People tend to repeat actions and strategies that were successful, be it as individuals or as groups. Even governments, such as Cuba’s, sometimes show little creativity and don’t escape this facile practice of repeating and “taking hold” of well-used — and sometimes abused — tactics.
Thus, through the years, we have witnessed how from campaign to campaign — one of the synonyms of this vocabulary is “mission,” which the Chavez government in Venezuela uses — they steal time and resources from the country and the whole people. With their known skills and control for “spreading rumors” in society, they made us, and still make us, believe what is most convenient to their interests.
So, they divided families, and as if that rupture weren’t sufficient, they verbally abused and even humiliated those who wanted to leave Cuba. I remember many of the promises we were made as children, of the triumphalist utopias that never came true, of those “Three Kings” of social justice who never arrived. They atrophied our ability the right to oppose, to choose among several parties –or none — and they blockaded freedoms.
The conceived of the “Havana cordon” as a coffee plantation lost by whim and improvisation. They conceived the 10 Million Ton Sugar Harvest to improve the financial situation in Cuba and turned the entire nation to this effort. Then, more and more projects failed, campaigns failed — like a strong election campaign, but with only one candidate. From the perpetual deepening 53-year crisis — euphemistically called “the Special Period” — they created the “rectification of errors and negative tendencies” program to give hope to people of good will.
As time went on the dictatorial government had their cadres and society immersed in this new program. Then came the “perfection of business,” another gap of several years without questions because they are working to improve everything; and the result is more of the same: another period of mythological manipulation, propaganda and super-politicization of 360 degrees, which led us nowhere. And what happened to the Energy Revolution? Why is our electric service still cut off?
The saddest thing is that all these deceptive tasks and plans that they offer society have no deadlines. Unlike any serious proposal, they do not set dates or stages to achieve certain project milestones. And time passes and no one asks — much less publicly — about the results of the program.
With time the rhythm of these crippled plans is lost; among the corruption and inefficiency everything slows down and they come up with a new plan to reestablish the initial enthusiasm, a process like a video game, with bonds of permanence.
It seems there is no schedule or timer to the nonsense cooked up by the Cuban historical leadership, despite their many failures and setbacks. It seems that these repetitive manipulative schemes are sociological probes that continue to drain their failures, the wheel with which they draw water allowing them to stay afloat.
When his health stopped the “eternal guide” from continuing to lead the country and he ceded the post to his brothers, rumors of Raul reforms created expectations in society. But in the last two years the hereditary president has only proposed the Guidelines of the Economic and Social Policy of the Party and the Revolution. He repeats the old procedure of introducing the demagogic catheter to ensure his continuity at the head of Cuba and welfare and positioning of his family members.
In February Raul Castro will complete his first five official years of leading the government and the national media has already announced elections in October. Who will be elected? As dictatorships always propose their continuation, before the event everyone is already sure of the results: there won’t be any surprises.
August 30 2012
