A collage of Cuba

Cuba has been every socialist’s paradise. A hardcore communist will point to Cuba as the golden example of hammer-sickle ideology. The personality that mirrored Cuba for decades was Fidel Castro. He was a very charismatic and defiant leader, who stood his ground against the USA while other leaders baulked.

The best source for a better understanding on history and politics is fiction. We may have to read it with sufficient tolerance for inaccuracies due to author’s prejudice. One of the first books I read on Cuba was a mafia thriller from the pre-Castro era. Fulgenecio Batista was a puppet ruler propped up by the big brother, USA. He in turn handed over the keys of Havana to the powerful mafia who ran Casinos and brothels with no restraint. The casinos in Havana were hotspots for elite from across the world. Here was a place for them to have unrestrained fun with lavish money they had. They could gamble to their heart’s content and have orgy of any type they wished. Even though weak and incumbent Fulgenecio faced no threat of coup from his rivals as he restricted no human intent of greed, lust or power. In turn the governance was under the watchful eyes of cigar chomping Mafiosi.

By then Fidel was doing his education in USA, the country which would turn out to be his archrival for years to come. Che Guevera went on a motorcycle trip across the Americas (Courtesy: ‘Motorcycle Diaries’). Che who was already a politically conscious medical student realized his life is worth dedicating to the downtrodden ethnics.

Fidel landed in Cuba and attempted a coup. A far more reformed and less planned one than the second version that happened years later. This failed before it could accomplish anything. Fidel was caught and deported with a stern warning. May be no one knew it would cost Fulgenecio his presidency years later.

Fidel then came in touch with Che. They struck a chord with each other. Together they assembled a rag-tag army and landed on the Cuban coast. The army was outnumbered, under-trained and found the environment tough. Similar to the earlier adventure, the army suffered initial setbacks. At this point of time the bravery and determination of leaders had to be appreciated. The army found support in the common farmers and expatriates. Slowly the tide turned. In the end Fulgenecio was overthrown.

Fidel was not like the common dictators who conveniently forgot their promises when in power. He brought about the much needed reforms in the government. Che was the first finance minister. He was a hardcore leftist and found his rigid socialist policies may not be enough to run the nation. Soon Che found the administrative role suffocating and resigned the post and went back to his guerilla days.

The departure of Che was in a way welcome relief to Fidel who from then on donned the mantle of undisputed leader. Still Che or Fidel were not at all Stalinesque figures. They had a wide variety of wines, cigars and girl friends.

Life was not easy for the new born leftist Cuba. Although Cuba had an ally in USSR, they had to stand the arm twisting of big neighbor, USA. They tried out every tactic they knew- media, money, staged coups. The trade embargo hit them the most. Cuba had a very natural ally in USSR who was mighty pleased to have a station right outside USA. But after its fall Cuba wouldn’t have survived if not for Chavez. The much needed oil for Cuba was provided by Venezuela while Cuba provided healthcare facilities in return.

There was even a poorly managed coup dubbed as ‘Bay of Pigs’. The coup was allegedly staged by CIA. It poorly misfired and provided ample fuel for Fidel to proclaim the invincibility of the revolution. But Fidel found himself in the receiving end when it came to the Cuban missile crises. The world stood on borrowed time as two nuclear superpowers got ready with their deadly nuclear arsenals. Thankfully Krushcev backed off and world heaved a sigh of relief.

This is the Cuba I know of. The Cuba I collected from reading many books, periodicals, movies and newspapers. The Cuba that wins medals in boxing and volleyball. The Cuba that dared to offer an alternative form of governance in this liberalized world. A Cuba I may not recognize tomorrow.

When I read out that Fidel has resigned and Raul ushered in reforms, I was surprised. But it was some surprise waiting to happen.

In this liberalized world it’s difficult to maintain a separate entity. People rapidly interconnect with each other and identify each other easily. The world is evolving itself so that it becomes smaller and uniform. The ones that resists face the danger of elimination.

Moreover the concept of ‘welfare state’ has become outdated. The performance of the government is judged on the revenue it generates and losses it suffers. It’s no longer benevolent to dole out subsidies. May be these are the reasons why the ‘socialist’ Cuba has softened up- to become one with the world.