From our Bureau of Socialist Flexibility and Openness to Change
Benjamin Ziff, the man who serves as ambassador to Cuba (without the title of “ambassador”) has made it clear that Cuba’s worst enemy is its government.
Of course, most Cubans know that already, but the world’s fawning news media has been so deeply enchanted by the so-called “Revolution” for the past 64 years that such an assessment of the economic collapse of Castro, Inc. comes as a surprise, and is interpreted as big news.
By the way, for a close look at the problems described by Ziff, go HERE for a glimpse at the inner workings of simple bodegas in Cuba. (in Spanish).
Loosely translated from Diario de Cuba
Benjamin Ziff, the top US diplomat in Havana, told Reuters that private business in Cuba could take over in an economy facing perhaps its greatest challenge since Fidel Castro’s rise to power in 1959.
“Cuba’s state economy has traditionally not given results, and recently it has given even less,” Ziff said in a recent interview with the British agency in which he spoke of the business and educational programs that the United States Embassy on the island .
We want a democratic, free and prosperous Cuba. The prosperous part depends to a large extent on the private sector,” he added, referring to the programs that, however, clash with the will of the regime. The Cuban authorities often accuse the US embassy of “interference” and of trying to overthrow the Government.
“(The United States) is betting that the private sector, as it grows, will become a faction that opposes the Revolution,” Miguel Díaz-Canel said before the recent March 26 vote in Cuba. “And we won’t let that happen,” he added.
The Cuban government did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on the program. The US program workshops in early April passed without interference from Cuban officials, according to Reuters.
The United States, which says it operates “transparently” in Cuba, is not alone in seeking to promote Cuba’s fledgling private sector. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Swedish aid agency held similar workshops on the island last month to train entrepreneurs.
The allied governments of Russia and China have also recently offered their own plans to develop the Cuban private sector.