[NYTr] Raul Castro Hints at Economic Changes for Cuba (not really)

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

sent by Simon McGuinness - Jul 27, 2007

Raul Castro hints at "economic about-turn" for communist Cuba

["Projection" is a psychological defense mechanism by which one
individual projects their desires onto another individual or group, in a
form of delusion for the purpose of self-comfort.  I think Manuel
Roig-Franzia is engaging in willful self-delusion in this reading of
Raul Castro's 26 July 2007 speech. 

What Raul actually said was "we are currently studying the possibility
of securing more foreign investment, of the kind that can provide us
with capital, technology or markets, to avail ourselves of its
contribution to the country's development, careful not to repeat the
mistakes of the past, owed to naivety or our ignorance about these
partnerships, of using the positive experiences we've had to work with
serious entrepreneurs, upon well-defined legal bases which preserve the
role of the State and the predominance of socialist property."  

Only the truly deluded would suggest that this is striking a "distinctly
capitalist notes".  

Perhaps Mr Roig was working off the US State Department Briefing rather
than listening to the words of the Cuban Vice President? -SMcG]


                        ***

The Irish Times - Jul 28, 2007
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/world/2007/0728/1185230051495.html

Raul Castro hints at economic about turn for communist Cuba

by Manuel Roig-Franzia in Camaguey, Cuba

CUBA: As one of history's longest-serving political understudies, Raul
Castro often struggled to persuade his all-powerful brother Fidel to
open Cuba's moribund economy to more foreign investment.

But on Thursday, with Fidel still hidden from public view after stomach
surgery last July and his prospects of returning to power uncertain, the
younger brother asserted his desire to push Cuba in a new direction.

Speaking at a ceremony commemorating the 54th anniversary of the Cuban
revolution, Raul Castro declared that Cuba was considering opening
itself further to foreign investment, allowing business partners to
provide the financially strapped nation with "capital, technology or
markets".

The younger Castro's remarks, coupled with his unusual admission that
the Cuban government needs to pay its vast cadres of state-employed
workers more to cover basic needs, amounted to the clearest indication
yet of how he might lead this island nation.

Castro, who was named interim president last July 31st, vowed to partner
only with "serious entrepreneurs, upon well-defined legal bases".

Wearing his trademark tinted glasses and military uniform, Castro (76),
struck distinctly capitalist notes before tens of thousands of
flag-waving Communist Party loyalists in this central Cuban city, set
amid cattle ranches 350 miles east of Havana.

But he also was careful to appeal to hard-line party leaders, saying
that any new business deals must "preserve the role of the state and the
predominance of socialist property" and that the government would be
"careful not to repeat the mistakes of the past, (which) owed to naivete
or our ignorance about these partnerships".

"These statements seem to be innovative, to be carrying them toward new
initiatives," Wayne Smith, an analyst at the Centre for International
Policy and a former chief of the US interests section in Havana, said in
an interview from his Washington office. "The Cuban people, who have
been waiting for some indication that there is going to be a change,
will really welcome this."

Fidel Castro's absence from the commemoration, an annual event honouring
the quixotic attack on the Moncada Barracks that launched Cuba's
revolution, added to the intrigue surrounding one of the most singular
political figures of the 20th century. Thursday marked one year since
Castro's last public appearances.

Five days after Fidel Castro's speeches last July, the Cuban government
made the startling announcement that he had undergone emergency surgery
and was relinquishing power for the first time to his brother.

In recent months, Fidel, who turns 81 next month, has seemed more
active, receiving foreign dignitaries and writing more than two dozen
sharply-worded editorials. He has appeared weak and frail in several
recorded television segments, although his supporters, most notably
Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, have insisted for months that he is
improving.

Raul Castro, who made a low-key entrance on Thursday while the audience
was distracted by a dance troupe, acknowledged that "these have truly
been very difficult months".

But, he said, there has been "a diametrically different impact to that
expected by our enemies, who were wishing for chaos to entrench and for
Cuban socialism to collapse". The crowd formed a sea of red as
participants streamed away from the event in Camaguey's Plaza de la
Revolucion Agramonte, many chanting "Viva Fidel".

"It would have been great to see him today," Angel Morel (56), a
Camaguey dairy manager, said after the speech. "But the commander in
chief is sick, and he needs time to recover."

Although people here seem to have accepted Raul Castro's legitimacy, his
brother's absence has been unsettling to Cubans, who had grown
accustomed to his four-hour speeches and impromptu neighbourhood visits.

It is almost certain that Fidel Castro continues to wield great
influence, but it is equally clear that Cubans are preparing themselves
emotionally for life without him. In some respects, this past year has
unspooled like a dry run for the post-Fidel Castro era and for his
certain evolution into a historic symbol, à la Ernesto "Che" Guevara,
the revolutionary figure whose legend has grown dramatically in the
decades since his death.

"Che is more active now than he ever was," renowned Cuban poet Pablo
Armando Fernández said in an interview. "Fidel will always live in the
minds of Cubans. He is electric - like a messiah."

Fidel Castro is widely considered to have been an impediment to efforts
by his brother and other political figures to bring more businesses to
Cuba, where hundreds of miles of spectacular coastline are a developer's
dream.

Cuba's economy finally opened in the 1990s, after the economic crisis
provoked by the collapse of the Soviet Union, which had heavily
subsidised the brothers' regime. Faced with a starving populace that was
grilling banana peels and eating house cats to survive, Fidel Castro
relented, allowing tourism businesses, which are administered by
generals under Raul Castro's command.

The Spanish hotel giant Sol Melia built beach resorts and Havana hotels,
while other European and Canadian firms also established footholds.

Top-line Havana hotel rooms now go for $250 a night or more in a city
where workers are paid about $30 a month. US companies are prohibited
from doing business in Cuba because of a four-decade-long embargo.

Foreign investment plateaued as Cuba's economy improved early this
century. Raul Castro, friends say, was unable to persuade his brother to
further open the economy.

But Thursday's remarks could signal that Raul Castro has consolidated
power enough to continue advancing his agenda. When it came time to say
goodbye, Raul Castro, a plodding speaker with none of his brother's
rhetorical flourishes, returned to Cuba's one sure applause line: "Long
live the revolution! Long live Fidel!" - (LA Times- Washington Post
service )

© 2007 The Irish Times