A multistage rocket
Por Manuel Alberto Ramy
Beginning
in early September, the rank-and-file of the Communist Party of Cuba
(PCC), the Young Communists Union (UJC) and the country’s labor
groups will begin to analyze the speech delivered on July 26 by
interim President Raúl Castro.
The
invitation, which encourages participants to freely express their
opinions and suggestions, opens an official space for the debate of
ideas.
In the
July 26 speech, Castro announced structural changes and asked Cubans
to abandon old-fashioned concepts. While he did not specify the
structural changes, it is easy to assume that he meant the economic
sector, the operation of enterprises, production, and an increase in
productivity. All these factors are critical.
The
extent of the changes — which won’t be spectacular, the acting
president said — as well as the new developments that might ensue
are not yet in the public domain. However, I believe that the
measures have already been defined in some manner or other.
If my
assessment is correct, the assemblies would be a prologue to the
changes; they would respond to indispensable needs and would weigh on
the implementation of the changes. The assemblies would not be
limited to a simple endorsement, even if the measures don’t
immediately satisfy many of the expectations.
The
first aspect that needs highlighting is that the debate over the
economy extends from the privacy of the homes to the conversations
among friends…
From
Havana
A
multistage rocket
By
Manuel Alberto Ramy Read Spanish Version
maprogre@gmail.com
Beginning
in early September, the rank-and-file of the Communist Party of Cuba
(PCC), the Young Communists Union (UJC) and the country’s labor
groups will begin to analyze the speech delivered on July 26 by
interim President Raúl Castro.
The
invitation, which encourages participants to freely express their
opinions and suggestions, opens an official space for the debate of
ideas.
In the
July 26 speech, Castro announced structural changes and asked Cubans
to abandon old-fashioned concepts. While he did not specify the
structural changes, it is easy to assume that he meant the economic
sector, the operation of enterprises, production, and an increase in
productivity. All these factors are critical.
The
extent of the changes — which won’t be spectacular, the acting
president said — as well as the new developments that might ensue
are not yet in the public domain. However, I believe that the
measures have already been defined in some manner or other.
If my
assessment is correct, the assemblies would be a prologue to the
changes; they would respond to indispensable needs and would weigh on
the implementation of the changes. The assemblies would not be
limited to a simple endorsement, even if the measures don’t
immediately satisfy many of the expectations.
The
first aspect that needs highlighting is that the debate over the
economy extends from the privacy of the homes to the conversations
among friends and coworkers to the academic and specialized world.
And it enters its rightful place: business enterprises and service
centers.
It is in
these decisive places where the battle of the economy is either won
or lost. If there is no real participation, the commitments can
remain a simple formality, despite the pressure that may be created
by the laws on labor discipline (Decrees 187 and 188) and the laws
that make administrative leaders responsible for the management of
businesses (Decrees 251 and 252).
The
first way to participate is by expressing opinions, criticism and
suggestions and making sure that they are taken into account. We
should remember that this mechanism of participation was used —
effectively — at important times in the lives of Cubans, such as the
crisis of the 1990s. (Read "From
Havana: Cuba and 21st-Century socialism,"
in Progreso Weekly, July
12, 2007.)
I think
that, while the nation’s leadership has a project in mind, the
summons to a debate seeks to establish a clearer harmony with the
people, be they party members or not, for the purpose of confirming
certainties, correcting flaws, expanding changes (or not) and
allowing the citizens to take part in the measures that will open a
new process.
The
summons also attempts to demonstrate popular support for certain
measures that might lack support among the leading cadres at various
levels. It would serve as an element of pressure for a change in
mindset, a jump-starter for the bureaucracy, which (not only in Cuba)
is a factor that operates on the basis of rituals, codified rules,
and generally is allergic to changes that might alter its routine
operation and control.
Otherwise,
what did Raúl Castro refer to on July 26 when he called on
Cubans to abandon old mindsets that may have been proper and adequate
in days gone by?
From a
strictly partisan angle, this decision is of vital importance. The
PCC, defined as the vanguard and guide of society, cannot remain on
the margins of an undeniable reality: the state of the nation is
everybody’s business.
To give
an official space where free expression is guaranteed is to grow as a
vanguard. A vanguard that goes too far ahead becomes disconnected
from the troops; if it holds back, it’s overtaken by the troops. What
works in military terms also works in political terms. Remember the
USSR.
Another
viewpoint that might help us understand this summons was presented by
Mariela Castro Espín (Read "Transformations
with and without Fidel,"
in Progreso Weekly, Aug.
30, 2007.) If we analyze how she defines Raúl Castro’s working
style, we’ll see that after he finds a consensus in decisions he does
not apply them at once but prepares the conditions so they may become
viable.
The
assemblies, like the decrees mentioned above and the pressures from
below on the bureaucracy, are, among other measures, part of the
feasibility.
A friend
asked me how I would catalog this moment. My answer: We’re looking at
a multistage rocket. This is one of the stages that propel us toward
the final objective — the well-being of the population, as it
achieves in the economic field the invulnerability achieved on the
military field.
There’s
an interesting detail. Along with Raúl Castro’s speech, Cubans
will also analyze the articles written by Fidel ("The
empire and the independent island," Granma,
Aug. 14, 2007) that dealt with the historical relationship between
the United States and Cuba. Published in three installments, the
articles indisputably demonstrate how, since 1821, U.S.
administrations have maintained their ambition to conquer our island.
To
discuss, criticize, and analyze both materials is to place the need
for internal changes (which I think cannot be postponed) in the
context of confrontation with the U.S. and Washington’s persistence
in absorbing us as a nation and liquidating us as a project.
While
imperial ambition should not halt certain changes — that, too, is an
imperial objective — it undoubtedly limits the depth of those
changes. The two materials about to be discussed place the evident
needs of the Cuban society into the context in which we are moving.
Manuel
Alberto Ramy is Havana bureau chief for Radio Progreso Alternativa
and editor of Progreso Semanal, the Spanish-language version of
Progreso Weekly.
Editor’s
Note: On Sept. 4, the
radio program "Ayer en Miami" broadcast a recording of a
wide-ranging conversation on this topic held in Havana by Francisco
Aruca and Manuel Alberto Ramy. You may listen to it by accessing the
AUDIO page of Progreso Semanal.
