Redstate

Posted at 12:59am on Jun. 24, 2008 I Have Found Sisyphus

By Pejman Yousefzadeh

He lives 90 miles off of the coast of Florida and is working to run a country into the ground:

At the recent metal workers' union congress in Havana little seemed to have changed since Fidel Castro, former Cuban president, became ill almost two years ago, temporarily handing power to his brother Raúl before resigning and leaving the country's leadership to him last February.

There was no jockeying among cadres for a piece of privatised industry pie. There was no talk of competition, markets, strikes or other action against management, or turning state-owned businesses into co-operatives. Speeches calling on members to work harder for Cuba, Fidel, Raúl and revolution resounded through the hall as they have for decades.

"The key is in perfeccionamiento empresarial" - perfecting the state company system - read the banner headline in Workers, the trade union federation's weekly newspaper.

The union meeting was the latest evidence that a debate fostered by Raúl Castro has for now been settled in favour of those who want to improve one of the world's most statist economies - not dismantle it - using a business model developed when the president was defence minister to improve the performance of armed forces suppliers.

I would say that you have to admire the persistence of the Cuban communists. But the reality is that you don't and you shouldn't.

Posted in Cuba | Economic Ignorance | Foreign Affairs | The Castros — Comments (1)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 1:25am on Feb. 26, 2008 Meet The New Boss

By Pejman Yousefzadeh

So, with the resignation of Fidel Castro from the Presidency, it was conventional wisdom that the ascension of Raul Castro would signal some form of political change and liberalization in Cuba.

So much for that. Not only does Raul Castro announce that there will be no change whatsoever in policy, he picks an old, hard-line figure for the number two spot just to stick it to those who hoped for a greater amount of political freedom in Cuba.

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. But let's look at the upside: At least, Chris Bertram will be happy. To be sure, Bertram may want to read this to find out just how well--or how badly, depending on one's sensibilities--the Revolution is going 90 miles south of the Floridian coast. And he might want to read this as well:

Young Cubans frustrated by a regimented and austere life under socialism see little hope of change under the team of old guard revolutionaries who have taken over following Fidel Castro's retirement as president.

Seventy percent of Cuba's 11 million people were born after Castro's 1959 revolution. The younger ones dream of traveling abroad and want access to the Internet, iPods, trendy clothes, music and films.

Many were disappointed when Raul Castro, a 76-year-old army general, succeeded his ailing brother on Sunday as Cuba's first new leader in almost half a century, and other elderly communists were appointed top key posts.

"This is a dynastic succession. Everyone is so disappointed," said Virginia, a teacher who quit her state job earning $19 a month to work as a nanny.

There is a lot more like that--just waiting to disillusion the likes of Chris Bertram--assuming that he bothers to read writings chock full of uncomfortable facts.

Posted in Continuing Nightmares | Cuba | Foreign Affairs | The Castros — Comments (0)/ Email this page » / Read More »