Castro’s Cuba is a Private Party
By Martin Guevara
HAVANA TIMES — Cuba’s “communistocracy”, built brick by brick following the violent taking of power in 1959, brushed aside the country’s former aristocracy to take its homes, goods, cars, bank accounts and batons, but it was never able to inherit its good taste or glamour, let alone the business and productive impetus of the bourgeoisie that had been outlawed.
Back when I was living in Cuba, one of the important tasks of those who represented the elite was to disguise and conceal their high standing in comparison to others, as the people were subjected to immense sacrifices, and such differences could seriously undermine their scant enthusiasm or even lead to protest and rebellion.
Several times, I was urged not to invite my friends from school to the Havana Libre Hotel, as it was not convenient for them to see the way we lived. They literally explained to me, I can almost hear them say this to me, that the reason for this secrecy was that Cuba was on its way to total equality, but that there were still some differences that would be eliminated when we established communism, when everyone was able to live as we did.
Only those who wanted to believe actually believed this.
Today, this social class has modified and exponentially stepped up its lust for power, faced with the imminent collapse of the dictatorship of the proletariat, the emergence of a new language and new alliances required to remain in power. There’s increasingly less they need to conceal and they are increasingly more daring, and are even required to make a show of their class tastes and interests, the ones they developed secretly at home.
I would often argue about the abusive, shameless and hypocritical nature of these differences and felt well sharing my slice of the pie and openly criticizing these practices.
The capitalists who were replaced by the revolutionary usurpers of the Castrocacy did not hide their ambitions or greed behind a messianic and mendacious discourse of solidarity.
The way in which wealth is now being put on display, the power of the offspring of the founding patriarchs of the not-so-new nobilities, is unbearable, and it is hard to understand how the people, the system, collective morale, openly accepts the existence of these aristocrats born of repression, segregation and, above all, the ideological classification of people under moral categories, at different levels of revolutionary virtue.
It is clear they were always aiming for one thing, the same basic categories we’ve known all our lives:
Those who are allowed into the party and those who are left out, those who live within the walls of the Palace and those who are left outside, at the mercy of vultures.
Is good to be the King!!! thank you Martin for speaking up.
Forbes magazine estimates that Fidel Castro is a multibillionaire. He has two islands and a yacht. Heck, he has an entire country. I’ll take that bet and raise you that if you put Fidel’s and Raul’s wealth together along with the sock money that there children and grandchildren have hidden away, you have one of the wealthiest families in the world.
Four houses in Siboney with swimming pool and tennis court. Two island retreat Cayo Piedra with connecting 700′ long bridge and pier to tie up his yacht Aquarama II. Partner with brother Raul in forming RAFIN SA to purchase a 27% shareholding in ETECSA, the telecommunications monopoly company in Cuba for $706 million. Fleet of BMW’s.
Are you going to call off the bet now Dan?
I bet Hillary Clinton make more money in 4 days( $1 million) than any of the Castros have as their net worth.
It has made the Castros rich. Does that count?
i hope not as everything will have been for nothing
No, i would not describe them as non-violent. My point was that the charge of violence could be made against the Cuban Revolution and the American Revolution and probably a few others as well.
I have mentioned before the statue I saw in Hamilton, Ontario commemorating the United Empire Loyalists who fled violence and persecution in the US.
Remember Ken that Fidel Castro appointed Che Guevara on the 12th January to exercise “revolutionary justice” in Havana. Fidel followed that by saying that he didn’t expect to execute more than 400, by so doing instilling intended fear. In reality Che put some 357 people in front of the firing squad at La Cabana. By chance it was on the 12th January, 1959 that Raul Castro who was at Santiago de Cuba executed 78 people without trial.
Would you describe those actions as non-violent?
In his first sentence Martin refers to “…the violent taking of power in 1959,”
I guess you could say that George Washington was part of “…the violent taking of power…”
The Daughters of the American Revolution might wish to refer to themselves as the Daughters of the American Peaceful Transition, but they can’t.
It is good that Martin Guevara shares his internal knowledge of the “Communistocracy”, for the members and supporters of it, cannot deny his qualifications to do so. I would love to discuss with him why the people ” openly accepts the existence of these aristocrats born of repression”. In my experience and view, they have no choice for they are the ‘mass’ and that demand constantly instilled in them by the educational system for ‘respect’ is difficult to overcome. Living in a non-tourist community in Cuba, my experience is that individual adult Cubans will express their frustration with being unable to progress and having to concentrate upon day to day existence. Their knowledge of how the communistocracy live is however very limited, for the State controlled media are not going to show or discuss it. Just imagine Randy Alonso Falcon holding discussion about them on Mesa Redondo! Yes, it may be a subject in Mirimar or Siboney, but they are scarcely representative of Cuba as a whole. Most Cubans have never seen a golf-course and most Cubans don’t even know of Tony Castro and his eleven brothers, assorted half brothers and sisters. The last matter of concern for the Castrocracy is improving the living standards of the people, for to do so would encourage independence of thought – and just maybe, eventually action.
I watched quite a bit of Tony Castro when MLB came to Cuba and he was interviewed. Very smart guy, knows how the real world works and he’s up there in the relative department within the hierarchy. I don’t think he’s the kind of guy who would take the nonsense that his father has been preaching.
The sooner they get ove the pretense, the sooner the Gov can get to business of helping the poor. A rational tax system with safety net will provide a much more targeted help to those left behind.
“The more things change, the more they stay the same.” French Quote
Welcome to the jungle. Capitalism has arrived. It won’t be long now before we see gated communities, 5 cuc café latte, BMWs and Chanel fashion shows. Oh wait. …..