As of February 24th Fidel Castro is no longer the president of Cuba. Can you hear the chants? “Cuba si, Castro no!” “Cuba si, Castro no!” He has stepped aside and let his younger brother Raul assume the title of “America’s largest thorn in the side of democracy”. While the United States hopes that Raul Castro paves the way for more liberal reforms, certain prominent figures like Felipe Perez Roque (a longtime confidant of Fidel Castro) feel that Raul is merely Fidel the 2nd. I, like many Cuban Americans, beg to differ.
In the interim period that Fidel the 2nd has held office there were signs of hope that this regime may be one of hope and reform for the Cuban people. Raul has sought the opinions of his countrymen on Cuba’s high unemployment and stagnant economy. He has acknowledged that the $19 a month government wages do not satisfy basic human needs for an individual, so one can only imagine families trying to survive on the same income. Fidel the 2nd himself has commented on Cuba’s inevitable transition from a communist country to an evolved form of socialism with the possibility of democracy on the horizon.
So how has the United States of America responded to hints of progress? The Bush administration has classified Raul Castro as “Fidel Lite” which means that the nearly five-decade U.S. embargo of Cuba will remain in place for now. I, like many Cuban Americans, dream of the day when trade with Cuba is not a dream but a reality. Trade will not only improve their economic well being but with favorable regulation may balance out the ridiculous trade deficits that we are currently experiencing in this country. The United States should be a catalyst for change, not an oppressor to the oppressed.