Fidel resigns, Cuba goes on
Cuban President Fidel Castro, trademark cigar clenched in his mouth, meets with UN General Assembly president Salim Ahmed Salim of Tanzania in Salim's U.N. office in Manhattan. (Oct. 12, 1979) Credit: AP
The resignation of Fidel Castro as president of Cuba after nearly 50 years in power was hailed across the world yesterday as an event of historic importance.
That may be its proper context. But the 81-year-old dictator's abdication, the inevitable result of his illness, isn't likely to make much difference in the near future to the lives of Cubans, the conduct of their government, or its relations with the United States.
What it does offer, however, is an opportunity for the next U.S. president - if not necessarily the current one - to thaw the absurd and counterproductive diplomatic freeze between Washington and Havana. The new president should loosen up commercial and travel restrictions between the two nations and eventually lift entirely the economic embargo imposed on the communist regime 48 years ago.
The sanctions have had no effect on altering Cuba's behavior or bringing it closer to democracy. Allowing commercial, cultural and personal contacts with the island would give Cubans a glimpse of new economic and political possibilities. Opening up to Cuba also would lessen the risk that Havana would draw closer to Venezuela and China, competitors and potential adversaries of the U.S.
For now, nothing is likely to change on either side of the Florida Strait.
The Bush administration already has shut off any possibility of lifting the embargo because of Fidel Castro's decision to step down. And Raul Castro, who has been acting president since his brother's severe intestinal illness a year and a half ago, has vowed to keep Cuba on the same staunchly communist, dictatorial course.
Raul, 76, who may very well be anointed as the next president by a compliant national assembly, could raise to a higher level of power a cadre of younger party leaders, including technocrats better able to deal with the global economy. Raul is more open than his brother to economic reform and is credited with persuading Fidel to accept agricultural market reforms.
But Fidel, even behind the scenes, will remain an iconic figure. It's telling that the fiercely anti-Castro Cuban community in Miami greeted the news of Fidel's resignation not with cheers but with muted skepticism. They know Fidel will be a formidable presence until his death.
