Monday, December 31, 2012
Australian to swim Cuba-US -(YAWN)
Click here for the article.
How many Cubans have died fleeing Cuba on rafts, inner tubes, and homemade contraptions?So WHO CARES about an Australian to swim from Cuba to U.S!
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Commie Speak 101 concerning mini-me Chavez
Click here for the story.
"Vice President Nicolas Maduro surprised Venezuelans with a Christmas Eve announcement that President Hugo Chavez is up and walking two weeks after cancer surgery in Cuba, but the news did little to ease uncertainty surrounding the leader's condition."
Here we go with the typical drama concerning the health of dictator chavez.....the commies, straight from their communist playbook(Play lefty 666) toil with the media and with the people of Venezuela. First, they have everyone believe that mini-me is on the brink of death.....and miraculously by the force of 21st century socialism, he is up and about. For weeks doubts swirled that mini-me would not be able to attend the inauguration on January 10th.....BUT from past history, these commies will come up a resurrection story and sure enough chavez will be at the podium babbling nonsense at his inauguration.........
straight from the commie playbook.....build up false hope, then break it down, build it up, break it down....How many times has that been done with regards to dictator castro's health in Cuba? People have become numb
Monday, December 24, 2012
decena d presos políticos sufrirán
decena d presos políticos sufrirán los rigores del infierno que son las cárceles castristas.
— jose daniel ferrer(@jdanielferrer) December 24, 2012
Saturday, December 22, 2012
"My father helped free the Bay of Pigs prisoners"
A touching letter to the Miami Herald:
This letter is about Miami’s Cuban history. Teaching younger generations about the impact of what occurred and what was sacrificed before their birth is critical. It will create respect for events and people who gave them the world they have today in America. They need to know.
My father is James B. Donovan. He was one man with many achievements. He was associate prosecutor at The Nuremberg Trials, responsible for the visual evidence. He made the Rudolf Abel-Francis Gary Powers exchange by traveling in the trunk of a car at night through Checkpoint Charlie in East Berlin. He was president of the Board of Education in New York City during the integration busing issues, he ran for the United States Senate and was president of Pratt Institute.
I will tell you that his singular trips into Cuba in 1962 to arrange the release of so many Bay of Pigs prisoners gave him such a remarkable sense of personal pride. The parents of these brave men called him and he worked with the hardworking Brigade Committee before he went into Cuba by himself to find a meeting ground with Fidel Castro to get the job done.
My father’s funeral in 1970 was filled with Jewish Holocaust survivors, Irish family, African-American good friends, and many well-dressed dignitaries.
Yet, as a bereft 20-year-old daughter, what I still remember is the solace I felt from the Cuban families and Brigade members. I always believed my father would agree that a most poignant part of this was when a young Cuban man, dressed in blue jeans with construction shirt and shoes, came through this distinguished gathering and asked me if he could pay his respects. He went up to the front, put down his lunch pail, bowed his head and said heartfelt prayers. This, I knew, would be what would touch my father most. He stood up, came back to me and said he knew he was now safe and had a future and would not feel right if he did not honor this gift.
So, almost 43 years later, I will come and honor the Brigade and their families. At 11 a.m. on Dec. 22, the Bay of Pigs Museum and Library will offer to Miami a 50th Anniversary Day. This celebration needs to be marked because the men and women I’ve known in this Cuban community are remarkable. They have experienced harrowing difficulties that need to be recognized and due to their old-world customs, they have strived to keep honor as the right path for all of us. If you are Cuban, bring your children, since this is the moment to teach them.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/20/3151286/bay-of-pigs-anniversary-day.html#storylink=cpy
This letter is about Miami’s Cuban history. Teaching younger generations about the impact of what occurred and what was sacrificed before their birth is critical. It will create respect for events and people who gave them the world they have today in America. They need to know.
My father is James B. Donovan. He was one man with many achievements. He was associate prosecutor at The Nuremberg Trials, responsible for the visual evidence. He made the Rudolf Abel-Francis Gary Powers exchange by traveling in the trunk of a car at night through Checkpoint Charlie in East Berlin. He was president of the Board of Education in New York City during the integration busing issues, he ran for the United States Senate and was president of Pratt Institute.
I will tell you that his singular trips into Cuba in 1962 to arrange the release of so many Bay of Pigs prisoners gave him such a remarkable sense of personal pride. The parents of these brave men called him and he worked with the hardworking Brigade Committee before he went into Cuba by himself to find a meeting ground with Fidel Castro to get the job done.
My father’s funeral in 1970 was filled with Jewish Holocaust survivors, Irish family, African-American good friends, and many well-dressed dignitaries.
Yet, as a bereft 20-year-old daughter, what I still remember is the solace I felt from the Cuban families and Brigade members. I always believed my father would agree that a most poignant part of this was when a young Cuban man, dressed in blue jeans with construction shirt and shoes, came through this distinguished gathering and asked me if he could pay his respects. He went up to the front, put down his lunch pail, bowed his head and said heartfelt prayers. This, I knew, would be what would touch my father most. He stood up, came back to me and said he knew he was now safe and had a future and would not feel right if he did not honor this gift.
So, almost 43 years later, I will come and honor the Brigade and their families. At 11 a.m. on Dec. 22, the Bay of Pigs Museum and Library will offer to Miami a 50th Anniversary Day. This celebration needs to be marked because the men and women I’ve known in this Cuban community are remarkable. They have experienced harrowing difficulties that need to be recognized and due to their old-world customs, they have strived to keep honor as the right path for all of us. If you are Cuban, bring your children, since this is the moment to teach them.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/20/3151286/bay-of-pigs-anniversary-day.html#storylink=cpy
"Tricky" Ricky Alarcon out as Cuba parliament chief
Click here for the story:
It looks like "tricky" Ricky is no longer the parliament chief of communist Cuba. Who knows ....he might will show up in Tampa some time soon???
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
"Cuban exiles share a bond and inspirational tale of overcoming adversity"
From the Miami Herald:
Fernandez, a leader in healthcare service companies who was presented with an honorary degree, spoke of failure and adversity as learning experiences — and shared many of his own.
“Failure and adversity are necessary steps in the road of success,” he said.
Then he introduced Jorge Alvart, a former Cuban political prisoner, who Fernandez recently befriended.
“The real lesson to be learned is this man came on a raft five years ago with nothing but the desire to work, but he didn’t take the easy way out,” Fernandez said.
Fernandez shared Alvart’s story, which began in Cuba, where his arms were amputated while in prison. He never gave up in achieving his dream of coming to America, where he started a business and brought over his wife and two children.
“He is the role model for anyone who thinks he’s had a bad day,” said Fernandez, 60.
The relationship between these two men was sparked last week when Fernandez was watching NBC6 news and saw a story on Alvart and the difficulties he was having selling Christmas trees at his orchid business.
“I was touched by the fact he had his life savings in this business and Christmas trees,” Fernandez said.
He was so moved that he went to Jorge’s orchid shop and met Alvart, answering Alvart’s prayers by offering to buy all the trees.
Fernandez presented Alvart with a check for all 600 of his Christmas trees on behalf of Simply Healthcare Plans, of which he is chairman of the board. He told him that they would be donated to needy families in Miami-Dade.
“This Christmas is the best I have ever experienced,” Alvart, 43, said in Spanish during an interview last week. “He didn’t just help me but he helped 600 other people.”
Alvart was so happy that the trees would be donated and that he had been saved from economic ruin that he insisted on being present as the trees were distributed.
He blamed his struggle to sell the trees, in which he had invested $30,000, on road construction in front of his orchid shop at 2032 SW 57th Ave.
“Anyone who says that this country doesn’t provide opportunities for those who want them can just look to him,” Fernandez said.
Buying Christmas trees was not the only way Fernandez brought hope to Alvart and his family. When Fernandez learned that Alvart was suffering from the final stages of cirrhosis of the liver as a result of hepatitis B contracted while in a Cuban prison, he contacted Jackson Memorial Hospital CEO Carlos Migoya to see about getting Alvart evaluated to be placed on the liver transplant list.
“What he is going to do for me, no one does today,” Alvart said.
“We will step in and take care of the bills,” Fernandez said, in anticipation of insurance denying coverage for the procedure.
While their journeys differed, both men are Cuban exiles who endured adversity to leave their homeland in pursuit of life in the United States.
The Fernandez family sought exit visas following the failed 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion.
While they were granted the visas, the two years between that and their departure saw Fernandez kicked out of school and his father fired from his job.
In Saturday’s speech, Fernandez said Alvart, “never let adversity beat him.”
Alvart was imprisoned in Cuba for the first time at the age of 14, after he was caught in anti-government acts such as burning down sugar cane fields. He was released two years later but imprisoned again within six months when he was caught trying to illegally flee the island on a raft.
While in prison, he says he was tortured several times.
In a planned attempt to escape, Alvart injected gasoline into his fingers so that he would be taken to the clinic. The plan backfired when he was denied medical attention and gangrene set in on both arms, which were then amputated.
He was released from prison after serving four years but was jailed again after trying to take his story to the U.S. Interests Section in Havana. He spent two more years in jail before being released.
However, that did not stop his dream of coming to the United States.
After his third release from jail, Alvart tried five other unsuccessful attempts to flee.
He succeeded on his seventh attempt five years ago. By then, he had a wife and two children, who joined him in Miami three years ago.
While in prison, his dream to come to the United States inspired him to tattoo an American flag on his back, and on his chest theseSpanish words: “ A noventa millas soy feliz” (I’m happy 90 miles away).
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/15/3143847/cuban-exiles-share-a-bond-and.html#storylink=cpy
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/15/3143847/cuban-exiles-share-a-bond-and.html#storylink=cpy
BY JESSICA DE LEON
jdeleon@MiamiHerald.com
Graduates at St. Thomas University may have expected just the average commencement speech from keynote speaker Miguel “Mike” Fernandez at Saturday’s ceremony.
Instead, they got inspiration as they witnessed the relationship between two men who fought adversity and circumstance to make a better life for themselves.Fernandez, a leader in healthcare service companies who was presented with an honorary degree, spoke of failure and adversity as learning experiences — and shared many of his own.
“Failure and adversity are necessary steps in the road of success,” he said.
Then he introduced Jorge Alvart, a former Cuban political prisoner, who Fernandez recently befriended.
“The real lesson to be learned is this man came on a raft five years ago with nothing but the desire to work, but he didn’t take the easy way out,” Fernandez said.
Fernandez shared Alvart’s story, which began in Cuba, where his arms were amputated while in prison. He never gave up in achieving his dream of coming to America, where he started a business and brought over his wife and two children.
“He is the role model for anyone who thinks he’s had a bad day,” said Fernandez, 60.
The relationship between these two men was sparked last week when Fernandez was watching NBC6 news and saw a story on Alvart and the difficulties he was having selling Christmas trees at his orchid business.
“I was touched by the fact he had his life savings in this business and Christmas trees,” Fernandez said.
He was so moved that he went to Jorge’s orchid shop and met Alvart, answering Alvart’s prayers by offering to buy all the trees.
Fernandez presented Alvart with a check for all 600 of his Christmas trees on behalf of Simply Healthcare Plans, of which he is chairman of the board. He told him that they would be donated to needy families in Miami-Dade.
“This Christmas is the best I have ever experienced,” Alvart, 43, said in Spanish during an interview last week. “He didn’t just help me but he helped 600 other people.”
Alvart was so happy that the trees would be donated and that he had been saved from economic ruin that he insisted on being present as the trees were distributed.
He blamed his struggle to sell the trees, in which he had invested $30,000, on road construction in front of his orchid shop at 2032 SW 57th Ave.
“Anyone who says that this country doesn’t provide opportunities for those who want them can just look to him,” Fernandez said.
Buying Christmas trees was not the only way Fernandez brought hope to Alvart and his family. When Fernandez learned that Alvart was suffering from the final stages of cirrhosis of the liver as a result of hepatitis B contracted while in a Cuban prison, he contacted Jackson Memorial Hospital CEO Carlos Migoya to see about getting Alvart evaluated to be placed on the liver transplant list.
“What he is going to do for me, no one does today,” Alvart said.
“We will step in and take care of the bills,” Fernandez said, in anticipation of insurance denying coverage for the procedure.
While their journeys differed, both men are Cuban exiles who endured adversity to leave their homeland in pursuit of life in the United States.
The Fernandez family sought exit visas following the failed 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion.
While they were granted the visas, the two years between that and their departure saw Fernandez kicked out of school and his father fired from his job.
In Saturday’s speech, Fernandez said Alvart, “never let adversity beat him.”
Alvart was imprisoned in Cuba for the first time at the age of 14, after he was caught in anti-government acts such as burning down sugar cane fields. He was released two years later but imprisoned again within six months when he was caught trying to illegally flee the island on a raft.
While in prison, he says he was tortured several times.
In a planned attempt to escape, Alvart injected gasoline into his fingers so that he would be taken to the clinic. The plan backfired when he was denied medical attention and gangrene set in on both arms, which were then amputated.
He was released from prison after serving four years but was jailed again after trying to take his story to the U.S. Interests Section in Havana. He spent two more years in jail before being released.
However, that did not stop his dream of coming to the United States.
After his third release from jail, Alvart tried five other unsuccessful attempts to flee.
He succeeded on his seventh attempt five years ago. By then, he had a wife and two children, who joined him in Miami three years ago.
While in prison, his dream to come to the United States inspired him to tattoo an American flag on his back, and on his chest theseSpanish words: “ A noventa millas soy feliz” (I’m happy 90 miles away).
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/15/3143847/cuban-exiles-share-a-bond-and.html#storylink=cpy
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/15/3143847/cuban-exiles-share-a-bond-and.html#storylink=cpy
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
"Sean Penn Attends Vigil for Hugo Chavez in Bolivia"
Sean Penn attended a vigil for hugo "mini-me" Chavez while in Bolivia. Mr. Spicoli enjoys making millions in a FREE country, but all his admiration is for left wing communist dictator:
“He’s one of the most important forces we’ve had on this planet, and I’ll wish
him nothing but that great strength he has shown over and over again. I do it in
love, and I do it in gratitude.
“I just want to say, from my very American point of view, of my friend
President Chavez: It is only possible to be so inspiring as he is, as a two-way
street. And he would say that his inspiration is the people.”DEDICACIÓN AL PADRE MIGUEL ANGEL LOREDO
DEDICACIÓN AL PADRE MIGUEL ANGEL LOREDO
Comisionado Javier Souto estará rindiendo homenaje al Padre Miguel Ángel Loredo el 16 de diciembre del 2012 a las 11 a.m. en el parque, Francisco Human Rights Park (9445 Coral Way), mediante la instalación de un marcador apropiado en el área del Pabellón de Domino, dándole el nombre, The Father Loredo Park, educando a todos los visitantes del parque y la historia de la vida del Padre Miguel Ángel Loredo.Padre Miguel Ángel Loredo falleció el 10 de septiembre de 2011.LA DEDICACIÓN A VACLAV HAVELEl Comisionado Souto honrará el legado del presidente Vaclav Havel, nombrando una zona al lado del edificio, West Dade Regional Library, en el sendero peatonal del parque Francisco Human Rights (9445 Coral Way) como “The Vaclac Havel Rotunda” el 16 de diciembre de 2012 a las 11 : 00 AM. También un héroe del movimiento de los derechos humanos, el presidente Vaclav Havel fue presidente de la República Checa que visitó a Miami con una delegación muy grande hace unos seis años. El fue el héroe de los checos contra el comunismo y el movimiento democrático para el mundo.Inauguration of two mini parks for two Heroes of Human Rights: Father Miguel Angel Loredo and President Vaclav HavelFATHER MIGUEL ANGEL LOREDO DEDICATIONCommissioner Javier Souto will be honoring Father Miguel Angel Loredo on December 16, 2012 at 11:00 AM inside Francisco Human Rights Park (9445 Coral Way) by installing an appropriate marker in the area of the Domino Pavilion, naming it The Father Loredo Park to educate all visitors to the park on the life history of Father Miguel Angel Loredo. Father Miguel Angel Loredo passed away on September 10, 2011.THE VACLAV HAVEL DEDICATIONCommissioner Souto will be honoring President Vaclav Havel’s legacy by naming an area next to the West Dade Regional Library building, in the walking path within the Francisco Human Rights Park (9445 Coral Way) as “The Vaclac Havel Rotunda” on December 16, 2012 at 11:00 AM. Also a hero of the human rights movement, President Vaclav Havel a former President of the Czech Republic who visited Miami with a very large delegation about six years ago, was the hero of the Czechs against communism and for democratic movement for the world.
Thursday, December 06, 2012
Saturday, December 01, 2012
ATENCION A ESTE COMUNISTA RECICLADO
El Capitan de la seguridad del estado, Pedro Delfín Piñón Martínez.
Es indudable que estamos presenciando un relajamiento de las medidas y restricciones en cuanto a las visitas de cubanos y artistas desde la Isla se refiere, ¡ y es bueno ! Incluso hemos tenido la oportunidad de verlos y escucharlos por las cadenas locales de radio y televisión, lo que da la impresión de un ambiente de mutua coquetería de ambos gobiernos. Es preocupante como esa distención de las medidas de inmigración y la seguridad nacional también han permitido a ex agentes de la seguridad y la inteligencia cubana visitar, pasearse, penetrarse e incluso vivir entre nosotros. Tal grado de desfachatez ha alcanzado esto que ninguno de ustedes debiera asombrarse si justamente al lado de su casa estuviera viviendo el instructor de la seguridad del estado que lo torturo e interrogo.
Tampoco debiera asombrarse si tiene por vecino al hijo de alguno de los altos funcionarios del Gobierno de Cuba, entre los cuales se ha puesto muy de moda venir a vivir a Miami . Se les puede ver por las calles, en finos restaurantes, y en la mejores fiestas de las mas peculiares familias del jet set de esta ciudad.
Estos infiltrados tienen todos el mismo modus operandi, viajan primero a Europa, fundamentalmente a España, (donde tienen mayores conexiones) se hacen ciudadanos y adquieren el pasaporte de la Comunidad Europea.
Luego vienen a Miami, donde pueden permanecer por 90 días, periodo que utilizan para reubicarse y solicitar residencia en los Estados Unidos, se acogen a la Ley de Reajuste Cubano, derecho que le permite su condición de cubano. Conocemos de casos que incluso, se han hecho Ciudadanos Americanos, mienten descaradamente en la aplicación de la ciudadanía americana ( grave delito ) cuando niegan haber pertenecido al Partido Comunista, o haber sido miembros de la Inteligencia o la Seguridad del Estado Cubano.
Lo que no entiendo es como Homeland Security no ha detectado esta filtración. Entre los casos más relevantes nos llama la atención el del Sr. Pedro Delfín Piñón Martínez, fecha de nacimiento agosto 25 de 1963, quien fue capitán de la Seguridad del Estado y trabajo, entre otros cargos, como instructor de casos en el tenebroso cuartel de la Seguridad de Estado, Villa Marista. Allí, instruyo de cargos, interrogo, torturo y condeno a cientos de cubanos por el solo hecho de pensar de una manera diferente.
Este torturador, vive desde hace aproximadamente tres años aquí en Miami , en compañía de su esposa Tamara y un hijo menor llamado Ernesto. Ernesto, estudia en una escuela publica del Condado Dade, pagada por los contribuyentes del condado, algunos de los cuales quizás fueron torturados por su padre ¡ qué ironía !
El Sr Pedro Delfin Piñón Martínez y su esposa trabajan nada mas y nada menos que en el Aeropuerto de Miami, lugar de alta sensibilidad en cuanto a seguridad se refiere. No entiendo como los sistemas de seguridad fallan de esa manera y permiten que enemigos de este país, penetren sensibles organizaciones. ¿Cómo es posible que José Abreu, Director del aeropuerto de Miami , de origen cubano, no ha tenido en cuenta esta posibilidad? Es hora que todos y cada uno de nosotros denuncien casos como estos, para que al menos las autoridades locales conozcan hasta donde estamos penetrados.
switcharooney
The dictatorship in Cuba now wants a "deal" to swap American Alan Gross, who is currently held in jail by communist Cuba, for the Cuban spies currently in jail in the U.S.
Straight for the commie playbook!!!!
Click here for the story.
Straight for the commie playbook!!!!
Click here for the story.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Dictator Chavez in Cuba receiving treatment
From Fox News Latino:
Venezuela President Hugo Chávez is now battling bone metastasis from his pelvic cancer, according to a report by Spanish newspaper ABC. Citing an unnamed intelligence source, ABC's Washington correspondent Emil J. Blasco says there has been a recurrence and spread of the tumor, which was detected in a test performed on a trip to Havana just after the elections on October 7.
Blasco said the metastasis is causing Chavez “severe pain in the left femur and serious walking difficulties." He also says that Chavez passed out twice in August, losing consciousness briefly, and that doctors determined that his situation was deteriorating slowly but steadily.
Chavez last appeared publicly during a televised meeting on Nov. 15, prompting some critics to publicly wonder where he went after his election win.
During the electoral campaign, he repeatedly dismissed rumors that he had not been cured of his cancer, and vowed to serve out his six-year term.
The treatment that Chavez is said to be undergoing in Havana involves breathing pure oxygen while in a pressurized, sealed chamber. Its value is well-established for treating burns, carbon monoxide poisoning and some other medical conditions, and to aid wound healing and help repair bone and tissue damaged by radiation treatments.
However, the American Cancer Society says there is no evidence the treatment can cure cancer. And Blasco notes that if hyperbaric oxygen treatment were the case, Chavez could have stayed in Venezuela, since the country boasts of having the latest technology on this kind of equipment (his brother Adam presented a "next generation" of those chambers in 2009 as governor of Barinas state).
Also, a hyperbaric chamber is a portable device that could be installed in the special clinic Chavez has at his home in La Orchila.
The 58-year-old president first underwent cancer treatment in Cuba in June 2011 and suffered a relapse in February. He has since said he's recovered from the pelvic cancer and won re-election in October.
Throughout his previous chemotherapy and radiation treatments, Chavez kept many details of his illness secret, including the type of cancer and the precise location of the tumors.
Cuba's official newspaper Granma said that Chavez arrived on the island Tuesday at the break of dawn, "in order to continue medical treatment following as part of strengthening their health, which will include several sessions oxygenation hyperbaric."
There were no photos of his arrival in Havana or departure from Caracas, unlike other times he's made the trip.
Venezuelan officials did not say how long he will stay in Havana, though they said he would be back by Jan. 10, when he is being sworn in for a fourth term.
With additional reporting by The Associated Press.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Is General Raul Castro Willing to Gamble with Alan Gross?
Jaime Suchlicki*
Is General Raul Castro Willing
to Gamble with Alan Gross?
Gen. Raúl Castro’s regime is considering a pardon for Alan Gross, the
American USAID subcontractor arrested in Cuba in December 2009
and sentenced to 15 years in jail for distributing computers to the Jewish
community in the island.
This calculated olive branch to the just-reelected Obama administration has
two objectives. First, to obtain U.S. concessions in the area of travel by U.S.
citizens to Cuba. Second, to obtain the release of four Cuban spies,
serving sentences in U.S. jails for espionage activities on behalf of the Castro
government.
Some within the Castro regime are arguing that the Obama administration will
be pushed to offer major concessions if Cuba frees Gross. The reasons: there is
a pent-up demand for travel to Cuba; American tourists will bring much needed
dollars; and Cuba’s efficient security apparatus could control American tourists,
primarily interested in visiting Cuban beaches and less concerned about subverting
the Communist regime.
Most argue that American tourists will have little impact, other than economic.
They point out that over the past several years hundreds of thousands of Canadian,
Europeans and Latin American tourists have visited the island. There have been
no major political changes. Money from tourists,
furthermore, has been flowing into businesses owned by the Castro government
and the Cuban military, thus strengthening state enterprises.
The recent migration law enacted by Cuba that eases travel for Cubans to
visit the United States and other countries is also entering into Gen. Castro’s
calculations. The liberalization of Cuban travel will put pressure on the Obama
administration to allow Americans to travel to the island. From Cuba’s point of
view it is a win/win situation. More Cubans will travel abroad, many staying in
the host country or making their way to the U.S. More American tourists will
travel to Cuba leaving their dollars in the island.
What should the United States do? Any major policy concession to Cuba will
be out of proportion to the release of an unjustly imprisoned American. Gross
is a hostage being used by the Cuban government to exact change from the U.S.
The history of U.S-Cuba relations has been characterized by Cuba’s daring actions
followed by major U.S. concessions (i.e. U.S.-Cuba migration accord allowing
20,000 Cubans to enter the United States following Mariel).
The release of Gross should be seen as a humanitarian gesture requiring no
action on the part of the United States. When Raúl Castro is willing to offer
irreversible concessions, the administration should respond in kind. Ping-pong
diplomacy worked with China. Tit for tat should with Cuba.
_________________________________________________
**Previously published in The Miami Herald on November 26, 2012.
_________________________________________________
*Jaime Suchlicki is Emilio Bacardi Moreau Distinguished Professor and Director,
Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, University of Miami. He is
author of Cuba: From Columbus to Castro, now in its fifth edition
The CTP can be contacted at P.O. Box 248174, Coral Gables, Florida
33124-3010, Tel: 305-284-CUBA (2822), Fax: 305-284-4875, and by
email at ctp.iccas@miami.edu. The CTP Website is accessible
at http://ctp.iccas.miami.edu.
Is General Raul Castro Willing
to Gamble with Alan Gross? | |||||||
Gen. Raúl Castro’s regime is considering a pardon for Alan Gross, the
American USAID subcontractor arrested in Cuba in December 2009 and sentenced to 15 years in jail for distributing computers to the Jewish community in the island.
This calculated olive branch to the just-reelected Obama administration has
two objectives. First, to obtain U.S. concessions in the area of travel by U.S. citizens to Cuba. Second, to obtain the release of four Cuban spies, serving sentences in U.S. jails for espionage activities on behalf of the Castro government.
Some within the Castro regime are arguing that the Obama administration will
be pushed to offer major concessions if Cuba frees Gross. The reasons: there is a pent-up demand for travel to Cuba; American tourists will bring much needed dollars; and Cuba’s efficient security apparatus could control American tourists, primarily interested in visiting Cuban beaches and less concerned about subverting the Communist regime.
Most argue that American tourists will have little impact, other than economic.
They point out that over the past several years hundreds of thousands of Canadian, Europeans and Latin American tourists have visited the island. There have been no major political changes. Money from tourists,
furthermore, has been flowing into businesses owned by the Castro government
and the Cuban military, thus strengthening state enterprises.
The recent migration law enacted by Cuba that eases travel for Cubans to
visit the United States and other countries is also entering into Gen. Castro’s calculations. The liberalization of Cuban travel will put pressure on the Obama administration to allow Americans to travel to the island. From Cuba’s point of view it is a win/win situation. More Cubans will travel abroad, many staying in the host country or making their way to the U.S. More American tourists will travel to Cuba leaving their dollars in the island.
What should the United States do? Any major policy concession to Cuba will
be out of proportion to the release of an unjustly imprisoned American. Gross is a hostage being used by the Cuban government to exact change from the U.S. The history of U.S-Cuba relations has been characterized by Cuba’s daring actions followed by major U.S. concessions (i.e. U.S.-Cuba migration accord allowing 20,000 Cubans to enter the United States following Mariel).
The release of Gross should be seen as a humanitarian gesture requiring no
action on the part of the United States. When Raúl Castro is willing to offer irreversible concessions, the administration should respond in kind. Ping-pong diplomacy worked with China. Tit for tat should with Cuba.
_________________________________________________
**Previously published in The Miami Herald on November 26, 2012.
_________________________________________________
*Jaime Suchlicki is Emilio Bacardi Moreau Distinguished Professor and Director,
Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, University of Miami. He is author of Cuba: From Columbus to Castro, now in its fifth edition
|
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Now even in commie Cuba.......TAXES
The dictatorship of Cuba has ransacked the island of everything the last 53 years and now the barren island can look forward to taxes!!!
Click here for the story!
Click here for the story!
Most Cubans have not paid taxes
for half a century, but that will change under a new code starting January
1.
The landmark regulations will
change the relations of Cubans with their government and are a signal that
market-oriented reforms, launched since President Raul Castro succeeded his
brother, Fidel Castro, in 2008, are here to stay.
The recently published code
constitutes the first comprehensive taxation in Cuba since the 1959 revolution
abolished just about all taxes.
In the 1990s after the collapse of
the Soviet Union, the country's main benefactor, the Cuban government imposed a
few scattered taxes, but mostly preferred to maintain low wages so it could fund
free social services.
The government's free market
reforms introduced over the last two years, are designed to encourage small
businesses, private farming and individual initiative, along with plans to pay
state workers more. Under the new tax code the state hopes to get its share of
the proceeds.
The government also envisions
replacing subsidies for all with targeted welfare, meaning that the largely
tax-free life under a paternalistic government is on its way out.
"This radically changes the
state's relationship with the population and taxes become an irritating issue,"
said Domingo Amuchastegui, a former Cuban intelligence analyst who lives in
Miami and writes often about Cuba.
The new code covers 19 taxes,
including such things as inheritance, environment, sales, transportation and
farm land, various license fees and three contributions, including social
security.
A sliding scale income tax - from
15 percent for earnings of more than 10,000 pesos (about $400) annually, to 50
percent for earnings of over 50,000 pesos, (about $2,000) - adopted in 1994,
remains in the new code for the self-employed, small businesses and farms, but
it also includes a series of new deductions to stimulate their work.
Tax
Deductions
For example, farmers may deduct up
to 70 percent of income as costs, and small businessmen, who are taxed by income
not profit, up to 40 percent, plus various fees and secondary taxes they
pay.
A labor tax of 20 percent will
gradually be reduced to 5 percent by 2017, and small businesses with five
employees or less are exempt.
Eventually all workers will pay
income taxes as well as a new 2 percent property tax, but both measures are
suspended until "conditions permit" them to go into effect.
The government admits, with an
average pay of about 450 pesos per month, or $19, many workers do not earn
enough to make ends meet.
"They collect taxes for all these
things around the world, it's normal," said Havana economist Isabel
Fernandez.
"But here we face two problems. On
the one hand we are not used to paying for anything and on the other our wages
are so low we can't spare a single peso," she said.
Under the old system, large and
small state-run companies, which accounted for more than 90 percent of economic
activity, simply handed over all their revenues to the government, which then
allocated resources to them.
The reforms call for large
state-run businesses to be moved out of the ministries and become more
autonomous.
Under the new tax system they will
pay a 35 percent tax on their profits, but can take advantage of a myriad of
deductions ranging from amortization and travel to sales taxes, insurance and
environmental protection.
Many smaller businesses will
become cooperatives or be privately leased and taxed based on income.
The state-owned Cuban National
News Agency said Cuba had studied the tax systems of a number of other
countries, including several with capitalist economies.
"The experiences of China,
Vietnam, Venezuela, Brazil, Spain and Mexico were taken into account, but they
were refined to the particularities and conditions of the island," the new
agency said.
The new code is not etched in
stone - it can be amended each year as part of the annual budget passed by the
National Assembly, and temporarily modified for different reasons by the
executive branch of government.
"Like the reforms, it is a work in
progress, a work that has barely begun and will take time to put in place," said
a Western businessman who has worked in Cuba for almost two decades.
But, he added, "this is of course
a major step forward toward the 21st century and a modern state."
A la caza de los cotos de Estado de bienestar
Por Dr.Darsi Ferret
Miami,Florida. 20 de noviembre de 2012.
Corre la noticia de que los españoles intentan emigrar en gran número hacia Escandinavia. Al parecer, la situación económica de su país les parece tan desesperada que buscan escapar de ella.
Pero, ¿en realidad la situación de desbarajuste económico deEspaña es mucho peor que el de los helenos en Grecia, que llevan en crisis hace unos dos años ya? ¿Y por que no nos llegan noticias de una fuga en masa de griegos hacia los países nórdicos europeos? Además, ¿por qué los españoles que emigran eligen Escandinavia, y menos aun con la temporada invernal que justo ahora está llegando a países que la geografía ha dejado dentro del círculo polar?
Quizás lo que pueda explicar tal corrida sea el aun eficiente modelo de Sociedad de Bienestar y de beneficencia pública que disfrutan suecos,noruegos, daneses y finlandeses. Es posible que ningún peninsular mediterráneo se haya puesto a pensar porque siguen siendo eficientes estos servicios, que ya están en crisis como modelo estatista en casi todo el resto de EuropaOccidental, por unas razones muy elementales. Esas sociedades nórdicas, coníndices elevadísimos de impuestos, que como en Noruega alcanzan el 50% de los ingresos, son capaces de mantener un eficiente servicio estatal porque son unos pocos millones aunque altamente productivos y con una muy desarrolladaconciencia social que los aleja lo suficiente de un enfermizo clientelismo como el que padecen los españoles y otros europeos ahora envueltos en crisis en sus paises.
Y precisamente esa parece ser la meta de los españoles que intentan asentarse en esas frías tierras: volverse a colgar de un sistema deseguridad social que les haga la vida más fácil , subvencionados en lo necesario por un Estado benefactor.
El comportamiento de una parte significativa del pueblo español ante la adversidad que, sin dudas el gobierno socialista de Jose Luis RodriguezZapatero llevó hasta la debacle, no puede soslayar el hecho de que ellos los eligieron como gobernantes, en elecciones y por mayoría, y en buena medida se colgaron desenfadadamente de sus procedimientos clientelistas, no dándole mucha importancia a los males ya endémicos que se fueron incrementando en la nación, como la corrupción, la pérdida de productividad e innovación tecnológica competitiva y la carencia de una política fiscal seria y responsable con los gastos públicos. El duro batacazo de la realidad que trae no poder seguir viviendo por encima de lo que se produce a algunos los ha hecho entender que hay que apretar los dientes, capear el temporal y renunciar a intentar retornar a esa vida de Sociedad de Bienestar.
Pero para otros esa opción no es aceptable. Hay que preguntarse qué imaginaban ellos que haria el gobierno popular recién elegido en las urnas. ¿Acaso reponerles los incosteables beneficios que generaba un frágil y falso estado de bienestar estatista? Precisamente una dura e impopular tarea como la que le espera al gobierno de Rajoy implica desembarazar al Estado español de un excesivo funcionarado con inclinaciones marcadas al burocratismo ineficiente y a la corruptela, lo que significará a corto plazo más desempleados en la enorme cifra que ya resuena estridentemente entre las noticias internacionales.
Ese grupo de españoles que no aceptan el fin de la panacea son los primeros que se marchan a buscar otra parecida. De ahí esa fuga masiva hacia el norte europeo, a buscar cómo engancharse de esa teta estatal.
Mas el Estado de Bienestar aun no ha entrado en crisis en los países nórdicos debido a esas virtudes ya expuestas arriba: pocas personas, gran productividad de valores agregados per cápita y una alta consciencia civil y social, una mezcla delicada que se quebraría con una invasión masiva de españoles con unos estándares más bajos en lo que respecta a tales valores sociales norteños. El cierre de fronteras parece la opcion que le queda a los escandinavos en un lamentable futuro próximo. Y los españoles emigrantes o matan a la gallina de huevos de oro de Escandinavia o se quedan detenidos en sus fronteras por el expediente de una forzada ley nacionalista de defensa que, también a la larga, sacará de su sitio el tan cuidado Estado de Bienestar.
La nueva realidad globalizadora, también por obra directa, o como poco recomendable consecuencia, como sucede con esta espontanea emigración española, va a desmantelar el estatismo como tendencia que fortalece la intervencion y el asistencialismo del gobierno, en todas esas manifestaciones que excedan las prerrogativas para las cuales surgió como institución rectora. El fin de un artificial Estado de Bienestar mantenido por un Estado redistribuidor de la riqueza pública es una de sus primeras consecuencias irreversibles.
Wednesday, November 07, 2012
MSNBC's Matthews: 'I'm So Glad We Had That Storm Last Week'
Can you believe that someone would actually say this? He cares more about politics than people!
Click here for the story!
Tuesday, November 06, 2012
Saturday, October 27, 2012
EL HURACAN Y LA TIRANIA
Durante la madrugada de este jueves el huracán Sandy atravesó la zona oriental del país. Ingresó por la zona de Chivirico cerca de Santiago de Cuba y salió por Punta Lucrecia a unos 30 kilómetros de Banes. Ni la geografía montañosa oriental disminuyó su fuerza destructora. El único atenuante fue su rápida velocidad de avance, pero fueron cinco horas de lluvias y vientos intensos.
La primera información que recibimos la comunicó a las 2 am Nivaldo Ramírez, Coordinador del CID para la zona oriental: “esto es un verdadero desastre, las casas están perdiendo parte de su techos”. A las 6 am nos informó: todas las 60 casas del Barrio Oscar Lucero en Palma Soriano han sido dañadas, algunas más otras menos. Hay dos muertos en una zona cercana. La gente está en la calle, se siente completamente desamparada. En Holguín se han reportado daños en las casas, sobre todo en los barrios donde vive la gente más humilde. En Santiago de Cuba la situación es más grave, en algunos lugares hubo pánico. Hay muchos pueblos y ciudades sin electricidad. Aun se desconoce el número de heridos. De todas partes del oriente cubanos siguen llegando noticias de daños a viviendas, comercios, escuelas y hospitales.
En la zona oriental como en toda Cuba la mayoría de las casas se encuentran en mal estado, no tienen mantenimiento o este ha sido muy precario. No hay suficientes materiales de construcción. Los salarios de hambre que se ganan con dificultad le permiten a la gente mal comer. Los cubanos no tienen ahorros. No hay bancos a los que puedan acudirá a pedir un préstamo. El gobierno está en la quiebra y la mayoría de sus funcionarios practican la corrupción, muchos por necesidad y otros por deshonestidad.
En juego está una de las zonas con mayor producción de grano de Cuba. La horticultura, la producción apícola, la cafetalera, la caña y la importante cosecha de plátanos tendrán algún nivel de merma, en algunos casos puede ser muy perjudicial. En conclusión esta es otra desgracia que tendrán que padecer con mayor dureza los cubanos que apenas sobreviven en un régimen de limitaciones y falta de oportunidades. Aunque no se conocen el monto de los daños y tal vez cuando se sepan serán cifras exageradas, el hecho es que nuestro país hoy despertó mucho más pobre que ayer.
En el año 2008 tres huracanes dañaron medio millón de casas, causaron siete muertos y pérdidas por 10,000 millones de dólares. En esta ocasión las pérdidas se contabilizarán en centenares o en algunos miles de millones de dólares pero como en el 2008 la economía del país no generará la riqueza destruida, ni Venezuela podrá reponerle a este régimen parásito lo que el pueblo ha perdido. Desde el punto de vista económico será pérdida neta para la población.
La primera información que recibimos la comunicó a las 2 am Nivaldo Ramírez, Coordinador del CID para la zona oriental: “esto es un verdadero desastre, las casas están perdiendo parte de su techos”. A las 6 am nos informó: todas las 60 casas del Barrio Oscar Lucero en Palma Soriano han sido dañadas, algunas más otras menos. Hay dos muertos en una zona cercana. La gente está en la calle, se siente completamente desamparada. En Holguín se han reportado daños en las casas, sobre todo en los barrios donde vive la gente más humilde. En Santiago de Cuba la situación es más grave, en algunos lugares hubo pánico. Hay muchos pueblos y ciudades sin electricidad. Aun se desconoce el número de heridos. De todas partes del oriente cubanos siguen llegando noticias de daños a viviendas, comercios, escuelas y hospitales.
En la zona oriental como en toda Cuba la mayoría de las casas se encuentran en mal estado, no tienen mantenimiento o este ha sido muy precario. No hay suficientes materiales de construcción. Los salarios de hambre que se ganan con dificultad le permiten a la gente mal comer. Los cubanos no tienen ahorros. No hay bancos a los que puedan acudirá a pedir un préstamo. El gobierno está en la quiebra y la mayoría de sus funcionarios practican la corrupción, muchos por necesidad y otros por deshonestidad.
En juego está una de las zonas con mayor producción de grano de Cuba. La horticultura, la producción apícola, la cafetalera, la caña y la importante cosecha de plátanos tendrán algún nivel de merma, en algunos casos puede ser muy perjudicial. En conclusión esta es otra desgracia que tendrán que padecer con mayor dureza los cubanos que apenas sobreviven en un régimen de limitaciones y falta de oportunidades. Aunque no se conocen el monto de los daños y tal vez cuando se sepan serán cifras exageradas, el hecho es que nuestro país hoy despertó mucho más pobre que ayer.
En el año 2008 tres huracanes dañaron medio millón de casas, causaron siete muertos y pérdidas por 10,000 millones de dólares. En esta ocasión las pérdidas se contabilizarán en centenares o en algunos miles de millones de dólares pero como en el 2008 la economía del país no generará la riqueza destruida, ni Venezuela podrá reponerle a este régimen parásito lo que el pueblo ha perdido. Desde el punto de vista económico será pérdida neta para la población.
La tiranía utilizará este huracán como ha hecho con otros en el pasado, para justificar la pobreza que aqueja a los cubanos. Parte de la prensa oriental se hará eco de esa excusa. Pero sin dudas y por muchas razones este desastre representa una pérdida política importante para la dictadura.
Los cubanos han sufrido un duro golpe, pero Raúl Castro pagará con creces por esta desgracia natural amplificada por los errores de una tiranía que no puede responder y nunca ha respondido a las necesidades del pueblo.
Siguen en: cubacid.blogspot.com
Visitenos en | cubacid.org |
Desde Cuba | cubacid.blogspot.com |
Ultimo Congreso | elultimocongreso.lavozdelcid.com |
Patria Pueblo y Libertad | patriapuebloylibertad.blogspot.com |
Huber Matos | comandantehubermatos.blogspot.com |
Siguenos en: |
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Sunday, October 21, 2012
castro...dead...alive...dead...wait here is a photo
"An image of former Cuban President Fidel Castro (3rd L) is held up by former Venezuelan Vice-President Elias Jaua in La Havana. The photograph shows the former Cuban leader alongside Jaua (R), as well as Cuban National Hotel director Antonio Martinez (C), Castro's wife Dalia Soto del Valle (2ndR), and an unidentified woman and child. According to Jaua, Castro is in very good health"
According to the former Venezuelan Vice-President, the dictator of Cuba is alive and kicking and even giving a thumbs up.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
"History will absolve me"
Cuban dictator castro uttered these words: "History will absolve me." This quip modeled after the fuhrer himself, yet no one in the media EVER mentions this! On the anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, it has been revealed that the dictator employed ex Nazis do help him carry out his dirty deeds at that time.
Click here for article in Spanish
Friday, October 12, 2012
Fidel Castro dead again??
Several days ago received a email confirming that the dictator Fidel Castro was dead for the 1,000th. time. Do I believe it....NO!
Click here for the story in Spanish.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
La ética, arma crucial en las actuales circunstancias políticas
Dr. Darsi Ferret
Miami, Florida. 9 octubre de 2012.
Es intolerable la pasividad de la comunidad internacional ante los cada vez más despiadados ataques del régimen sirio contra su propio pueblo, con miles de víctimas en la población civil y unos 300 mil desplazados. Si están tan preocupados por la estabilidad regional, ¿qué imaginan las autoridades internacionales qué ocurrirá en el futuro inmediato con este país árabe? Cada vez más asolado por una guerra civil, en medio de una zona tan volátil como es el Medio Oriente, las posibilidades de expansión del conflicto más allá de las fronteras sirias se está transformando en una palpable realidad. De hecho, ya el ejército sirio disparó proyectiles de morteros hacia el territorio fronterizo turco, y mató a 5 civiles. Por su parte, las autoridades turcas han respondido con fuego de artillería, además, la Asamblea Nacional de esa nación miembro de la OTAN dio luz verde a una moción que aprueba la guerra contra Siria si se incrementa la tensión militar entre ambos países.
Turquía ya enfrenta una incipiente guerra irregular de sus tropas con el belicoso Partido de los Trabajadores Kurdos, de un perfil marcadamente comunista. El Líbano se agita en crecientes conflictos armados entre facciones. El régimen sirio es apoyado por unidades de asalto iraníes y las desesperadas fuerzas de la resistencia acuden a cuanto brazo armado se ofrezca a ayudarles, entre ellos miembros del extremismo islámico como Al Qaeda. Esta escalada hacia la violencia y el extremismo fundamentalista puede convertirse en una deriva vertiginosa, incontrolable. La situación no se va a resolver por la vía pacífica, no cuando hay derramada tanta sangre inocente y coinciden combatientes de bandos tan opuestos por imponerse frente a una dictadura decadente como la de Bashar Al Assad.
Pese a las dubitaciones y reluctancias de diversos estamentos del poder en Occidente, la intervención humanitaria de sus fuerzas armadas en el cruento conflicto libio demostró ser el paso más racional y de menor costo en vidas y recursos para solucionar una transición hacia la democracia que exigía una mayoría de ese pueblo. Fue una acción consecuente con los más emblemáticos principios políticos occidentales. Los pueblos de la Primavera Árabe se han levantado contra dictaduras envejecidas en el poder que los han mantenido en la miseria y reprimido por demasiado tiempo. Y, a pesar de la visión de latente amenaza de nuevos fundamentalismos en el poder, los protagonistas de la ola libertaria en las naciones del Medio Oriente y el Norte de África lo hicieron clamando democracia y libertad, no exigiendo la instauración de regímenes teocráticos basados en la intolerancia y la represión. Es una realidad que el ideario democrático y de Estado de Derecho de Occidente con gran fuerza busca un espacio preponderante en países de una región y cultura que parecían condenados al oscurantismo permanente. ¿Por qué no basta esa señal tan estimulante para que las naciones occidentales reconozcan el triunfo del carácter universal de sus propios valores?
Y esta reacción de imprudente ceguera resulta aún más asombrosa ante las transformaciones que provoca en la actualidad el efecto revolucionario de las nuevas tecnologías de la comunicación personal. Aunque aún persisten en el enquistamiento añejas satrapías, y que también hay sectores que se resisten en las sociedades desarrolladas de Occidente, el crisol emisor de modernidad impone una nueva época, con cambios inesperados que están volviendo obsoletos las dinámicas y patrones conocidos. En este contexto, se enfrentan dos grandes corrientes de criterios políticos: los que se aferran al estatismo y al Estado de Bienestar, y los que optan por el libre mercado y la potenciación de la sociedad civil. Y comienzan a modificarse estructuras sociales, económicas y políticas que parecían asentadas y firmes, antes sujetas a una plácida evolución. La Globalización avanza transformándolo todo para el futuro.
Se imponen la liberalización, la comunicación, el libre albedrío y los derechos individuales con una fuerza inclusiva, unificadora y generalizada nunca antes vista en anteriores procesos civilizatorios. Un lenguaje común de progreso, de búsqueda del desarrollo, de modernidad superan los viejos conceptos, arrinconando las excluyentes teorías enraizadas en cancillerías, academias y sesudos ensayos y monografías académicas. Los hechos internacionales, como los recientes que comienzan a desplazar de eje vetustos gobiernos represivos, sacuden de los cómodos aposentos de la política tradicional al frío cálculo y las consideraciones geopolíticas de limitado perfil.
¿Por qué resulta aún imposible para los poderes elegidos de las democracias occidentales reconocer que todavía padecen la alucinación de la vieja estrategia de contención con la que se enfrentó el agresivo expansionismo comunista? Las determinantes palabras de rechazo a la dictadura asadita, pronunciadas por el flamante presidente egipcio, Mohamed Mursi, en la pasada Cumbre de países No Alineados, dan una señal inequívoca del liderazgo de estas nuevas fuerzas políticas. Contra todas las persistentes alarmas de los expertos, un representante de la Hermandad Musulmana, catalogada como la quintaesencia del fundamentalismo intolerante, no sólo descalifica el despotismo en un país hermano como siria sino que da pasos para establecer el Estado de Derecho en su propia nación al mandar de una buena vez para los cuarteles a los poderosos miembros de la casta militar egipcia, que se resisten en sus intenciones de seguir gobernando. Se anuncia firmemente el derecho y el gobierno civil no sólo dentro de sus fronteras, sino por encima del viejo código de alianzas con dictaduras ante el “peligro” de las ideas libertadoras occidentales.
Esa es la deriva real que hay que tomar en cuenta y apoyar sin vacilación para lograr la estabilidad y verdadero progreso en los problemas de la pobreza, el oscurantismo y la transparencia en las relaciones internacionales. Este ejemplo de identificación con los nuevos tiempos de transparencia, democracia, Estado de Derecho y libertad representa un referente que las elites democráticas de Occidente no deben obviar. No si pretenden que la democracia y la libertad recién conquistadas en los países árabes dejen de ser frágiles y se consoliden de manera firme con su apoyo.
La nueva geopolítica no está fraguada en laboratorios de espionaje, de intriga internacional, o de componendas en despachos. No obedece a un plan minuciosamente organizado de un grupo selecto de conspiradores. Estas visiones que se empeñan en ser retomadas por algunos son viejos espectros de una Guerra Fría que ya terminó hace más de veinte años. El contexto internacional no se limita a las novedosas expectativas que comienzan a cambiar radicalmente al mundo árabe. También se extiende a otras áreas como la Península Indochina, donde cada vez más y a pasos concretos se consolida el espectacular auto-desmontaje de otra dictadura militar como la Birmana. El efecto de estímulo al progreso que de esa manera irrumpe en un área de tradicional autoritarismo no es una casualidad. Su ejemplo aún en ciernes provocará cambios insospechados. Y esta es una de las expectativas más importantes del futuro próximo que los tanques pensantes y decisores de la política en Occidente no deben pasar por alto por apego a lo conocido. Ocurrido en un escenario tan distinto al mundo árabe, demuestra que la expansión de las ideas democráticas cala en los pueblos y estos las identifican como suyas en un ideario a seguir.
Sin embargo, no todo es rosa. En América Latina, las elites gobernantes, los partidos políticos, los sectores ilustrados, los grupos de poder aun anquilosados parecen persistir en una especie de aislacionismo ideológico, atraído por gastados proyectos entramados con ideologías totalitarias e imposiciones de élites auto-elegidas y auto-promovidas. Sus trazos esquemáticos son palpables. Los últimos años en la región han estado plagados de pactos, fundaciones de agrupaciones regionales de supuesto tono de tendencia mundial, pero que en realidad empalman alianzas oportunistas que rechazan la real integración a cambio de intentar dolorosos esquemas guiados de una visión nacionalista cimentada en el antiimperialismo, calificado de antinorteamericano, pero en realidad antioccidental.
Sería ingenuo achacar esta persistencia por lo retrógrado disfrazado de independentismo a la perversa influencia de una carcomida dictadura como la cubana. Esta no fue ni en el presente puede confundirse con una vigorosa guía continental, distribuidora de influyente virulencia. En sus mejores momentos el régimen militar castrista fracasó en su pretensión de influenciar en el frágil sistema democrático latinoamericano. Su falta de escrúpulos lo condujo a establecer alianzas solapadas hasta con dictaduras como la militar argentina, de tono radicalmente opuesto al comunismo que voceaba defender. Pero todos los intentos de consolidar su influencia terminaron derrotados. Desde la dictadura militar sandinista de Daniel Ortega en Nicaragua, hasta su activo papel de solapado testaferro en los proyectos guiados por las trasnochadas proyecciones militaristas soviéticas, así como el fracaso conocido bajo el peso de las botas de la 82 división norteamericana en Granada, y pasando por la nefasta influencia que sin dudas determinó el fin del experimento de la Unidad Popular en Chile.
Por tanto, es ingenuo establecer a priori que todo lo que ocurre en estos izquierdismos populistas en América Latina, con un obsesivo énfasis en la exclusión de Norteamérica de sus débiles conciliábulos, se deba a la dominante concepción retrógrada que continúa destilando la dictadura militar antillana. Las élites latinoamericanas son plenamente culpables de los pasos regresivos que están influyendo en el Continente.
Sin embargo, todo este esquema de resistencia a la integración mundial, que es lo que realmente oculta tanto clamor de salvación nacional frente a los turbios designios del “Imperio” norteamericano, no es sostenible frente a las fuerzas del cambio mundial, inmedibles en su capacidad realmente integradora. Estos esquemas antidemocráticos como el CELAC, UNASUR, ALBA… son tan frágiles que no resisten el menor embate contra hechos de la realidad política contemporánea. Y esto ocurre porque, al igual que la dubitativa capacidad decisoria de las cancillerías democráticas de Occidente ante la precipitación de los hechos revolucionarios populares, estas estructuras han emergido alejadas de una ética que exige la correspondencia entre lo que se defiende como principios y las acciones que esto implica. La ética, como la gota de agua que llega a perforar la piedra, es un arrumbe inevitable entre los principios y valores que se proclaman como válidos y las acciones que se protagonizan en su nombre.