Anniversaries 1
Although the actual anniversary is still a couple of weeks away, media outlets from Paris to Madrid have already kicked off their “special coverage” to mark the Castro regime’s 50th birthday.
And yes, the coverage so far of the longest running “revolution” in modern history - half a century! - has been ... mixed.
As our friends over at Penultimos Dias pointed out some days ago, the BBC was first off the blocks, with an extensive section on its Spanish-language site under the headline, "Fifty years of struggle".
Incorporating photographs, videos and the inevitable video interviews, the site is quite an effort , as you would expect from the venerable British broadcaster.
But it seems that in their aim to be seen as fair and balanced, the BBC editors have in fact, compromised big time.
And so, while they are happy to use the Spanish term “triunfos” in headlines describing the “achievements” of the regime, they pointedly refrain from using the equally valid Spanish term “fracasos” to describe the all-too-obvious “failures”. Instead, they opt for the term “deudas”.
On the other hand, there are no compromises in this excellent article by Leonard Doyle in The Independent, detailing how those lovable Castro brothers deal with anyone who has the temerity to question the official “triunfos”.
But up to now, the most accurate summary of the past 50 years has come from Andres Oppenheimer, the high profile Miami Herald columnist (H/T to our pals at Babalu).
Mr Oppenheimer concludes that 50 years after Castro took power, the big question is not so much whether the upheaval of 1959 was justified, but whether it was worth it.
“A dispassionate look into Cuba today shows that, while the country has reduced the pockets of extreme misery that existed during the Fulgencio Batista dictatorship, a majority of Cubans are poorer and have fewer opportunities to improve their lives than they did five decades ago,” the columnist concludes.
Sadly, he is right.
And yes, the coverage so far of the longest running “revolution” in modern history - half a century! - has been ... mixed.
As our friends over at Penultimos Dias pointed out some days ago, the BBC was first off the blocks, with an extensive section on its Spanish-language site under the headline, "Fifty years of struggle".
Incorporating photographs, videos and the inevitable video interviews, the site is quite an effort , as you would expect from the venerable British broadcaster.
But it seems that in their aim to be seen as fair and balanced, the BBC editors have in fact, compromised big time.
And so, while they are happy to use the Spanish term “triunfos” in headlines describing the “achievements” of the regime, they pointedly refrain from using the equally valid Spanish term “fracasos” to describe the all-too-obvious “failures”. Instead, they opt for the term “deudas”.
On the other hand, there are no compromises in this excellent article by Leonard Doyle in The Independent, detailing how those lovable Castro brothers deal with anyone who has the temerity to question the official “triunfos”.
But up to now, the most accurate summary of the past 50 years has come from Andres Oppenheimer, the high profile Miami Herald columnist (H/T to our pals at Babalu).
Mr Oppenheimer concludes that 50 years after Castro took power, the big question is not so much whether the upheaval of 1959 was justified, but whether it was worth it.
“A dispassionate look into Cuba today shows that, while the country has reduced the pockets of extreme misery that existed during the Fulgencio Batista dictatorship, a majority of Cubans are poorer and have fewer opportunities to improve their lives than they did five decades ago,” the columnist concludes.
Sadly, he is right.
posted by Luis M Garcia at 11:29 am
1 Comments:
Thank you for your excellent commentaries on Cuba.
Please join me, Carlos Serpa Maceira, a banned independent Cuban journalist, in drawing attention to the human rights abuses of Cuba's modern mafia - the communist government of Raul Castro. LGBT rights are routinely trampled on in Cuba. An an independent journalist who draws attention to Los Damas de Blanco I was recently set upon and badly beaten by government stooges in downtown Havana. But many others are in a worse state, rotting in Raul Castros jails for daring to speak their minds.
Please visit my Facebook page Cuba Libre (the reality)
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cuba-Libre-the-reality/71245331744
That way you will understand the meaning of "scientific repression" as the blogger Yoani Sanchez artfully describes the actions of the Cuban government.
This is not an argument about capitalism or socialism, its about human rights and the above all the right to freedom of expression.
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