Cuba: Back to Mariel

Martin Guevara

HAVANA TIMES — Cuba is looking for “foreign” investors for the construction of a grand, commercial port. As fate would have it, this enclave, which marks one of the pivotal moments of the island’s abandonment of Marxism-Leninism in all its ideological dimensions, is situated in El Mariel, renowned for having been the point of departure for one of the most massive of human exoduses of the 20^th century.

The exodus of over one hundred and twenty-five thousand Cubans in 1980 followed a less significant mass departure some years back, when around thirty thousand people left for the same destination – Miami – through the port of Camarioca.

Beyond asking myself why those who emigrated were beaten and humiliated for the simple fact of having wanted to travel to broaden their horizons, in addition to questioning the severity and the horror of the punishment inflicted on those who suggested that Cuba had to abandon its State-command economy and develop a free-market system, I honestly wonder whether there is any limit to the nerve and immorality of those who have now started down a path diametrically opposed to the one they imposed on others for more than half a century (without even apologizing to the victims).

I admit my questions tend to get repetitive.

I fail to see the reason why they should prove so eager to favor those who revel in amassing fortunes through surplus value, genuine exploiters of the working class whose one apparently redeeming feature is the fact they are not Cuban.

Isn’t this entirely contrary to the most basic patriotic, libertarian and, of course, avowedly communistic principles once touted by Cuba’s leadership?

Also, where are those who swore to struggle to the death before seeing socialism perish? Have they taken up arms and retreated to Cuba’s mountains, are they involved in a clandestine urban struggle, are they in prison, are they hiding under the ground somewhere?

I am told that no, that none of that is going on, that those were just big-sounding words, “putting on an act”, as they say in Cuba.

Well, what a relief that is! I knew so many people who said such things with such vehemence and dramatic overtones that I couldn’t help but feel pain thinking about the tragedy it signified. It’s good to hear that, ultimately, it was all smoke and mirrors.

According to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, today, the chief objective of every revolutionary is to set out in search of capitalist Samaritans who want to invest some “dough” in the country.

They are excusing themselves for the small change to their socialist project. Now, they aren’t looking to create the New Man, no; they are after the same old rogue, the “every man to himself” fellow.

Revolutionaries around the world, however, needn’t worry in the least about this. With this method, we’ll have a strong, thoroughly exploited working class, deprived of all rights, which will, conveniently, know how to revolt against excesses. It is estimated that this will finally lead to an authentic dictatorship of the proletariat.

Who knows, maybe this monstrosity will pave the road to a kind of cosmic communism, headed by the prolific dynasty of the Castros!