse Leon, of the Cuban American National Foundation, a large part of the blame lies with the United States and the international community.
"A significant opportunity was missed by them to effect real democratic change on the island," says the 30-year-old, who grew up in Cuba but now lives in Miami.
"More pressure should have been put on the communist regime and a greater attempt should have been made by the US, the EU and others to identify people within the communist power structure who want change, but need some kind of incentive before they act," he added.
"Dissidents on the island have also not received the support they needed from the international community," says Mr Nodarse Leon.
This lack of pressure had only helped to solidify "the legitimacy of the Castro brothers and their attempt to push some kind of a monarchical type succession on the Cuban people rather than a real transition of any kind", he said.
"Nevertheless, we're still hopeful that Raul will have a legitimacy issue on his hands, when his elder brother is no longer around to provide moral support as he's been doing from behind the scenes," he says.
This is a clear reference to the fact that most Cuban exiles are banking on political change happening once Fidel Castro has either passed away or been removed from power altogether due to his illness.
Recovery
However, in the latest instalment of his series of articles for the state-owned newspaper, Granma, the Cuban president said he was recovering and promised he would continue to struggle to help strengthen the Cuban revolution.
He also praised his brother, Raul, and the leadership of the Communist Party for the way they had handled the difficult political situation sparked by his illness last year.
And he lambasted the United States which he described as "the only real and destructive empire in the world".
It would, therefore, appear that a year on from what many analysts described as a seismic shift in Cuban politics, both the Cuban government and its exiled counterparts in Miami remain entrenched in the same diametrically opposed political positions they have occupied for decades.



Conceptual change
From The Economist print edition
Raúl Castro sets out his stall while Fidel hovers in the background
A YEAR ago this week, Fidel Castro announced that he required intestinal surgery and that he had temporarily turned over his powers as Cuba's head of state and government to his slightly younger brother, Raúl. One year on, by all accounts, Fidel Castro continues to recover from complications that almost killed him. But it is slowly dawning on Cubans that change and the post-Fidel era have begun.
To most outward appearances, everything in the communist island remains the same. Most of the observable differences are cosmetic. There are fewer government-organised mass rallies. Television schedules are no longer re-arranged around Fidel's lengthy musings and eccentric schedule. Raúl likes to keep normal office hours.
The clearest sign so far that deeper change is afoot came on July 26th, the official anniversary of the start of the revolution. Fidel would use the occasion to expatiate on the statistics of Cuban economic triumphs, or to excoriate the enemy across the water in the United States. By contrast, Raúl Castro's hour-long speech to a crowd of 100,000 in Camaguey contained some unusually sharp criticism of Cuba's own shortcomings.
The standard wage of around $15 a month was “clearly insufficient to satisfy all needs,” he said, stating the previously unutterable obvious. This was the main cause of “social indiscipline” (ie, the black market, which Fidel has tended to blame on personal greed). “Structural and conceptual changes will have to be introduced” to raise productivity, Raúl went on. By way of example, he singled out as “absurd” the centralised system for producing milk. He also called for more foreign investment, and invited America's next president to “talk in a civilised manner” to Cuba.
“Raúl is raising new expectations,” says Oscar Espinosa Chepe, a dissident economist. Can he satisfy them? As long as Fidel lives, reformers within the leadership will have to be cautious. Hardliners will put up less resistance against economic reform than against any loosening of one-party control. Still, there is no longer much talk of the elder Mr Castro returning to power.
Apart from seeing the occasional visitor, Fidel's only public activity is publishing articles in the official newspaper, Granma. After four articles about the doings of Cuba's athletes at the Pan-American Games, his column this week returned to politics. It gave warning that “no one should entertain the slightest illusion” that the United States will negotiate with Cuba and noted that he is consulted on “every important decision”. Maybe, but it now looks as if Raúl, not Fidel, is the man who makes them.



http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0708/S00093.htm
"Transformational Diplomacy" & Other Fancy Talk
Article: Council on Hemispheric Affairs Analysis prepared by COHA Research Associate Eva Silkwood The Bush White House, Condoleezza Rice, and Latin America


The expression of the subversive love of the Cuban revolutionhttp://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/08/02/18438474.php,


http://risal.collectifs.net/spip.php?article2285
La diplomatie de l’énergie et l’intégration sud-américaine à la croisée des chemins
On peut affirmer qu’en ce moment l’intégration des pays d’Amérique du Sud se trouve à une croisée des chemins. Des stratégies distinctes ont convergé vers un point commun, vers une situation où les grands blocs commerciaux se trouvent dans l’impasse et deviennent des forums politiques. Les nouvelles tentatives d’intégration tournent autour de l’énergie, point de départ pour de nouvelles propositions. Le Brésil cherche un leadership par consensus mais n’est pas prêt à assumer les coûts économiques et politiques de sa position. Le Venezuela, quant à lui, explore un chemin différent, en partageant des projets et des ressources énergétiques avec d’autres pays.par Eduardo Gudynas
La diplomacia de la energía y el cruce de caminos en la integración suramericana
Eduardo Gudynashttp://www.ircamericas.org/esp/4318,

Salvar la revolución
El revolucionario riesgo de la verdad; un artículo de Soledad Cruzhttp://www.insurgente.org/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=10632,

Una proposición de ley amenaza los pequeños rodajes en Nueva YorkSe prohíbe filmar http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=54466,El FBI pretende construir red de espionaje con 15.000 informantes encubiertos http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=54481,

Posada Case at Summit AgendaPosada Carriles is one of the most known terrorists all over the world

LATIN AMERICAN NEWS AGENCY
The case of international terrorist Luis Posada Carriles and the contradiction his release represents for the US administration's alleged anti-terrorist policy was on the table of the Sixth Social Summit.
Faced with the alternative of extraditing him to Venezuela, country that demands Posada to continue a trial suspended in 1985 because he escaped from prison or tries him according to its own anti-terrorist law, the Bush government bets on silence, Cuban Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon said.
Speaking Wednesday in the forum "Democracy and Socialism in the 21st century," Alarcon insisted in the need of explaining participants on the double standard of US policy in this case.
The island's legislative contrasted the situation of Posada, released since May after a judiciary farce at a US court, with that of five Cuban anti-terrorist fighters unfairly imprisoned in that northern nation for almost nine years, "for preventing terrorist attacks on their homeland."
In his speech entitled "Democracy and Criminal Policies," US lawyer Jose Pertierra stated that in the judiciary case of Posada, the obstacle is not legal nor in evidence, but in political terms.


La policía brasileña detiene a los boxeadores cubanos fugados en los Juegos Panamericanos
Lara, campeón mundial y Rigondeaux, campeón olímpico, han sido arrestado en una popular playa de Río de Janeiro EFE - Río de Janeiro (Brasil) - 03/08/2007
La Policía Militar del estado de Río de Janeiro han detenido en una playa a los boxeadores cubanos Erislandy Lara y Guillermo Rigondeaux, aunque no han precisado los motivos de la detención.
Portavoces oficiales de la Policía Federal han explicado que el hecho de que los atletas hayan sido localizados no significa necesariamente que tengan que ser encarcelados. "Que sepamos ellos no han cometido delito alguno en Brasil ni están en situación irregular en el país, además tienen visa de 90 días. No pueden ser encarcelados", simplemente por haberse fugado de la Villa Panamericana.
Rigondeaux y Lara, las dos máximas estrellas del equipo cubano de boxeo y principales favoritos para lograr las medallas de oro en sus respectivas categorías, estaban desaparecidos desde el 22 de julio, cuando no se presentaron para el pesaje antes de sus respectivas peleas clasificatorias durante los pasados Juegos Panamericanos de Río.
Una de las posibles causas de la detención es que estén sin papeles porque sus pasaportes les hayan sido retenidos en la delegación cubana durante los Panamericanos. También es posible que los documentos hayan sido cancelados por el gobierno cubano, y así haya sido comunicado al Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Brasil, pero son sólo especulaciones hasta ahora, aseguraron fuentes policiales.
Castro condenó a los prófugos
La desaparición de los dos boxeadores tuvo resonancia mundial y las deserciones fueron confirmadas y condenadas por el propio líder cubano Fidel Castro, que en uno de sus artículos de prensa acusó de "traición" a los deportistas, que huyeron aprovechando los Panamericanos.
Castro también había denunciado que "en Alemania existe una mafia que se dedica a seleccionar, comprar y promover boxeadores cubanos" mediante "métodos psicológicos refinados y muchos millones de dólares".
Algunas versiones periodísticas habían dado por hecho que los cubanos habían logrado salir de Brasil por tierra, rumbo a Europa, por lo que su detención causó sorpresa. Ringondeaux, de 26 años y dos veces campeón olímpico y mundial de peso gallo, era una de las principales figuras de Cuba en los Panamericanos. Lara, de 24 años, es campeón mundial de la categoría welter.
Hasta ahora ninguno de los dos prófugos de su país ha pedido asilo político o territorial a Brasil.