This guy had no problem making the switch over to capitalism -- he was smart and had a great work ethic. According to him, about 70% of Cubans hate their government. The school teachers are all communists and the people know it and secretly think they're nuts. The pro-government rallies are all staged events with forced participation.
At least this is so according to this fellow, and he seemed abundantly trustworthy to me. He was completely untouched by any government communist indoctrination. He was an independant thinker, skeptical of the government, moral and hardworking -- the perfect conservative capitalist, really. If he's an indication of what Cubans are like, then I think Cuba must be just waiting to pop, in need only of a nudge in the right direction.
I'm not sure what to think about the embargo. I wish I had asked David what he thought about it. My feeling is that we should lift it, but I can also see that doing so might just enrich the government. I don't know. What keeps the Cuban people complacent, and how could it be undermined?
I think 40 years of communist oppression and propaganda of the Castro's regime have broken the back of the people.
I think playing into his hands only tightens his grip on any life left in those left and why President Bush will stand in their stead.
Don't be misled, President Bush is not soft on Cuba--"The American President's outburst sets right some misconceptions in Havana, at the U.S. State Department and on Capitol Hill. The word has been spread that under Secretary of State Colin Powell's tutelage, Bush was going to seek normalization with Castro's dictatorial regime. While the trade embargo may be modified, it will continue and will no longer be the only instrument deployed by Washington to democratize Cuba. What's more, Powell is fully on board with an expanded anti-Castro strategy."