On or Off Cuba Ping.
Posted on 07/31/2005 1:43:22 AM PDT by freedom44
HAVANA — It was part pep rally, part solemn tribute to fallen heroes, part state-of-the-union address.
It was all slick political theater, masterfully stage-managed by Fidel Castro, the man who changed Cuban history and clearly revels in his role as an outsized player on the world stage.
Still irrepressible as he nears his 79th birthday, the Communist firebrand used the July 26 anniversary of the start of his rebellion in 1953 to dismiss reports that his revolution is once again in trouble.
"To hear the news reports and the misinformation, you would think our revolution will last only three more hours," Castro said, drawing chuckles from a packed crowd of hand-picked supporters at the Karl Marx Theater. "But no revolution in history has ever had the consensus and support of the people like the Cuban revolution."
Sixteen years after the collapse of the Soviet Union and Cuba's loss of $5 billion a year in Russian subsidies, Cuba does appear to be struggling.
Tourism continues to grow and feed the coffers of the Cuban state, but decades of neglect of the island's infrastructure have triggered electricity shortages. Two powerful hurricanes in the past year decimated the already-dilapidated housing stock.
International news reports depict a restive Cuban population frustrated by drought, food shortages, low wages and power brown-outs made worse by the sweltering tropical heat, a frustration that has boiled over with the surprising appearance of anti-government graffiti in some Havana neighborhoods.
Workers quickly paint over the offending slogans, while Castro supporters have broken up recent protests organized by the island's tiny cadre of dissidents who hoped to draw attention to the problems.
Site of speech draws notice
But while Cuba's recent problems have triggered a new wave of rumors in Miami's vocal Cuban exile community that Castro's hold on power is teetering, the Maximum Leader left no doubt that his is still firmly in charge and has no intentions of stepping aside.
Belying rumors that his health is poor, Castro spoke from a plain wooden podium for nearly four hours. His once-thundering voice was at times reduced to a croak, but he still showed an unmistakable oratorical brilliance, a rising-and-falling cadence, a rush of attacks followed by soothing asides, that has made him an icon in many parts of the world.
"The country is faced with a complex situation due to drought, the lack of power and the hurricanes," Castro said in a rare admission that anything at all is amiss in Cuba. "But the enemies of the revolution are trying to use these events to say Cuba is going through an economic crisis. Once again they fail to understand our people and their determination."
The speech was a rambling discourse filled with a torrent of invective aimed at President Bush, whom Castro called the hemisphere's "main terrorist."
There was praise for Venezuela's leftist leader and Castro ally, Hugo Chavez, who is selling Cuba badly needed oil at reduced prices, and a lengthy discussion of the minutiae of Cuban life apparently aimed at demonstrating Castro's depth of compassion for his people and his understanding of the challenges they face.
In years past, the July 26 anniversary of Castro's failed 1953 attack on an army barracks in the eastern city of Santiago has been marked by massive outdoor rallies. Foreign press reports made much of the fact that this year's events centered on the small gathering of Communist Party elite and loyal supporters at the indoor Havana theater, perhaps a sign of Castro's uneasiness over the frustrations of his people, or of concerns over his stamina.
Last October, Castro fell while leaving a stage after a speech, breaking a kneecap and injuring an arm, while in 2001 he fainted after another outdoor speech, triggering yet another wave of rumors among Cuban-Americans, some of whom swear he suffers from Parkinson's disease or prostate cancer.
But his trademark beard impeccably trimmed and his thick hair slicked back, Castro appeared fit and at times fiery during his indoor speech. His hands were steady and his long, thin index finger often jabbed the air to emphasize his words.
He focused for several minutes on the case of Luis Posada Carriles, an anti-Castro activist and former CIA operative suspected of involvement in the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner leaving Venezuela that killed 73 people. After years of living in Central America, Posada slipped into the United States this past spring.
After media reports revealed that he was living in Miami, Castro blasted the U.S. for harboring a suspected terrorist while claiming to be leading a worldwide war against terrorism.
U.S. officials arrested Posada for illegally entering the country in May, and he will soon face a deportation hearing.
"We demand his extradition to Venezuela," Castro said, a demand that U.S. officials have so far ignored.
The speech was yet another forceful performance, impressive for a man of Castro's age. His determination and commitment to socialism are clearly unwavering, as is his die-hard opposition to the U.S.
While his audience was clearly handpicked for its loyalty, his hold on them was palpable.
His hold on the rest of the Cuban masses is harder to gauge, as the island's continued poverty and repressive police-state conditions grind on.
On or Off Cuba Ping.
That's what living under communism, will do to you.
One old commie suckin-up to another.
Like a Clinton rally.
Hillary Clinton and the Third Way***............For these self-appointed social redeemers, the goal-"social justice"-is not about rectifying particular injustices, which would be practical and modest, and therefore conservative. Their crusade is about rectifying injustice in the very order of things. "Social Justice" for them is about a world reborn, a world in which prejudice and violence are absent, in which everyone is equal and equally advantaged and without fundamentally conflicting desires. It is a world that could only come into being through a re-structuring of human nature and of society itself. ..........***
Old-Commies-need-to-STFU-and-die alert.
"I'll be glad when you're gone, you rascal you"
Mikie finally states the most important aspect of Cuba under Castro in the last sentence. Sigh.
I think it's high time that Castro's "revolution" was brought to an end. I can't believe this cold war dinosaur has held on.
Air America should add him to their Talk Show list....
I predict that Cuba or a combination of Cuba and Puerto Rico will be our 51st state.
Even while having to admit to the failures of this dictator, Wallace cannot help himself and tries to romanticize.
It's just astounding to watch these leftists. You can see the wheels turning in every one of them, thinking, "Socialism hasn't worked yet because I'm not in charge." They all seem to think that if only the right administrator were put into place, utopia could be had. It leads to Castros every time. They never learn.
"Fidel Castro, the man who changed Cuban history."
Aren't there a lot of men who changed Cuban history?
That seems a bit egotistical to say the least.
That being said, I think it's interesting that it was not an outdoor rally as usual. He must indeed be afraid of the situation. Another sign of that is that he allowed dissidents to meet instead of slamming them all in jail like he did a few years back.
D
Unbelievable that Castro has been able to remain in power for so long, and has caused the repression, misery and suffering of a people for fifty years.
We can't have the proletariat storming the Bastille.....again.
This old commie thug can't die fast enough to suit me. What on earth is keeping him vertical?
It's time for someone some where to take this old communist bassturd out of his misery....may he burn in hell...
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