NELSON VALDES: A Modest ["Transition"] Proposal: From a Really Acceptable Cuban to Obama

[magbana]

NELSON VALDES: A Modest <"Transition"> Proposal: From A Really Acce
Posted by: "Walter Lippmann" [e-mail] walterlx
Wed Apr 22, 2009 7:59 pm (PDT)


04/19/09 - Cuba-L Analysis (Albuquerque) -

A Modest <"Transition"> Proposal: From A Really Acceptable Cuban to
President Barack Obama

by Nelson P Valdés

"... The despotic power of the master, the husband, and the father is no
engine of tyranny, but usually and naturally a tie of affection, and a
means of support and protection." - George Fitzhugh <1>

"... ¿Qué derecho tiene ningún gobierno a arrogarse la tutela de ninguna
parte del mundo?" - Fidel Castro, March 5, 1960 <2>

"... and at times we sought to dictate our terms. But I pledge to you that
we seek an equal partnership. There is no senior partner and junior partner
in our relations; there is simply engagement based on mutual respect and
common interests and shared values... I've already changed a Cuba policy
that I believe has failed to advance liberty or opportunity for the Cuban
people. " - President Barack Obama, April 17, 2009 <3>

As a result of the Trinidad/Tobago Summit, in recent days the United States
government and mass media have called on the Cuban government to react to
the good hearted initiatives of the government in Washington, DC. Cuba is
certainly thankful that such a powerful country is so interested in
advancing liberty and opportunity within our island. The fact that you do
not do the same with China - a huge country by comparison - only
demonstrates that we Cubans are more important to you than all those
millions of people in Asia.

Out of magnanimous politeness the United States government did not want to
be very precise as to what it expects of us Cubans so that we can be
granted the blessings of a democratic system in our island. We do
appreciate that the interests of Cubans is what guides American policy
toward us, something that - obviously - we forget to do ourselves. Your
selflessness is commendable, while our own self-interested behavior is
certainly demeaning.

We have decided, consequently, to respond to your expectations of
reciprocity. We want to be good and be like you. Hereby we are lifting our
economic embargo of the United States. Moreover, we will go the extra mile.
We have come up with a number of initiatives of our own, hoping that you
will be pleased and recognize us as your faithful students. The proposals
should be considered our response to your substantial and magnificent first
steps do as they wish with their own money].

Please note that what follows is a request to you; it is not a demand. If
there is something in this statement that your American Congress does not
like, we will be delighted to delete it and offer our apology - beforehand.
As Tomas Estrada Palma, the first president you put in charge in 1901, we
know that you understand our interests better than we do. We are so lucky to
be so close to your shores, so you can continue acting like our father or
big brother. The laws of political gravitation and geography have certainly
turned us into diplomatic realists. terminology!]

We know that there are any things that the American government wants for our
people in Cuba but your dogged respect of our sovereignty limits your
freedom to tell us what to do. Of course, these are just the first steps in
what you properly have called our necessary political transition.

The list below is part of a political roadmap as you like to say. We will be
preparing a similar economic shopping list in the future in order to
properly have a free economic system wide open to your highly responsible
banks and financial institutions. We now realize that economic and social
inequality has important political benefits. We have been wrong assuming
that the poor should be involved in politics and we are certain that you
will help us with that problem too. The poor should spend their time working
on other things.

But let us begin with the political side of the equation: In order to have a
"democratic opening" and a "multi-party elections" system in Cuba, the
government of Cuba hereby requests of the Obama administration the
following:

1. That Newt Gringrich and Sarah Palin be permitted to become Cuban
citizens so that they may offer Cuba the proper guidance on how to set up
political parties in the island. They will be put in charge of a two-party
system. We realize that we do not need more than two parties, as you have
shown the world through your example.

2. That the United States National Security Agency help the Cuban police
modernize their surveillance technology so that we can better keep track of
the congressmen we elect, as you do so well.

3. That the United States Congress lends a hand to the Cuban authorities in
order to set up in Cuba a similar legal system to the Foreign Intelligence
Surveillance Act, thus we can democratize listening to everyone's
conversations. Cuba intends to ask the United States for appropriate
funding in order to train personnel in the use of the equipment
necessary.

4. That the United States Congress assist Cuba in setting up the legal
system to allow the establishment of business lobbies within the Cuban
political system. We are aware that members of Congress every day hear from
the business interests and want to establish that influence in the island as
well.

5. That the United States send a corps of privately financed lobby
legislative coordinators to rewrite Cuban law, thereby bringing it into
agreement with the lobbyist-written laws of the United States and freeing
up our future elected officials to spend time fundraising for their
media-intensive campaigns.

6. That Democratic and Republican parties from the United States set up
training sessions on how to raise money from private commercial, financial
interests to fund electoral campaigns. We do want the best politicians that
money can buy.

7. That a team of the best Secretaries of States from around the United
States be sent to Cuba to help mimic the process of stealing elections as
done in Ohio, Florida and elsewhere. We are particularly interested in
learning the unique methods by which poor and non-white people can be caged.

8. That the best private election counting companies from the United States
who successfully have stolen elections be sent to Cuba in order to learn the
best procedures to accomplish the same transparent methods that American
democracy proclaims.

9. Since we are so new at this game of political democracy we expect to have
a US Assistant to Democratization within our government in Havana. Since the
United States government knows so much about such matters, we will pay the
salary of the US government assigned person. We will provide that person
with the rank of Minister within the Council of State. Moreover, the
position will have the power to veto any decision that we Cubans make. After
all, we do not want to make mistakes on such serious matters as building a
properly functioning democracy - something that you Americans do so well.

10. Considering that we will start from no experience on these matters of
free elections, we will appreciate it if you continue the funding of
dissidents and through them help us choose the best candidates for our
elections and in the process you can exercise your right to give media and
financial support to the candidates you prefer for us.

11. Our mass media has not been free or balanced, like yours. Moreover, we
like the idea of making the irrelevant important and vice versa.. Send us a
team of Fox News to show our media how to build party mouthpieces and we
will call the effort "justo y balanceado."

12. It is also urgent that you send a team of Harvard professors, as you
did in 1902, to rewrite our history textbooks. We truly understand the need
to forget the past in order to forge ahead. We know you want us to do that,
and we are willing.

Two additional comments:

We think it is wonderful to have in the United States a black President. It
is certainly much easier for us to have a black father figure up north,
rather than a white one, telling us what we ought to do with all of our
political institutions and economy. We are just ripe for the tutelage, a
sort of "lowest-hanging fruit".<4> We are earnestly looking forward to
the plucking.

We know we can not be manifested by destiny to become a great empire. God
clearly chose only the United States for such an important role. But
perhaps you could at least give us a few tips about expanding our reach. You
took by war or intimidation all the land to the west of the original 13
British colonies -- and then some. Maybe we could pick up just a few
Caribbean islands -- with your help, of course.

--------------------------------------

<1>Louis A Pérez, Cuba in the American Imagination: Metaphor and the
Imperial Ethos, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2008,
p. 108

<2> PALABRAS PRONUNCIADAS POR EL COMANDANTE FIDEL CASTRO RUZ, PRIMER
MINISTRO DEL GOBIERNO REVOLUCIONARIO, EN LAS HONRAS FUNEBRES DE LAS
VICTIMAS DE LA EXPLOSION DEL BARCO "LA COUBRE", EN EL CEMENTERIO DE COLON,
EL 5 DE MARZO DE 1960.
http://www.cuba.cu/gobierno/discursos/1960/esp/f050360e.html

<3> 04/18/09 - US Department of State - "At Times We Sought to Dictate our
Terms. But I Pledge to You that We Seek an Equal Partnership"
http://cuba-l.unm.edu/?nid=67926

<4> 04/14/09 - The Washington Note - US Military Leaders Issue Statement on
America's Cuba Policy http://cuba-l.unm.edu/?nid=67751&q=fruit&h=

Nelson P Valdés is the Director of the Cuba-L Project. Ma Chetera, Saul
Landau and Ned Sublette have contributed with suggestions and editorial
comments to this piece.

http://cuba-l.unm.edu/