Cuba is Alive. The
Castros Can Retire. Hurray Cuba! (El Universal,
Mexico)
"The way
out that Obama has now given the Cuban regime allows us to envision the Cuban
Revolution's final chapter. The restoration of diplomatic relations between the
two countries will bring a commercial, financial, political and ideological
opening, and eventually the repeal of laws that have suffocated the island,
giving way to a new stage when the Castro brothers can finally retire and live
out the rest of their days in Cuba. The Eden of the Caribbean, according to recent
reports, has already begun to dance and celebrate with more enthusiasm than when
they won the most gold medals at the 1991 Pan-American Games."
Every year we heard the same prediction: "Next year Fidel
Castro will fall." December arrived and nothing happened. Now the imminent
restoration of diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba is for
Latin America the most important international news of 2014. Tension has given way
to reconciliation and goodwill.
While Cuba’s seat stayed vacant during the recent Ibero-American
Summit in Veracruz, Cuban diplomats were carrying on secret meetings with U.S.
State Department officials in Canada with the blessing of Pope Francis, who scored
another coup for Vatican foreign policy. Later, Obama and Raúl
Castro had a first substantial telephone conversation between presidents of the
two countries since 1961.
What is to follow is the lifting of the U.S. blockade of
Cuba. The embargo was a political stimulus that allowed the brothers Castro to stay
in power. The injustice of the measure gave strength to the message of unity
with which they, very efficiently, maintained the support of their people: If something
went wrong in Cuba it was due to the unjust U.S. siege; if they managed to
overcome the difficulties, it was thanks to the people’s sacrifice and an open
secret: the political, military and economic help of the Soviet Union.
When Soviet support for the island was about to disappear
due to the beginning of restructuring (perestroika) and opening up
(glasnost), Fidel was experiencing
the most glorious moment of his revolution. When the 1991 Pan-American Games
closed with Cuban boxer FélixSavón
knocking out Shannon Briggs of the United States to win the heavyweight gold
medal, there was an announcement that Cuba had won the most gold medals beating
out none other than the United States. The public, instead of cheering for the
Cuban boxer, shouted "Fidel! Fidel! Fidel!"
The joy that day, however, was to last only a few hours. Mario VázquezRaña, in his role as
Pan-American sports official, gave a dinner in honor of Fidel in Havana. In attendance,
according to several sources, was [Mexico] President Carlos Salinas and [Colombian
novelist] Gabriel GarcíaMárquez. Fidel nervously
rose from his table several times: in Moscow a coup had begun intending to
topple Gorbachev and return things to the situation to before the opening up and
restructuring. The coup failed when the Soviet military wouldn't support it and
with that - the dissolution of the Soviet Union and disillusionment of Fidel
had begun.
Castro, as Andrés Oppenheimer writes in Castro’s
Final Hour, gathered his fellow diners and announced that Cuba was left
alone and that a long road of economic crisis and scarcity was about to open up.
Gabriel GarcíaMárquez
spoke up and said to President Salinas: "I would rather die than let the Cuban
Revolution perish. I hope that Mexico, my second home, will not now leave Cuba
alone." The Mexican was heard to say: "President Fidel knows he can
count on us." The end of the regime seemed imminent.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
The way out that Obama has now given the Cuban regime allows
us to envision the Cuban Revolution's final chapter. The restoration of
diplomatic relations between the two countries will bring a commercial, financial,
political and ideological opening, and eventually the repeal of laws that have
suffocated the island, giving way to a new stage when the Castro brothers can
finally retire and live out the rest of their days in Cuba. The Eden of the Caribbean,
according to recent reports, has already begun to dance and celebrate with more
enthusiasm than when they won those gold medals.
Mexico, for its part, will have to realize that apart from
dealing with its domestic tribulations it must also revise and correct its
foreign policy. It has been losing what was once its point of pride: an
impeccable foreign policy, particularly toward Cuba, and its leadership in
Latin America. It’s been a long stretch since Mexico was the only one to vote
against the expulsion of Cuba from the Organization of American States in 1962
to the latest meeting of the Ibero-American Summit
when we were snubbed by Cuba. This is something to think about during these
days so full of reflection.
*Dr. Melgar-Adalid was Director of the Permanent Branch Campus
of the Universidad NacionalAutónoma
de México (UNAM) in San Antonio, Texas, from
2001-2008. He has served in important public posts in the Mexican public and
academic sector including, among others, the appointment by Mexico’s President
to Mexico's Ministry of Health and served on the Mexican Federal Judicial
Council (Consejero de la Judicatura
Federal) from 1994-1999. Along with his extensive work at the UNAM in both Mexico and San Antonio, Dr. Melgar has published seven books and written more than 100
articles on topics such as public administration, education and law. He is
currently an research fellow of the Instituto de InvestigacionesJurídicas de la UNAM. His last
book "La Suprema Corte de EstadosUnidos, Claroscuro de la Justicia "
is the first book written in Spanish about the U.S. Supreme Court and was
published by Porrúa, July 2012.
