July 29, 2008
Cuba's problem is closer to psychiatry than to politics
Great column by Carlos Alberto Montaner that explores why raul castro is not being more bold in reforming Cuba's terrible economy:
Raúl is governing to please Fidel, not to solve the country's never-ending woes. His overburdened psychological biography can be summed thus: a whole life trying to get his admired older brother to value and praise him. Ever since childhood, and especially since adolescence, when his parents placed him under Fidel's tutelage, Raúl has tried to gain Fidel's appreciation.But Fidel is narcissistic, the kind of person emotionally incapable of admiring other human beings. Other people exist only to applaud, not to be applauded. In addition, Fidel knows that Raúl's psychic subordination guarantees that his work, even if it is a monstrous failure, will not be dismantled as long as he lives. The invisible rope he placed around his younger brother's neck, a rope Fidel will never loosen, is a guarantee of the prolongation (albeit temporary) of a regime that no one believes in any longer.
What will happen when Fidel dies? Will Raúl continue to please his brother's corpse, or will he manage to throw off the yoke? I don't know. Raúl is 77, and very few people that old are capable of changing. His personality disorder fits perfectly within the broad syndrome of ''co-dependency,'' and shaking off those chains is not at all easy. Deep down, Cuba's problem is closer to psychiatry than to politics. Perhaps it has always been thus.
Read the whole thing at Herald.com.
Posted by Henry Louis Gomez at July 29, 2008 05:02 PM
Comments
"perhaps it has always been so"-loco endemoniado syndrome.
Posted by: Gusano ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.babalublog.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at July 29, 2008 05:43 PM
Raulito MUST be scared of his shadow. Were he SMART, in dealing with "Brasil" - He Would be finding out how to create Ethanol, efficiently, from "La Caina" - AND - how to grow "La Caina" more efficiently - calling in Brazilian Experts - as he could pay back the Brazilians in CUBAN SLAVE LABOR.
Why he does not - Quien Sabe?
-S-
Posted by: Dr.Shalit at July 29, 2008 08:23 PM
Cubans (in Cuba) have a dismal track record overall in politics, despite some exceptions. If Cubans had been better at politics, they would have found a political solution to the Batista problem, which was very much a political problem (though yes, some politicians tried that and failed).
But even apart from that, there was clearly serious psychological or even psychiatric dysfunction in the Cuban population, which enabled the Castro disaster. Obviously that does not apply to every Cuban, but it definitely applied to a large enough number that disaster became all too possible.
Maybe, someday, we as a people will be able to face reality and take substantial steps to deal with it, as opposed to continuing to blame everything on a relatively few "bad apples." There are rotten apples in every country and society, but how many countries have self-destructed like Cuba did? Think about it.
Posted by: asombra at July 30, 2008 10:23 AM
From the Herald link:
On a recent trip to Brazil, one of the most prominent Cubans in government confessed it, in private and away from microphones: ``We know that this has come to an end. What we wish is to transform the regime ourselves, a little at a time, to prevent major upheavals and to keep the Americans from hijacking the process.''
Translation:
"We will do whatever it takes to protect and preserve our positions and perks and prevent the guilty from being punished. Think Russian model, or Nicaraguan model. As long as the same people (or their offspring) maintain control, even if they sing a conveniently "reformed" new tune, we'll be fine. The last thing we want is what the country really needs and what justice calls for."
Posted by: asombra at July 30, 2008 02:30 PM
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)
