News from Cuba
There is an interesting article in Catholic Online today written by Manny Hildalgo, who is executive director of the Latino Economic Development Corporation in Washington, D.C.
Mr Hidalgo has just returned from Cuba - where his parents were born – and he is not terribly optimistic about rapid change on the island.
Describing the situation as “disheartening”, he reports that with some outstanding exceptions, most of the Cubans he talked to appear to have no faith in the future. And their only ambition is to leave. As soon as possible.
“Every single person I spoke to has all but given up on the country and does not think that Fidel Castro's departure would have much of an impact on the repressive machinery and bureaucratic nightmare that has become the norm in Cuba,” Mr Hidalgo concludes.
I hope he is wrong.
Mr Hidalgo has just returned from Cuba - where his parents were born – and he is not terribly optimistic about rapid change on the island.
Describing the situation as “disheartening”, he reports that with some outstanding exceptions, most of the Cubans he talked to appear to have no faith in the future. And their only ambition is to leave. As soon as possible.
“Every single person I spoke to has all but given up on the country and does not think that Fidel Castro's departure would have much of an impact on the repressive machinery and bureaucratic nightmare that has become the norm in Cuba,” Mr Hidalgo concludes.
I hope he is wrong.
posted by Luis M Garcia at 9:28 am
3 Comments:
Ugh, Manny Hidalgo was a classmate of mine from Belen in Miami. He went away to college and completely rejected everything his family stood for (his uncle, Xavier Suarez, was the mayor of Miami in the late 80s). He and I had many debates via email about the embargo and what US policy should be. Then he decided to drop out of the alumni mailing list. I guess he got tired of having to defend himself. He's a good guy but I think he's equivocado on many counts. But he's right about the people of Cuba not having any aspirations except to leave the country. I think that can change if a dynamic leader comes to the fore. When fidel is finally dead, I think whoever follows is going to want to have better relations with the US. When that happens the US will want the political prisoners to be released as a negotiating point. That's when I think things will break open. Imagine the political prisoners all hitting the streets at the same time. There will be anti-government protests, etc. That's when I think there's a chance the apathetic public could be energized.
Henry,
It's a small world, isn't it?
Yes it is, yes it is.
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