That is the sound of another American journalist cayéndose de la mata. This one is from the left coast’s (literally and figuratively) Los Angeles Times.
No interpretation of the parliamentary decisions following the resignation of Fidel Castro signals a likelihood of more economic opportunity or personal freedom — the two greatest sources of young Cubans’ dissatisfaction.
Conspicuous in its absence is any mention of the nefarious US embargo against the Cuban regime that is the left’s preferred excuse for the malaise and hardships suffered by the Cuban people under the oppressive chains of the dictatorship. Then again, it would be hard for this journalist to argue that a lifting of the embargo would benefit the common Cuban when she is aware of who the true benefactors of such a policy change are:
The council was packed with “Raulistas” — loyalists of the longtime defense minister and men with personal wealth and power at stake should the country open the economic playing field to a wider sphere of Cubans. Two three-star generals of the Revolutionary Armed Forces were added to the council, joining two others who have served there for decades, along with Raul, the country’s only four-star general. [emphasis mine]
Sounds familiar, does it not? Unfortunately, even though it is apparent that this journalist has become aware that the regime’s elite ruling class pockets all the wealth it can while using the Cuban people as slave laborers, there are still many journalists who are clinging for dear life to a limb on that tree.
Nevertheless, that thump is a welcomed sound. She can now join the too few other journalists who have taken a tumble off the tree of ignorance.
A welcome thump indeed. I emailer her a thanks. I wonder how long before she’s on a plane back to LA.
There is no thump or falling from a tree or loss of ignorance here. There have been far too many bold statements (bold, of course, relative to before Raul’s “election”) made by far too many journalists on the island for it to be that they all just fell from the tree or were enlightened at once.
They’ve all been keeping mum waiting for the big story of Fidel’s death and people taking to the streets. That was what was at stake. Now that a transfer from Castro to Castro has proven a smooth (albeit illigitimate) one, the story of Castro’s death is less likely to be coupled with one of major unrest – so they have less to lose by saing things like this.
These are things that all those reporters – including this LA Times one – have been aware and conscious of ALL ALONG. They all know who the dissidents are. They all know what the system is. They only decided it was worth talking about now.
Being a journalist (mejor dicho: a journalism student) myself, I don’t give them any credit for being courageous. I’m just hoping this brought a permanent end to their cowardice.