Castro undergoes surgery, hands off power

[BaronVonBigmeat]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/07/31/cuba.castro/index.html

HAVANA, Cuba (CNN) -- Cuban President Fidel Castro was undergoing intestinal surgery and provisionally handed over power in the Communist island nation to his younger brother Raul, according to a statement read on Cuban television Monday night.

Castro's secretary, Carlos Balenciago, read a letter he said was from the president in which he said stress had forced him into surgery and that he would be in bed for several weeks after the operation was complete. Castro turns 80 on August 13.

Apparently people in Miami are going apeshit with celebrations. He'll probably recover, unfortunately.

 

[Redhots]

Chomping at the bit to start building McDonalds in Cuba eh?

 

[Mr.Conley]

Chomping at the bit to start building McDonalds in Cuba eh?

Yes

 

[Gem]

Why we haven't just ended the embargo and flooded Cuba with capitalism is beyond me. Surely it would have ended his regime faster than exploding cigars have!

 

[Mr.Conley]

Why we haven't just ended the embargo and flooded Cuba with capitalism is beyond me. Surely it would have ended his regime faster than exploding cigars have!

Exactly.

 

[-Cp]

Good.. I hope he dies and can finally meet ol' Sparky..

 

[Avatar4321]

Now do you know what would be very Ironic? If his brother decides not to hand back power. I mean he just made his brother the cuban dicator. And its not like we are talking about the most honest, good, and decent family in the world. Now that would be interesting to watch.

 

[insein]

Now do you know what would be very Ironic? If his brother decides not to hand back power. I mean he just made his brother the cuban dicator. And its not like we are talking about the most honest, good, and decent family in the world. Now that would be interesting to watch.

Probably not a good thing to hope for. According to cuban papers, His brother is not as "moderate" as Fidel is. So in other words, he's more extreme than Fidel.

Regardless of what happens, we do need to end the embargo and spread capitalism to those people. They will drop that communist regime so fast it will make their heads spin.

 

[José]

I don’t think that comunism constitutes the core of the cuban regime.

What you really have in Cuba is an authocratic regime centered on the “charismatic” persona of Castro.

I call this regime Castrism.

Castrism does not rely primarily on brainwashing and is not justified primarily on ideological grounds (socialism).

Castrism relies, first and foremost, on the “charismatic” father figure provided by Castro.

Although you also have a much, much bigger personality cult in North Korea, the total indoctrination and brainwashing of the population carried out by the stalinist state allows the replacement of the leaders.

In North Korea, the state is not “legitimised” by any of its leaders so it can survive their deaths. In Cuba, the state is “legitimised” by Castro.

In Cuba you have a repressive regime that I call Castrism, but in NK you don’t have Kim-Jongism, you have a full fledged totalitarian state.

If my theory is right, the scenario presented by Avatar can be immediately discarded.

By definition, Castrism cannot survive Castro’s death... if my theory is right, the best Raul could hope for is to preside over a transitional government.

But castrism also means that the instantaneous democratisation of Cuba predicted by insein once the embargo is dropped is a myth.

Castrism will survive in Cuba as long as Castro is around and I doubt that even the incorporation of Cuba as the 51th american state would change this : )

But this does not mean I disagree with him...

The embargo is nothing but a dinosaur of the Cold War, imposed on the american people by the cuban exiled community in Florida.

Completely counter-productive and probably the biggest obstacle for the democratisation of Cuba after Castro himself : )

Poor american people... have to put up with a “cucaracha” lobby, as if the jewish one was not bad enough LOL

The end of the economic sanctions would not bring Castro’s demise but it would smoothen out the transition from Castrism to democracy.

 

[BaronVonBigmeat]

I'm sure the transition from Castrism towards Raulism will be smooth, seeing as how the alternative would be a bullet in the brain.

I do wish the embargo would die though. I've responded to Castro myths in other forums, and this is the only crutch his groupies have to stand on. More trade means there are more boats coming and going and it should be easier to smuggle things in (guns) and out (people).

 

[José]

Originally posted by BaronVonBigMeat
I'm sure the transition from Castrism towards Raulism will be smooth, seeing as how the alternative would be a bullet in the brain.

You see... When Kim Jong-il dies, even the janitor of the Presidential Palace could take his place and the regime will continue to function normally.

In a stalinist state, the level of indoctrination and authoritarian control over the civil society is so great that the population don’t even know the leader is alive or dead or even whether or not the country has a leader if the rulers don’t want them to. In fact even the private life of the individual is regulated by the state.

If a state depends on the charisma of its leader to survive or at least function normally, it is not a truly totalitarian state.

Contrary to what most CANF fanatics preach, Cuba is not a stalinist state.

Cuba is an autocracy with “moderate” levels of authoritarian control (when compared with a real totalitarian state)... more or less like Tito’s Yugoslavia.

The parallel between Tito and Castro is almost perfect IMO.

The very existence of Yugoslavia depended entirely on the charisma of its autocrat.

When he died, the yugoslav autocracy lost its unifying factor and the rest is history... the artificial country fell apart.

In Cuba, the autocracy is responsible for the survival of Castro’s regime, the country itself is internally cohesive and does not depend on it.

Castro’s personal charisma is the raison d’etre of the cuban state, comunism being little more than a slogan, specially after the dissolution of the SU.

I believe he knows it. I think he is haunted by the fact he could never turn the cuban autocracy into a regime capable of standing on its own.

This is why, unlike Castrism, “Raulism”, “Alarconism” etc etc won’t last long.

At least, this is the way I see it.

 

[Annie]

Things aren't looking better, but I bet there were times that our presidents could say their health problems were a state secret. And where in tarnation is Raul?:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/08/03/wcuba03.xml

My health is a state secret, says Castro in TV statement
By Philip Hart in Havana, Harry Mount in New York and Ian Ball in Miami
(Filed: 03/08/2006)

In a statement attributed to Fidel Castro that has only fuelled the rumours surrounding his health, the Cuban leader said that his medical condition was a "state secret" and that it would require the "passage of time" to assess his recovery.

He added that he was feeling "fairly well", according to the words read on his behalf by a state television presenter.


"I cannot invent good news, because that wouldn't be ethical. And if the news were bad, the only one to benefit is the enemy," he said in his statement.

"I wish to say that the situation is stable, but a real evolution of the state of one's health requires the passing of time. The most I could say is that the situation will remain stable for many days before a verdict can be delivered."

The fact that their notoriously verbose president, who hates to delegate even the smallest detail, was unable to make the announcement in person has not been lost on the Cuban people.

Most suspect that he must be seriously ill after emergency surgery. "If he could do it, he would appear on TV to show his people and the Americans that he's alive and recovering," said Carlos, a shop worker, reflecting an opionion widely held on the streets of Havana yesterday.

The mystery over Castro's condition intensified after experts doubted his explanation that his internal bleeding had been caused by extreme stress. Doctors said that stress might exacerbate an existing medical problem but could not by itself cause the sustained bleeding of which Castro had complained.

American officials said they believed that Castro was still alive.

Ricardo Alarcón, the speaker of Cuba's parliament, said Castro was "very alive and very alert," and that the "final moment is still very far away" despite the surgery being a "delicate operation".

Castro's statement blamed the need for secrecy about his condition on his enemy, the United States, which he said coveted information. The statement urged Cubans to be prepared to defend their country and to continue "to struggle and to work".

Cubans are indeed continuing with the daily struggle of their work and lives. The country's small collection of dissidents have maintained a low profile and urged calm.

There were reports yesterday of unusual troops movements in Havana and in eastern Cuba. Army units in the eastern city of Guantanamo were reported to be rounding up reservists and state security agents were said to be intensifying their checks on dissidents.

"We know the military is mobilised," said Mariela Castro Fernández, a dissident in Guantanamo. "They have us corralled. There is a terrible silence outside."

In Miami and the Florida Keys Cuban exile groups were readying their boats - stockpiling fuel, food and medicines and replacing worn engine parts - preparing for possible mercy missions to Cuba if conditions there deteriorate suddenly.

Cuban-Americans, who number some 830,000 in South Florida, have demonstrated in the past that they could put to sea a fleet of 1,000 or more small craft in a matter of days in response to any humanitarian or political crisis in their home island.

 

[Redhots]

The wait is killing me!

Oh boy oh boy oh boy, pretty soon we can go in and topple the Cuban Government and put all the corrupt aristocrats back in power and turn Cuba into a nice resort for rich Americans!

 

[insein]

The wait is killing me!

Oh boy oh boy oh boy, pretty soon we can go in and topple the Cuban Government and put all the corrupt aristocrats back in power and turn Cuba into a nice resort for rich Americans!

Bout damn time.

 

[José]

Baptista’s dictatorship = bad

Castro’s autocratic dictatorship = good

A democratic cuban state where the cuban people have the right to “topple” their leaders in a peaceful way = NOOOO, SIR!! We don’t want to lose our chance to bash the US.

If tomorrow the US restores full diplomatic ties with Cuba and grant it most favoured nation status they will be here, 5 minutes later shouting down with Castro!.

This is the main problem with these message boards...

For each serious individual you meet, you have to put up with the crap that comes out of the anus of at least 500 clowns (250 pro and 250 against the US).

 

[JOKER96BRAVO]

Even with Castro dead, nothing good will come of it.
His brother is far worse and hates Americans even more.

 

[Annie]

I caught a bit about Chavez and Castro on my way home today. Would be big, if not for London:


http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2297619

Chavez: Castro in 'Great Battle for Life'
Venezuela's Chavez Says Castro Is in 'Great Battle for Life' but Optimistic About His Recovery
The Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Thursday his close friend and ally Fidel Castro is in a "great battle for life," but he also expressed optimism about the 79-year-old Cuban leader's recovery.

"From here, let's pray to God for Fidel and his recovery, and he's fighting a great battle," Chavez said in a televised speech from the eastern state of Anzoategui.

Chavez said he had received a message from Castro on Wednesday "that filled me with more optimism, with more faith."

"Among other things Fidel told me ... 'I keep saying Chavez, God help Chavez and his friends,'" Chavez said.

"I wrote to him in my own handwriting last night, in the early morning, to send it with the messenger who was returning immediately: 'You are fighting a great battle every day, all these nights," Chavez said.

Castro said July 31 he was stepping aside temporarily, granting his powers to his brother Raul as head of the government and the Communist Party so he could recover from intestinal surgery.

Neither brother has been seen in public since then. Details of Castro's condition, his ailment and the surgical procedure he underwent are being treated as a "state secret."