Canada's Progressive Blog
 
Join The Earth Charter Initiative!
Featured Advertisers
 
Reserve, Place Your Ad Here!

George Bush seeks to spread capitalism and not democracy in Cuba

by Jose Rodriguez

  Fidel Castro
 

Fidel Castro.

Various media organizations have reported that U.S. President George Bush administration, is looking forward to a "post-Fidel Castro era" so that the United States can "assist" Cuba toward "democracy". However, it is apparent that the U.S. President George Bush administration does not seek democracy in Cuba, or anywhere else in the world, including the United States itself. Indeed, America does not function as a democracy, in which the American people control the direction of the society.

In America, the direction of that society is currently controlled by a commercially wealthy clique which operates a political-military-industrial complex. In the last two U.S. Presidential elections, many Americans have questioned the legitimacy of elections in which ballots were not counted, and were susceptible to electronic manipulation, when millions of anti-Bush African Americans, and other communities, were reportedly intimidated from voting. In the United States, U.S. President Bush is also destroying the U.S. Constitution under the pretext of a seemingly made-in-Hollywood "War on Terrorism", under the direction of a political-military-industrial complex. The typical American also experiences growing exploitation, and oppression, in a societal milieu of worsening economic disparity, in a Bush-led neo-McCarthyistic context which is undermining basic 'free speech'. The U.S. President Bush has created a path of societal disintegration. from his foreign policies in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Lebanon, to his ignoring of genocide in Sudan, and to his very reactionary and negligent domestic policies.

Mr. Bush seeks a Bastista-like "puppet government" in Cuba

George W. Bush

Mr. Bush seeks to establish in a post-Fidel Castro era, a "puppet government" controlled not by Cubans, but instead, a clique of U.S. neo-conservative corporate elites, similar to Iraq and Afghanistan.

It is apparent that Bush-led neo-conservatives seek to re-establish a Fulgencio Bastista-like puppet government in Cuba, which will serve not democracy, but instead fascistic U.S. Big Business interests. Indeed, in a similar spirit to allegations by many Americans against Mr. Bush's regime, Batista had abandoned the Cuban constitution by allowing only staged elections in which his victory would be guaranteed.

Batista's government was on good terms with the United States. This meant that large American corporations were allowed to grow rich off Cuba's resources, while the people of Cuba remained very poor. Batista offered neither health care nor education to his country's people. The bulk of the people lived in great poverty while a corrupt Batista and his friends, including a U.S. based mafia lived wealthy lifestyles. Many Cubans resented this foreign control over their country. It created a context for poverty and mass social political disenfranchisement, which is reminiscent of the current state of Iraq.

The Cuban Revolution

  Cuban protest
 

Cubans carry a national flag with the image of late revolutionary hero Ernesto "Che" Guevara during a protest march past the U.S. diplomatic mission in Havana January 24, 2006. Several hundred thousand marchers waved little red, white and blue Cuban flags. They chanted "Bush: fascist! Condemn the terrorist!".

The Fidel Castro led Cuban Revolution in the late 1950's was a reaction to the social injustices of capitalism which had been supported by the United States. Such anti-democratic social injustices continue to be supported by the U.S. Bush administration's domestic and foreign policy agendas. America's elites pursuit of commercial profit and venal power, at the expense of the Cuban people did not go unnoticed, and hatred towards Batista and the then prevailing situation, united Cubans with the rebel group that was led by Fidel Castro.

If the United States had supported the substantive operation of a democracy for Cuba, where its people were joint owners of their society (in which all members of the society enjoyed basic human rights associated with access to food, clothing, shelter, housing, healthcare, education, and opportunities for Human Development), there would have arguably not been a revolution in Cuba. However, Mr. Bush does not now seek such a democracy in Cuba. What he seeks is the kind of so-called "democracy" like that which he has been responsible for establishing in Iraq, in association with a U.S. "puppet government", under continuous U.S. military occupation, in a state a chaos and violence. Mr. Bush's regime thus seeks a Cuba, in which U.S. corporations linked to the U.S. political-military-industrial complex, can steal resources like they now seek to do in Iraq, in order to enable the commercial prosperity of elites.

The context of the U.S.-led Embargo against Cuba

Cuba map
Click to Enlarge

The U.S. led Embargo against Cuba, has been an attempt by elites associated with a capitalistic political-military-industrial complex to undermine the ability to Castro's "socialist" experiment to flourish in contradistinction to the experience of the growing economic disparity, and poverty in the United States. Such an successful socialist experiment after all, might further inspire Americans to seek to experiment with "socialist" innovations, like public healthcare, and other such "socialist" innovations. U.S. opposition to Cuba has nothing to do with any claims of human rights violations in Cuba. Indeed, the U.S. has had a long history of abusing basic human rights, which has only worsened under the pretext of a contrived "War on Terrorism". The numerous violations of human rights by U.S. military and other related political activity internationally, and the continued marginalization and oppression of U.S. citizens in their own country, shows that the U.S. governments have executed much more of a systematized lack of respect for human rights, than any claim that could be made against Mr. Castro. Indeed, U.S. negligence continues to be criticized both for genocide in Africa, and other parts of the world, and ecocides which now threaten the whole human species on Planet Earth -- in areas which include Global Warming. These executions are among other much worse violations of international law, than that which could ever be compiled against Mr. Castro.

Personal experiences

A responsible traveller has commented that, I have gone to Cuba 4 different times under licensed travel. My experiences completely flew in the face of what I expected from what I now know as U.S. propaganda. The results of the revolution are powerful and wonderful. Cuba is a place where you can experience a society without the racism that still plagues much of American society. The population is literate, nearly 100% -- much higher than in the United States. Education is free -- tuition, books, and a stipend -- for all levels, including medical school, law school, art school, whatever. Even adults who want to change careers re-enter the university mid-life, free. I experienced freedom of religion -- Mr. Castro has shown an openness to societal innovations, as long as they are not against the values of social justice that are the heart of the Cuban Revolution.

Cuba is, ONLY a threat to the U.S. way of doing business in the world -- the threat of "a good idea", said one international scholar.

Acquire from Agora
Capitalism is Not Democracy

Want to READ MORE about this area?

Acquire Now!

Cuba IS a model socially progressive "ownership society"-- everyone has a home, there are no homeless. They pay the government 10% of their income toward ownership. Of course, there is economic poverty, the result, they believe, of America's 40+ years of blockade and economic warfare. The U.S. Government has refused to let the Cuban government pay reparation for the land they nationalized -- yet all other nations have done so, and now have business partnerships on the island. The bottom line -- that Cuba has the lowest infant mortality rate and the highest literacy rate in the Western Hemisphere -- speaks well for Mr. Castro's leadership.

When the U.S. stops trying to undermine foreign political systems including Cuba's in favour of objectives of greed-driven Big Business interests; and also stops sending millions of dollars to fund mercenaries on the island to work against the Cuban Revolution, then Cubans will be able to have greater political freedoms. Cubans, now enjoy a human rights context of democratic social justice (education, jobs, food, shelter, health care) -- now they wait for greater political rights, when the U.S. begins to respect Cuban sovereignty.


Become a Member
Post your Comment on our Blog
Reserve Your Ad Here
We offer book self-publishing services
    Copyright © 2007 The Canadian. All rights reserved.