Casting Castro

The world is a-changin’. In the past week we have seen a dictator retire from office, a former war-torn region declare independence and Turkey enter Northern Iraq.\nBut perhaps most striking, and most relevant to Americans, is the story of Fidel Castro, president of Cuba for about 50 years, stepping down. \nCastro has been the most famous thorn in the side of the United States for half a century, ever since he took power in the communist revolution of 1959. Since then, the U.S. has done many things to try and oust him: an invasion, plenty of espionage and perhaps one of the most stringent sanctions policies imposed by the U.S. on any country.\nThe fierce sanctions policy the U.S. put forward has had the unintended consequences of leading some countries to sympathize with Castro and dulling outrage toward his horrid human- rights record. Even Canada, our friendly neighbor to the north, is considered a “pro-Castro” country in the world, according to the Pew Research Center. Forty-four percent of Canada’s population said Castro has been “good for Cuba,” according to the center. This is compared to only 26 percent of Venezuelans.\nSo how is the U.S. going to respond to the change? We will have to see. Human Rights Watch, one of the leading human rights organizations in the world, warns that the system of Castro’s oppressive regime is still very much intact, and the U.S. has pledged that it will not lift the embargo until there is democracy on the island.\nDespite this, I am sure the vast majority in Cuba are happy at the prospect of any change. The revolution Castro led half a century ago has turned from a “revolución” into a bureaucratic, human- rights nightmare that is anything but revolutionary. It looks to the past for all its glory, because there is little to be found nowadays.\nThere are reasons to be both hopeful and cynical. Raul Castro, the current president of Cuba, has appointed a hard-line communist from the “old guard,” Jose Ramon Machado Ventura, as deputy leader, passing over some younger, more reform-minded candidates.\nBut hope does exist. Machado Ventura is almost 80 years old, a trait that is common in much of the old guard. There are many younger, more reform-minded government officials like Carlos Lage, who could possibly take the country on a path of development. Also, a small market economy has grown out of the ashes, despite all the rhetoric and propaganda that Cubans have had to live through.\nSo it looks like there will be no immediate significant changes – only small ones – which is really all one can expect. Recovery from an oppressive regime is never easy, especially if the same crime family is still in charge. The U.S. has to handle the situation with more finesse than it has in the past. Let’s hope that instead of threats, and the eternal promise of hard-nosed sanctions, the U.S. opens its arms to Cuba and pledges to help the island nation even if does not commit itself to full democracy right away.