The international media has not nicknamed Fidel Castro the 'Lider Maximo' for nothing. The man of all powers, leader of his country for more than 50 years, could also have been called the 'king' or 'emperor'.
In 1959, Fidel the revolutionary seizes power by force and puts in place a government that will brutally change the lives of all Cuban people: Communism. This is the end of the liberal economy, the end of the powerful American latifundists, the end of the multi-rich people area. Fidel nationalises everything, sacks the big landowners, and gradually implements his political theory of the Ideal Society.
We will see in this article that to get to this Ideal Society, Fidel Castro had to impose a series of drastic laws and rules that actually go against the human rights and freedom, and we naturally asked ourselves the question of wether the castrist regime was finally not a dictatorship. Answer in the conclusion of this article.
CHAPTERS :-
The one party policy
The only political party tolerated in Cuba is evidently the ruling one: the Cuban Communist Party (CCP). Fidel Castro does not allow criticism, and represses any opposition to his government. Many Cubans rot in the prisons, just as some were executed following quick trials and without real defense.
From a more general point of view, Cubans do not have the right to create any association / organisation nor have the right to simply gather or meet.
Control of the information
We realised during our stay in Cuba that the freedom of expression of the Cubans was very limited. The media, when they are not directly controlled by the State, are subject to a very severe censure. In the radio, the TV or the music industry, each word is supervised. The programs are only national, and in one month we have not seen any international program at all. Everything is shot, edited, presented in Cuba, by Cuban people.
Internet, which we saw available in the most remote places of the world, is here quasi inaccessible for the Cuban population. The installation at home of a network is subject to special exemption, and the internet cafes are rare and very expensive (6€ per hour, or one week of a Cuban's average salary). Internet has mainly been installed to meet the tourists' needs.
In one month, we entered an internet cafe only once, accompanied by a 'Cuban friend' as this office was normally reserved to the Cubans. We were surprised to note that the machines gave access only to Cuban sites!! Impossible even for us to get to our emails or other websites, all blocked!! See illustration on the picture below.
We did not need to go to school to guess what the education programs were. They must be oientated on the country's communist regime and its revolutionary history, and probably the United States are not presented as Cuba's best friends. We know the Cuban people to be intelligent and knowladgeable in many areas, but we also believe that their knowledge is limited when it comes to international matters. See in particular the portrait of Asunción in our article Portrait of the Fernandez family...
The government propaganda
We were impressed by the quantity of monuments, boards, inscriptions and other slogans posted in all cities and countryside.
These writings and boards, which in the rest of the world would be typical advertising posters (advertising does not exit in Cuba!), are in fact political messages all related to the revolutionary history the country's anti liberal economy.
The words 'lucha' (fight), 'victoria' (victory), 'revolución' (revolution), 'vencer' (to win over), come back all the time. Reading these slogans we could believe that Cuba was at war, struggling to a permanent fight.
It is also surely a way for Fidel to gather his people unifying them in front of the daily life difficulties and possible foreign attacks. Fidel wants to cultivate in every Cuban a revolutionary mind, and convince them that the life they are living is the only possible one and a good one. Instituting fatalism into his people also prevents them to doubt and revolt.
‘ The Cubans should know how to shoot, and shoot well’
(on a shooting stall on the beach of Trinidad)
The threat of repression
When it comes to talk about sensitive topics, Cubans start to whisper or hide. The most cautious will keep totally silent or change the subject.
One evening in Havana, we were chatting with two women and their kids who nicely sheltered us under a sudden tropical rain. When we started asking them questions about their daily lives, they answered us readily but were constantly throwing furtive glances around to ensure than nobody was listening. One of the women's husband, less enthusiastic, was being very wary and accused me of being a Cuban secret agent acting like a tourist!! His wife nicely said to me not to listen to this idiot, obviously undergoing a full crisis of PARANOIA.
Edesa, our 85 years old host in the small town of Morón, close to Cayo Coco, told us about her life before and after the Castro revolution. She explained to us clearly how the Communists destroyed her life and took all of her husband's assets and belongings (including 4 cars and 7 houses!) that he had been accumulating with his private company. During the discussion, she repeated several times that she should not speak to us so openly about her contempt for the regime, as walls have ears and repression is very tough.
These two small stories as well as others that we witnessed proved us one thing: Cubans have a constant fear of repression.
Another striking fact also illustrating our subject: in one month of travelling through Cuba, we did not see any scene of violence.
Segregation and racism
It would be exaggerated and false to compare Cuba with South Africa which we saw devastated by Apartheid and a very different crisis situation. In Cuba, white/black racism is quasi non-existent or then a minority (or very well hidden). It is to know that more than 65% of the population is black or mixed race.
The segregation that we observed is very different and rather related to nationality: either you are Cuban, either you are a foreigner. If this segregation is invisible for the majority of the tourists who travel to Cuba for a short time and plenty of money to spare, it particularly touched us as we were travelling the backpackers way and had to do everything as if we were cuban. To spend less money (24 times less! See our article `Pesos and CUC, a double currency') and to take part into the Cuban way of life.
For one month we permanently had to fight against this segregation system, by circumventing it or sometimes by resigning ourselves to accept it: not allowed to eat in certain Cuban restaurant, not allowed to take buses not intended for tourists, not allowed to sleep in an establishment reserved for the Cubans or even not allowed at a Cuban friend's!
Conclusion and political future for Cuba
Let's first answer our initial question: is Castro's regime a dictatorship? YES, the castrist regime appears to us as being a dictatorship. The reasons? Each subject raised under the various chapters of this article, reinforced by the nature of Communism: everything belongs and is managed by the ruling State.
This known, this subject made me reflect and led me to more philosophical questions:
How could we define the Ideal Society? How make it work, and under which conditions? Are these conditions ethically acceptable?
Our Parisian and Londoner hyper liberal education accustomed us to live in the most total freedom. We have the opportunity of acquiring knowledge in any field, have the right to criticise, to express ourselves. We have the opportunity of enriching ourselves, and making of our richness whatever seems good to us. But on another side, can't we affirm that our modern and liberal society lives constantly in dissatisfaction, conflict, and the perpetual search for 'better' and increasingly sophisticated pleasures? Our voyage and observations throughout the world enable us to affirm that yes, it does.
Analysing it with a broader view the Castro regime whose certain advantages are undeniable (free health and education for all), I think without adopting it that his theory of ideal society and the means of its implementation are at least coherent: Cubans should know only the necessary that will make it happy. And nothing more, as it would foment their critical minds and prevent them from seeing the TRUTH. The lack of freedom that affects the Cubans is then a non - problem, since they are not aware of what they are deprived of, hence do not suffer.
This system though could not succeed, as the rest of the world is too different, the communist bloc crumbled to pieces, and Cuba unable to suffice for itself, dependent on the outside and forced to import foreign currencies to import manufactured goods. From there a black- market is unavoidable, hence a double economy, new needs and inequalities. All the system goes down.
Which future thus for Cuba? I personally think that once the Castro's are gone, the island deprived of its ideological pillar and political power, will not be able to resist the temptation of accepting overseas investments to boost its economy and drop the consumption prices. Some will grow rich, but inequalities will continue to increase and Cuba will become nothing more that another developing country…
Laurent
We also noticed that Fidel uses the Che Guevara figure a lot in his political and social propaganda. The 'good' guerrillero, known worldwide for his dedication and his strong human qualities, is the perfect image to be used in the communist propaganda, softening at the same time the hardnesses of the true regime.
Among all the Cubans that we closely met, only one frankly confided in us that she did not support nor adher to the Castro communist regime. All the others seemed to accept the government and spoke with praise of their leader.
Our host in Viñales, Nery, who live simply and modestly, told us in a long conversation that life was hard, that the rationings and the double economy of the peso were painful, but nevertheless she will always fight. We could see that despite her problems, she believed in the ruling power and was convinced that Fidel 'was the most known politician in the world', hence the best!! Regarding war, she was absolutely not afraid of anything as already accustomed to strong restrictions and a hard life. Life is a permanent fight...
Cubans are not allowed to travel abroad
Another impressive law and clearly against freedom: Cubans do not have the right to travel.
The only exceptions are the following ones: business trips (including artists and sportsmen), visit of a relative living from direct lineage abroad, or need to be married with a foreigner.
According to a Cuban that we met in Havana, a passport would cost more than 1000€, even if it just to visit a family member. A charge that would discourage many person having dared to want to leave the country!
Correctum: one of our reader living in Cuba has rectified the above: a passport costs in fact 60 CUC, which is approx 50€ or 75$. Far much less that stated but still much considering the average cuban salary (1$ a day).
As passionate travellers, this law obviously chocked us but also confirmed our idea that the Cubans live in a bubble. (See the opposite poster photographed on a wall in Havana).