It will no doubt shock regular readers of this blog to discover that I'm no big fan of Fidel Castro and the Cuban Communist regime.
In stark contrast to the situation in China, the human rights situation appears to be slowly improving in Cuba even if it is far from perfect. Raul Castro seems to be taking advantage of his elder brother's infirmity to "liberalise" (I use the word cautiously) Cuba both politically and economically.
According to this report by Rory Carroll of the Guardian, one fifth of Cuba's political prisoners have been freed this year. It's a small fraction of the overall number but it perhaps marks the beginning of political progress.
I hope that the leadership in Cuba will go further as Castro Major appears to be entering his twilight years. I'm concerned to hear though that they are looking at Vietnam as the model for "reform".
Let us hope that the good news about Cuba continues and that the United States responds in a positive fashion to significant political changes.
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1 comment:
Agree totally, especially with your last paragraph. In Spain when Castro died, and in Portugal when Salazar died, there was major political liberalisation. On a cautionary note, Yugoslavia didn't survive Marshall Tito's passing.
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