Castro Reluctant to Speed Up Changes
HAVANA TIMES – Cuban President Raul Castro said he is pleased with the pace of reforms on the island, during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday which analyzed the guidelines for the economic plan and budget for 2014 .
“If we do an analysis of the ground covered thus far we realize that it is progressing well,” said Castro. “We must resist the pressures of those who insist that we must go faster,” he added.
For his part, the Minister of Economy and Planning, Adel Yzquierdo Rodriguez, announced at the meeting that in 2014 the goal is to boost exports and slow growth in imports to encourage domestic production.
All the new policies approved at the meeting were strictly economic.
The Castros are engaged in high-level shell game. While they direct attentions towards reforms that legalize knife-sharpeners to ply their trade on their bicycles or shoe cobblers to repair old shoes, the real change is taking place behind the scenes as the oligarchy is stuffing euros and dollars into mattresses as fast as they can all over the world to prepare for a post-Castro era. No one should be naive to believe the Castros were not affected by the explosion of protests during the Arab Spring uprisings. While publicly denying the possibility of the same thing happening in Cuba, they are privately preparing for the worst. General President Raul chooses to delay quickening the pace of economic reforms because he rightly understands that after Cubans have adequately provided for their economic future they will be harder to control politically. It is far easier to itimidate hungry people.
Raul and Change:
“I can categorically say that nothing has advanced in terms of citizen rights or civil rights. In fact, I do notice a change in the repression, but it’s been a change in style rather than a change for the better. The Raúl style is one of repressing without leaving any legal fingerprints. Fidel Castro repressed his opponents in grand theatrical style, and would condemn them to long prison sentences, while Raúl has used more occult methods that leave the victims without even the possibility of proving they’ve been repressed.” — Yoani Sanchez.