Grupo de trabajo
One thing I like is traveling.....
The powerful invention of Enrico (or Antonio) Meucci -Graham Bell stole it- has evolved so much that his inventor would be amazed to no end if he had the chance to play with an iPhone. One of those wonderful things is the access to the Evil Internets, and particularly text messaging and e-mailing.
Through those features I got a very suscint message from Cuba:
"no quiere hablar, ni caminar, ni recibir visitas"
(he doesn't want to talk, walk, nor receive visitors)
Obviously, my source was refering to the undead figure that still hovers like a curse over Cuba.
A few minutes passed.
Another text arrived:
"el grupo de trabajo esta haciendo contactos afuera"
And still another one:
"fueron a USA y a Espanna" (sic)
(the (fidel castro's) working group (it's his personal team of collaborators) is making contacts abroad)
(they went to USA and Spain)
I tend to think that they are not Castro's personal team anymore, that they are operating in a limbo mode under the direction of his son Fidelito or his brother Raul.
Time will tell.
The powerful invention of Enrico (or Antonio) Meucci -Graham Bell stole it- has evolved so much that his inventor would be amazed to no end if he had the chance to play with an iPhone. One of those wonderful things is the access to the Evil Internets, and particularly text messaging and e-mailing.
Through those features I got a very suscint message from Cuba:
"no quiere hablar, ni caminar, ni recibir visitas"
(he doesn't want to talk, walk, nor receive visitors)
Obviously, my source was refering to the undead figure that still hovers like a curse over Cuba.
A few minutes passed.
Another text arrived:
"el grupo de trabajo esta haciendo contactos afuera"
And still another one:
"fueron a USA y a Espanna" (sic)
(the (fidel castro's) working group (it's his personal team of collaborators) is making contacts abroad)
(they went to USA and Spain)
I tend to think that they are not Castro's personal team anymore, that they are operating in a limbo mode under the direction of his son Fidelito or his brother Raul.
Time will tell.
24 Comments:
Could there actually be different groups seeking help from different sources and not all working together?
What I am asking is, could it be possible that these groups reaching out may be doing so on their own without consulting each other?
Is there a real possiblity of fractures within the government elite, and that there may be separate groups seeking asylum or help from these foreign governments to either take them in or help them control the country once fidel dies in exchange for exclusive investment rights or something like that?
Lori, I wrote you another comment that somehow got lost.... Please read my comments to the Obamarama Boy, some of the answers are there.
I wouldn't be that optimistic. They are going according to the model of communist succession (soviet style) as established by the First Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba. Raul Castro was designated as successor back then, with a group of people as his personal team to take over.
I think that they are looking for international recognition, especially from the USA, while they offer what the USA wants: stability.
It is not Cuban freedom, it's just not upheaveal, no civil war, no chaos, no exodus, and more important, no economic boom overnight, so the economies of the Caribbean states, Mexico, South Florida, New Orleans and Las Vegas don't tank and a flood of immigrants is unleashed on the States.... all of that plus the formidable competition that a free Cuba represents, for which nobody is prepared.
So, no free Cuba, that's the guarantee they seek, and that's the guarantee that such a group is offering on behalf of the Release 2.0 of the tyranny.
There might be some asylum seekers, not because the goverment has become disfunctional or have lost any control. Those asylum seekers if there are any, would mainly be people who fear becoming victims of commie purges.
Let's see if this time around this doesn't disappear!
Seems the undead has lost the will to live, he is apathetic, too damn sick to walk and eat, unbelievably he's still alive! you answered the question I was about to ask to Lori, so you don't think the contacts are looking for a way out, just a way to keep up the repression, sad indeed
Charlie Bravo,
Thanks, so any rumors coming out of there saying that Alarcon's people and Raul's people are at odds with one another, should be dismissed, or are they real but not big enough odds to cause internal governmental struggles?
Lori,
Raul seems to be in total control. Alarcon is not dumb, he will ply to whatever Raul desires in order to keep his privileged position, or else.
They all know that Raul is ruthless, and that oposition to him is not an option when you have a lot to lose, so most of the government officials will certainly be very cautious, and nobody is going to risk anything. If they are in fear, they will abandon the boat and seek asylum abroad.
Which will be very profitable to them, because they will be able to sell a lot of information to other governments, or exchange the information for protection at least.
And here I was hoping that there were real internal problems. So much has been said about the unrest between the MININT & AFAR, to me, that would have lead to the eventual meltdown of the system. Not overnight mind you, but in the course of a couple of years after the death of the placenta.
Oh well, so much for wishful thinking... :-(
Thanks, Charlie Bravo
Lori,
There are no differences between the MINFAR and MININT in what regards to the top brass -which is the only difference that might count- as Raul substituted the whole top echelon of command of the MININT with MINFAR people after the Causa 1 and Causa 2 (kangaroo) trials of 1989. So, those generals are all raulistas for life. Both groups control the economy of the country, and loyalties are well defined: they are loyal to fidel and raul. Those are the only two loyalties, and they are one and the same.
There's a myth out there, and people like to believe it, that the MINFAR troops are on the side of the people and the MININT troops and the police are not, and that people hope for some infighting. There's a main difference, the MINFAR troops have a lot of draftees, while the MININT are selected from people who are generally speaking more "devoted" to the ideology of the regime. People forget that there are many convinced communists in both institutes, and that in more than one ocassion the MINFAR has repressed and killed people: the remolcador 13 de Marzo was sunk by the Navy (MINFAR) and the Guardafronteras (MININT) in a joint operation. The flyboys from Brothers to the Rescue were downed by the Cuban Airforce (DAAFAR) which is part of the MINFAR.
Sorry if these are disappointing news, but we better be realistic.
Charlie:
Meucci, as you now, premiered his phone in Havana. Cuba is the birthplace of the telephone.
CB,
Thanks for your explanation.
Yes, in the Gran Teatro de la Havana.
Then he was stripped of his invention, and denied of his hard earned glory.
My contacts have sent me similar messages. This is quite amusing if you put yourself inside a Cuban’s skin.
Apparently Raul is making a lot of decisions that are being met with great hostility from members of the apparatik. Second log time dissident let free in as many weeks? Hmmm… Clearly Raul is TRYING DESPERATELY to get on the good graces of the people. Now you’d THINK that the people would be grateful but as anything in Kuba “le ha salido el tiro por la culata” The people are quite aware of what it is Raul is doing, and do not trust him a bit. This could actually be a national case of the Stockholm syndrome, where the people STILL feel more comfortable with the evil BEAST than with his hypocrite brother. The deal is that everyone is just looking a Raul’s actions with extreme suspicion. About his desire for more “open” communication, the response is “yeah and when we do we will wind up in jail”. So at this point La China can not win on partial and selective loosening which puts his China Model plan in deep jeopardy since that model depends profoundly on the ability of the government to control exactly how much the people get and have the people DELIGHTED to get what they get!
Also believe it or not, a lot of people still carry some FIDELISTA streak in them. It used to fucking amaze me when I would hear someone blasting the regime just to cap it off with a
“If Fidel knew about this it wouldn’t be happening”
Yeah you DO feel like shooting those people right on the moroco ( and some are relatives of mine) but they are there. They think the government is just SHIT but give KaSStro the benefit of the doubt. How is Raul going to fight THAT? Unless he has a COMPLETE OPENING! THAT would be the ONLY way that the deconstruction of the KaSStro myth will become complete and right now La China doesn’t have the ovaries to pull that trick.
So yeah, the most likely scenario is that the Junta has become unglued and two (or more) packs of vermin are preparing their own strategies. One DEFINITELY still FIDELISTA to the core.
The GOOD part of this is that Raul still holds MOST of the power and that if he REALLY wants to get the Cuban people on his side he will have to do a LOT more than give them A/C buses. Nothing worse that having the citicenz of a country look at everything you do and wonder what the fuck kindda mallet you’re ready to hit them with after he gives ya the chocolate cookies.
So Radio Bemba is working at full throttle and most of what it says is “keep an eye on Raul, he IS gonna fuck us”
Lori:
In a hyena pack there aren’t any fast rules so , do not give hope . All it takes is one of the top HIJOS DE PUTA to decide he IS the man and the shit could hit the fan. You have to be more concerned about the USA unwillingness to have a FREE Cuba without their (at least partial) control of the situation, the economic agendas and the regime of succession and right now the status quo is just peachy for the USA.
By the same token the coffers in KaSStroland are at the brim so the Kuban government REALLY needs very little from the USA as far as any future plans are concerned.
Do NOT be too surprised that if MASSIVE openings are effected it will be the USA who will clamp down on the festivities.
We have explained this to saciety, KillCastro, but apparently our job is to explain it a bit more. As long as they offer the USA what the USA wants, they will stay in power: "stability", no mass exodus, and a country that doesn't allow flash-bang competition to the economic interests of the USA. Oh, Cuba ain't free? Well..... -they say- sorry! We don't need a mass migration of Caribbean blacks or Mexicans to our shores!
Guys, thanks again. Its just such a F*%D UP situation it hurts. I try not to loose hope, but I don't see an out.
I do believe change has no other alternative than to come from within Cuba, as the US has Cubans' hands tied on this side of the ocean. I just wish that the seed of discontent within Cuba, would grow or spread more rapidly.
There's a wildfire of discontent in the island, Lori. That much exists, at least.
CB,
I wish that wildfire of discontent would become a wildfire of action.
Action?
Do you realize that we are blocking money, help, assistance, ways out, contacts with the exterior world, and much more? Just because a sector of us insist in not sending remittances, in keeping the dry foot wet foot on, and on prohibiting travels....
They are starving, they have three daily struggles in Cuba, they are called breakfast, lunch, and dinner. How on Earth can somebody revolt with an empty stomach or with their children on an empty stomach?
How can a hungry and debilitated man, weighted down by the worries of feeding a family, can revolt against a repressive apparatus which is fully armored and armed?
Some of us insist in the pressure cooker approach. It hasn't work anywhere.
Would Cubans be willing to put the dead body just because others scream to them to do it? I don't think so. That's not the result of cowardice, that's called instinct of conservation and survival. We should ask the people who are constantly asking for the Cuban people to revolt if they are willing to leave their cushioned lives behind and go there and start that revolution they much want.
Please go to the Black Sheep of Exile and read my interview with Gorki (El Inxilio de Gorki)
The government of Cuba keeps control on the population through the socialization of mysery.
also, if i may, in order for there to be an uprising, it would have to be spontaneuous because when you get 5 guys plotting, the sixth is going to be a chivato. than there's the pragmatism that Cubans in Cuba have learned. like my cousin. he has lived with Castro ALL his life, just waiting for Castro to go away. can you blame him because he doesn't want to sacrifice his life just when his bigest dream is about to come true?
Exactly like that Gusano, the only dead body of any use is Kasstro's (and hell, yes, that of raul too!)
Charlie Bravo,
You're preaching to the choire here. I know too damned well what life in Cuba is like. I have nothing against anyone sending money to their families or directly to dissidents. I have nothing against medicine being sent. I myself have had to finance more than one medical operation, and right now I have to make sure that adult diapers, insulin and vitamins reach a group of elderly family members I've got over there, on a monthly basis.
Now would it be rediculous or crazy to try and unite the "exilio" in order to lobby Congress to pass a "Let My People Fight" bill? Something to take off the binding of our hands.
I know plenty of people in the 25-35 age range who would step up if they were only given the chance to do so. There are also plenty of wealthy people who would finance the whole thing, again, if it were legal to do so.
Sending money and visiting is not enough, proof of that is that we were doing it unchecked, since 1978 until recently and that regime is still there. We need something to compliment that, because that alone won't do it.
A LOT of people comment (or ask) why KillCastro and BSoE broke ranks with so many known bloggers who claimed (or were given) a great deal of credibility as far as Cuban issues were concerned. But, to speak about Cuba without experiencing Cuba within the grip of KaSStrism is like doing brain surgery while reading “Brain surgery for Dummies”
You know this may not be a bad title “The Cuban reality for Dummies”
ALL of the “why don’t they revolt” proponents, EVERY GOD DAMN ONE OF THEM, have not experienced Cuba at all in at least 30 years.
Now, when you present the facts, as you know them because YOU have decided to go and SEE why they do not revolt, you are called a ñangara. And THESE are the facts!
1) KaSStro rid all Cubans of any weapons within the first 6 months of taking power.. Just THAT should be enough for the “why do they not revolt” crowd to shut the fuck up
2) Try to get 10 Cubans in a room without a CDR banging at your door.
3) Try to inform anyone of any kind of gathering when you do not have even the paper to print the announcement.
Yeah “why do they NOT revolt?”
Now, take away the miserable pennies they were being given so they could buy in the black-market some paper, ink, some printers, a PC..
Yeah “why do they NOT revolt”?
Now, revolt when you’re daily life is mostly devoted to a grueling job of 10 hours, when even the office jobs do not have A/C and where getting to your job is in itself a job. AND that job is 6 days a week.
Yeah “why do they NOT revolt”?
So what we have here, are totally uninformed people who think in terms of an uprising as it COULD happen in a democratic capitalist country. STUPIDITY to the umpteenth degree!.
As a matter of fact I have a Russian co-worker who is appalled when I tell her the conditions the Cuban people live their lives. In her words
“Shit at least we HAD food in the markets, lousy food but we had food !”
Now, spend the one day off you may have trying to score some platanos , or malanga or papas , so you can feed your kids the following week , all while looking over your shoulder for that ever present CHIVATO.
“Yeah why do they NOT revolt”?
And that is the disconnect , that is the chasm that will never be bridged because Cubans living in the USA have lived so totally different experiences and the so called “historic exile” has not a fucking clue as to what it is to spend an hour in Cuba.
Is this done because they REALLY feel they do not want to support the BEAST or is this done because they are afraid to confront the reality and have to drop their little “why do they NOT revolt” chant
The reality check of visiting Cuba in the last 15 years would turn anyone with an ounce of common sense around and make them admit that the USA policies against the KaSStros serve only to strengthen their grip. Some AMERICAN/cubans do NOT want THAT reality check; they would have to admit to the world they have been pushing total bullshit as far as getting rid of communism in the island is concerned. Shit, at this point they have enough dealing with the dethroning of the Eschefans as the Cuban deities. And just as THAT infatuation, and undeserved idolatry for the professionals Cubans bit them right in the ass, visiting Cuba would turn their world upside down and they would have to admit that WE are holding back Cubans from revolting.
“Why do they NOT revolt?” would no longer be a valid finger pointing accusation, but a disgraceful stain in their so called PUNDIT arsenal.
Yeah sending money and visiting may NOT be enough but it sure is a hell of a lot better than the options we have been given!
Lori, we are NOT preaching to the choir. We are presenting the reality from the perspective and slant of a Cuba who gets beat up, "chivateado", and beat up again.... we both lived that. We both did our best in Cuba, KillCastro as a very young man, and myself a bit further, and we both bear the marks of it for life.
Let's say that we both have (in the same places, so freaking scary) the marks that commiedom left on our skins.
We are not preaching to the choir because there are many people reading this blog who work for the government, the media, the universities, and the armed forces and the intelligence.
We are just doing a job.
Do we want a thank you for it? Bet your life that we couldn't care less.... as long as what's happening in Cuba gets out, we are happy.
Have you met people who think they are lucky because the commies beat them up?
You met two in this blog.... and we are damn happy they beat us up. We learned a lesson, and we got even more radicalized!
Guys,
At no point, and please read what I've written, have I said or asked, why don't they revolt. I realize you're trying to get your point across to many people, but your aggressive answers had nothing to do with my question.
You two are not the first people I have met who got physically screwed by the Placenta and his puppets. The presence of those physically and mentally destroyed by the regime has been around me since I was born. That you dedicate so much time to get the word out, is admirable, if only everyone would speak about the horrors there wouldn't be so much ignorance.
I personally don't give a damn why you broke ranks with anybody, as last I checked you live in a free country and you can speak to and associate with whomever you damned well please, and don't have to explain it to anybody.
My question was not about Cubans in Cuba revolting or who you broke ranks with, and if that's what you understood, please re-read my question again. I referred to the exilio.
Acutally from this exchange I can see that the first part of my question is impossible.
Thank you for your time.
The answers are general, Lori, as much as the questions is. Good for you if you don't give a damn with whom we are associated or break ranks with. That talks volumes about your integrity and that's the way we like it.
I don't see any aggression in our answers, which by the way are directed to all the readers (commenters or not) and not only to you, all I see is clarification on an issue we deal with day by day.
The exilio has some so called leaders in both the congress and the Senate. They don't give a damn about a "Let us liberate our country bill". Last time I checked I found them doing NOTHING for the freedom of Cuba. Honestly, they are not even capable of taking down the dry foot wet foot which is killing Cubans everyday, so.... will they do something that would lead us to a Cuba libre and that will sweep away their cushy political careers? I doubt it.
Last time Cubans tried to liberate themselves (or the last two times) they were simply betrayed. The Bay of Pigs was treason by the book. The same with the Escambray, they were betrayed and abandoned.
There are Cubans fighting with the resources they have at hand inside the island and there's nary a mention of them by our egregious politicians and self appointed community leaders, who are all for the pressure cooker approach.
We have had political prisoners who spent more time in jail that Nelson Mandela. And next thing you know they die in semi-obscurity in a nursing home in Miami, without any political momentum around them.
I will tell you why: they were dangerous for those big wig politicos.... they would be under the spotlight, and their sole presence would render very evident who does the real work for the freedom of Cuba and who is a politico de cafe con leche y pan con lechon.
I hope your question was answered, in the manner we can, because.... it should be addressed to that bunch of useless politicos.
Aggressive.... well, that's the style of this blog.
Post a Comment
<< Home