Speculation about Cuba’s Future

Elio Delgado Legon

HAVANA TIMES — Pro-capitalist speculation and instructions from “saviors” of the Revolution are appearing in the pro-capitalist media on a regular basis. These “saviors” are proposing on changing, very gently, the current system of government in a transition period where capitalism will slowly be reinstated, without losing the Socialist system’s achievements up until today.

How naive! A capitalist system, in a poor and underdeveloped country, is never going to maintain a Socialist revolution’s social achievements. And much less in Cuba, where the terrorist mafia in Miami is anxious to get their hands on everything. On one occasion, when they thought the Revolution was about to collapse, they even asked for permission to have 72 hours to kill. What can you expect from such low-lives trying to restore capitalism in Cuba?

There are some people who propose creating a third path, somewhere between socialism and capitalism, taking the best of each of these systems. With regard to this issue, let’s take a look at an interview with the Cuban intellectual Enrique Ubieta which was published recently by several newspapers:

Ubienta said: “Capitalism isn’t a sum of negative and positive aspects, of elements that can be rescued or thrown out of the window: it’s a system, which was revolutionary at some point in time and isn’t anymore. It encompasses and enslaves everything: sophisticated technology, the most sophisticated wealth and the most absolute poverty. The elements that contribute towards greater efficiency in production are the same elements that alienate human labor. Those who create wealth for a select few, producing poverty for the millions, both nationwide and on an international level. Going after such a goal seems to be a lie to me: “the best of capitalism” doesn’t exist, as if this could be refined, as if a good capitalism were possible. There are very bad versions, like neoliberalism or fascism, but I don’t know of any good ones. Capitalism will always be savage.

“On the other hand, socialism, in contrast to capitalism, isn’t an organic creation, a reality has that already been built, but rather a path which doesn’t suddenly leave the system it’s trying to overcome behind. We have tried here and there, we have adopted new methods, we have made progress and gone back on ourselves, we got rid of what didn’t work, we fixed mistakes over and over again; a path towards another world, through this jungle, because capitalism is a hegemonic system. It is defined by its self-confessed, conscious intention to overcome capitalism.”

Some predict that the same thing will happen in Cuba like in the Soviet Union and that in the end, there will be a grab where the generals will become owners of hotels and other socialist companies.

In reality, all of these speculations are ultimately aimed at undermining the Cuban people’s trust in their leaders and creating a breeding ground so that what they predict comes to life.

However don’t get any hopes up pro-imperialist speculators. Cuba has already passed the greatest test in its history when in the early 1990s it lost almost all of its trade and the country was nearly brought to a standstill. The Cuban people didn’t lose their faith in us moving forward and endured the severity of a blockade which was strengthened to the max and the collapse of the Soviet Bloc, with whom we had most of our trade relations. This combination of events was called a “double blockade” by the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro.

And the Cuban people weren’t wrong, the country moved forward and made progress, not as quickly as we wanted it to, mainly because of the blockade, but it hasn’t stopped us from creating the foundations for sustainable development.