Raúl's psychological dependency on Fidel

Carlos Alberto Montaner

What is Raúl Castro doing nowadays? It's important to keep track of him. Everybody, including Cuba's ruling nomenklatura, knows that communism is condemned to disappear from the island. It is the unfinished chapter of the Cold War, and the system, as happened everywhere, will eventually be replaced by a more rational, humane, pluralistic and efficient way to do things.

The problem lies in how we get to that point. On a recent trip to Brazil, one of the most prominent Cubans in government confessed it, in private and away from microphones: ``We know that this has come to an end. What we wish is to transform the regime ourselves, a little at a time, to prevent major upheavals and to keep the Americans from hijacking the process.''

The Brazilian who told me that (the same man who assured me, when nobody believed or knew, that Fidel Castro had incurable intestinal cancer), added an important bit of information: The rapprochement with Brazil is designed for precisely that purpose. Raúl is seeking alternatives for Venezuela's huge but unreliable support, in an effort to steer a smooth change of course in stages.

A little later, however, Raúl addressed the Cuban Parliament. In Cuba, expectations were huge. It was a very disappointing speech, even for the Castroites themselves, who expected bolder announcements.

From what he said, the only really important statement was that he decreed the death of egalitarianism and finally admitted that, because all human beings are different and create wealth in accordance with their particular attitudes and aptitudes, they deserve rewards that match their labor.

In other words, after half a century, Raúl discovered the ethical basis for the market economy: a system based on the existence of legitimately obtained private property, even if that leads to the creation of social classes defined by different standards of living.