Muammar Gaddafi suffers his death throes in front of a tiny cell phone camera. Seeing him helpless, babbling, moves us to pity. Later we are told he died from bullets shot at the convoy in which he was escaping, and from the uncontrolled rage of his captors. In Libya, the chapter of a 42-year personal mandate seems to be coming to an end, but despots have the ability to extend their presence far beyond their own lifespans. When an autocrat has been in power for such a long time, it is inevitable that in his absence we're overcome by a mix of relief and emptiness.
One of the most widespread practices of those addicted to power it so try to link their own name to the idea of homeland, their ideology to the culture of their country, their ruling party to the idea of national identity itself. As a result, those of us who live under one of these prolonged and authoritarian regimes come to believe that there will be no life for us, no future after the messianic leader closes his eyes. Dictators infect us with a pessimism towards the future, they tie us to the ancestry of an oppressive father, so much so that on his death we feel orphaned.
Not only Libyans have watched, over and over, that short video of Gaddafi's last moments. On this side of the Atlantic, millions of curious eyes have also stared at the scene. In several Latin American presidential palaces it is likely that the death throes of this autocrat have been observed with special attention. We can't forget that we live in countries repeatedly fascinated, and cheated, by caudillos.
In Havana's Plaza of the Revolution, for example, the fall of this important ally in North Africa has no doubt generated worry and uncertainty, but also great fear. Lately, all across the country, one of the most popular refrains warns, "When you see your neighbor's fence on fire, turn the hose on your own." Many, riveted by this phrase, toss it out to others like an easy-to-crack puzzle, because we all understand exactly what is implied. Watching the fall of dictators, one after another, thousands of miles away, we can only reflect on the sequel such a process could generate on our own island. People want to believe that this "domino effect" will lead to the end of all autocracies, and that our own island will not be left at the margins of this anti-totalitarian shockwave.
But it is not only ordinary citizens who are analyzing what happened in Surt, our rulers are also drawing their own lessons. From the beginning of the uprisings in Tunisia, with their subsequent spread to Egypt and Libya, police actions in Cuba have increased. Raul Castro's government knows very well that it cannot allow demonstrations by thousands of people in the streets, demonstrations that would have to be met by anti-riot police. So he has chosen to respond with "prophylactic" repression, which barely leaves visible traces, much less legal ones.
Among the most-used methods is to prevent activists from leaving their homes on significant dates, and so to avoid their taking part in opposition events. State Security operates in plain clothes from cars with civilian plates so that no camera or foreign correspondent will film uniformed police restricting the freedom of an individual.
The financial costs of increased wiretapping, monitoring dissident leaders, surrounding their houses with operatives, must be rising to numbers that haunt the budgets of certain ministries. The priority now is to avoid allowing the counter-hegemonic winds of contagion to blow from North Africa over the largest island of the Antilles. In the bloodied face of Muammar Gaddafi our authorities have seen a prophetic sign of their possible fate, and now they are trying to shield themselves to ward off a similar outcome.
In a calculated strategy they mix greater vigilance over the citizenry with promises of reforms and openings. Cubans must be made to believe that changes are just around the corner, in the hopes they will abandon any thoughts of revolt, any possible ideas of turning to street protests. It's the old and hackneyed political ploy of the carrot and the stick, only here, every time our mouths begin to close on the desired vegetable it is pulled away while the stick sinks more deeply into our ribs, hidden under the cloak of supposed popular acceptance.
Notwithstanding the enormous social and geographic differences between Libya and Cuba, Qaddafi's violent death has undoubtedly focused Raul Castro's fears. The General knows that a cheering crowd in a square can quickly become a mob, ready to lynch the leaders they obeyed only the day before. Just as he knows what desires for revenge are provoked by years and years of dissatisfaction, of the suffocation of free expression.
So now, even the slightest detail that led to the fall of the Libyan despot, to his death at the hands of his domestic opponents, must be analyzed. To avoid this end, the regime is capable of increasing repression to unimaginable levels, and spending everything it has, and more, on control. But the big question that we ask, is whether, to avoid ending up like Gaddafi, it is willing to undertake a genuine transition, a change that could save them and save us.
Yoani's blog, Generation Y, can be read here in English translation.
Translating Cuba is a new compilation blog with Yoani and other Cuban bloggers in English.
Yoani's new book in English, Havana Real, can be ordered here.
Follow Yoani Sanchez on Twitter: www.twitter.com/yoanifromcuba
Spain is supposed to start drilling soon
The only difference is that the corporate media in the USA is hiding these protests sweeping the USA. And don't even think of telling me that the USA is any less totalitarian than that of Cuba. The entire US Government is a bought and paid for vassel of corporate America.
People do not only want change in the Middle East, they want change in Western Europe and The USA as well.The light is finally coming on. Corporattions want democracy because they can buy out the successful candidates in any election just as they have done in the Western democracies. The police and military are there for only one reason and that is to do the bidding of the 1% elites.
And we now know that the president of the USA can order the summary murder of an American and has done so. So please save us from the old discredited story about how bad Cuba is, the Cuban people are just as free as Americans the only ones who are not free in Cuba are the likes of Goldman Sachs and Hedge Fund Managers, and we know what freedom for Goldman Sachs and that corrupt bunch meant for the American economy.
How you know all about what is happening to Wall Street protestors if they media is not informing about this?????
Why you want changes in USA but not in Cuba?????
On the eve of Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution, Cuba was neither the paradise that would later be conjured by the nostalgic imaginations of Cuba's many exiles, nor the hellhole painted by many supporters of the revolution, who recall Cuba as "the brothel of the Western hemisphere" -- an island inhabited by a people degraded and hungry, whose main occupation was to cater to American tourists at Havana's luxurious hotels, beaches and casinos. Rather, Cuba was one of the most advanced and successful countries in Latin America.
Success by the Numbers
Cuba's capital, Havana, was a glittering and dynamic city. In the early part of the century the country's economy, fueled by the sale of sugar to the United States, had grown dynamically. Cuba ranked fifth in the hemisphere in per capita income, third in life expectancy, second in per capita ownership of automobiles and telephones, first in the number of television sets per inhabitant. The literacy rate, 76%, was the fourth highest in Latin America. Cuba ranked 11th in the world in the number of doctors per capita. Many private clinics and hospitals provided services for the poor. Cuba's income distribution compared favorably with that of other Latin American societies. A thriving middle class held the promise of prosperity and social mobility.
CLICK LINK FOR ENTIRE REPORT, VIDEOS ETC.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/castro/peopleevents/e_precastro.html
GASPING AT STAWS : 1. To depend on something that is useless; to make a futile attempt at something. 2. trying to find some way to succeed when nothing you choose is likely to work 3. Trying to find reasons to feel hopeful about a bad situation .
The good things he did for the Libyan people would have happened no matter who was running the nation. Libya would be in an even better position than it is in currently had almost anyone been running the country. Why can you not see that?
New America Media, News Analysis, Louis E.V. Nevaer, Posted: Dec 15, 2008
"The European Union recently dispatched anthropologists to study racism in Cuba. Their findings were shocking: Not only was racism alive and well in the workers’ paradise, but it was systemic and institutional. Blacks were systematically excluded from positions that involved coming in contact with foreign tourists (where they could earn tips in hard currencies), they were relegated to poor housing, complained of the longest waits for healthcare, were excluded from managerial positions, received the lowest remittances from relatives abroad, and were five times more likely to be imprisoned. "
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=7b4ef8e52790034e043a37d170243f0f
http://explainlikeakid.blogspot.com/2011/10/why-gaddafi-was-killed.html
Google the phrase: "Freedom House Public perceptions about change in Cuba"
and it should come right up.
Yoani Sanchez's comment comes, significantly, on the day that the UN General Assembly voted 187-2 (only the US and Israel opposed) against the US blockade of Cuba, with three micro-islands abstaining.
Fidel Castro also has nothing to worry about because what happened to Kadafi won't happen in Cuba, no matter how much the Miami Cuban exile militants would wish that it would.
The last time there was anything remotely resembling civil unrest was in 1994. And Fidel Castro personally went there, unarmed, and SPOKE with the people, who then cheered him and went home.
Fidel Castro has been warning the world about what NATO was up to since February. Here's one of his comments:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/message/127543
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Afnx7j1m6eA&annotation_id=annotation_725071&feature=iv
Cuba, in the 50th year of the Revolution.: While the Castro brothers face their certain end, an uncertain future hangs over the island. Some people are afraid, many cannot wait, but all shudder and hope that the changes will be positive. This documentary leads the audience through the discovery of this hope, through a tourist's camera which looks to be turned off and oblivious to the conversation at hand, yet is focused on candidly capturing each person's wishes.
Clandestine underground shops, businessmen experienced in all things illegal, dodgy pimps, mothers who force their daughters into selling their bodies -- the hidden face of the State which welcomes tourists into its luxury resorts is openly displayed beyond censorship's control.
One special guide is Yoani Sanchez, the independent blogger, a leader of the new, peaceful revolution -- the revolution of ideas. The internet is its main instrument, while the government attempts to limit computer use with any means possible in a pushing and pulling of ideals. In the interview, recorded in a secret location, the young writer speaks about her country's ruin, and where Raul's reforms have no effect on everyday life.
Castro's supporters and dissidents, young and old -- none deceive themselves that the star of the revolution will shine on for much longer. And this is what this project focuses on: the wishes on a falling star.
FREEDOM is KNOWLEDGE
KNOWLEDGE is FREE