Cuba under the US Planned 'Peaceful Transition' (very important read)

Cuba under the US Planned ´Peaceful Transition´
Carolina Cositore*

Havana, (Prensa Latina) George W. Bush, president of the United States, speaks of a "peaceful transition to democracy in Cuba," and uses this plan as justification for the draconian measures he takes to hasten such eventuality.

It therefore behooves both Cuban and US citizens to clearly understand just exactly what effects this plan would have on the Island nation; Cubans, obviously, because said plan would affect their quality of life, and US citizens because it will require another great outlay of money, materiel, and the lives of their sons and daughters, and -as will be clear in what follows- would be yet another ugly intervention causing murder and mayhem to enrich a few.

To understand the end result of this plan it is not necessary to extrapolate from the abhorrent history of US involvement in Cuba, Latin America, and the rest of the world. The plan and expected consequences are spelled-out clearly in the 423-page report prepared in May 2004 for Bush and signed by Colin Powell, then Secretary of State. It represents the official policy of the United States toward Cuba. http://www.state.gov/p/wha/rt/cuba/commission/2004/c12236.htm

What is remarkable in a public report that originates from this institution and government, expert at putting a "spin" on facts, is its clarity; this is a plan for Cuba from the point of view of capitalists who want to rape it. Equally notable is that it does not address whether or not there is now democracy in Cuba, but instead is unambiguous that the labeled transition to "democracy" means to "colonialist-style capitalism" in every instance where it uses the word "democracy".

Since the report is so crystal clear, let us pose some questions and allow it to speak for itself.

PEACEFUL TRANSITION?

To begin with the "peaceful" part of the peaceful transition, even leaving aside the germane point of the extent to which the Cuban people would defend their sovereignty, and assuming, as the report assumes, that most or many Cubans would want the "benefits" of capitalism, it would then follow that such transition should be substantially peaceful.

Why then does page 157 of the report say: "A peaceful transition to democracy [in Cuba] will require the presence of effective, professional Cuban security institutions. As an immediate priority, and assuming the new Cuban government desires it, the United States would be prepared to assist a free Cuba develop a truly professional civilian police force.

Reliable military forces could help transition authorities prevent massive sea borne migration. [bold inserted] And page 81: " [The United States must] be prepared to respond positively to a request from a transition government to assist with public security and law enforcement during the initial stages of the transition, to protect humanitarian assistance providers and the Cuban population.

We must ask ourselves why so much security and force be necessary in a peaceful transition. Cuba is indeed a developing country, not a rich one, yet since the Revolution, all of her people have become accustomed to the fulfillment of their basic needs and wants, said fulfillment unavailable to all people in other nations, including in the US.

FOOD

First, at the present time, no one in Cuba is hungry. Sufficient food intake, carefully nutritionally balanced, is guaranteed to everyone. In addition, supplementary fruit and vegetables and, to a lesser extent, meat and fish are for sale cheaply. What would happen to the food supply after the "transition to democracy"? Page 78 of the US report explains: "There are a number of different food security scenarios that could confront a transition government in Cuba.

The US Government and private organizations have determined that there may very well exist a severe case of malnutrition and lack of available supply and money to feed the Cuban people, or sectors of the Cuban people, to avoid massive sickness and disease."

And, of particular concern given Cubans love and care for their children; page 80: "Should the food security system in Cuba deteriorate and malnutrition rates rise, children under five will be at particular risk."

MEDICAL CARE

Second, at present all Cubans receive excellent, free medical care and their life expectancy equals or betters that of developed nations. There are more doctors per capita in Cuba than in any other country on the globe, Cuba sends medical teams to other countries, trains health personnel from other lands in Cuba, and receives the sick from many nations where they cannot afford to pay for their care.

Would this commendable situation exist after the US plan? No. page 144: "A Cuban transition government might consider, in cooperation with private pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies,and aid donors, instituting access to basic medical services and medicines on a discounted basis, as is now being done in Africa and other poverty-stricken countries."

At present, Cuba is a poor, but not poverty-stricken, nation.

The report makes no comment on the consequences lack of free medical care would have on the health and life expectancy of Cubans.

THE ELDERLY

Third, the Cuban government ensures that all third age people have their basic needs met, from retirement pensions and/or social security benefits. The report declares this would not be the case after transition; page 140: "The Cuban economy and government budget after transition may not be able to sustain the level of unearned benefits and the lax requirements for eligibility that the communist system permitted."

EDUCATION

Fourth, as with her medical system, Cuba's education is world-renowned. Her entire population is literate and increasingly well-educated, both those educated since the Revolution and those taking advantage of the "university for all" programs, Cuban school attendance and graduation rates are exemplary; education in Cuba is free from preschool through graduate school.

As the report makes clear, free, quality education is not the US aim. The goal instead is a return to the quality private, substandard public education that is the norm in other countries; for public schools, page 81: "[The United States must] Prepare to respond positively to a request from transition authorities to help keep schools open, even if teachers are paid with food aid or volunteers have to be temporarily imported, in order to keep children and teenagers off the streets during this potentially unstable period."

The return to paid, private and religious education, pages 97 and 98: "The Offices of Non/Public Schools and Faith-Based Initiatives, US Department of Education, could serve as facilitating agencies in ensuring that the system recognizes private as well as public educational providers, and could: a) "Facilitate the development of private, including faith-based, education.

b) "Ascertain which of the religious groups that had schools in Cuba have plans to reopen their schools.

c) "Assist in consideration of changing laws and regulations to permit private providers to operate and offer a full range of services, from short courses to degree programs."

HOUSING

Fifth, in Cuba one owns [or rents] only the home in which you live. That is, since the Revolution, there is no longer the situation wherein one person owns three homes and two families go homeless. Most Cubans since the Revolution either own their home or apartment or pay minimal rent, with buying privileges, to the State.

Some Cuban-Americans, who left rather than share, want the situation to revert to when they owned considerable property to the detriment of others, and the US wants to help them; page 42: "Implementation of [the new] laws must address the legitimate desire of US citizens to seek redress for the confiscation of their property."

Pages 226-227: "The US Government, if requested by a transition Cuban government, could help establish a structure for addressing property expropriations."

"With regard to claims involving residential property, temporary tenant restrictions should be permitted to avoid undue hardship on current occupants. If the property is occupied as a home, then the claimant should be unable to evict the tenants and take possession of the property for a specified period of time. Additionally, the owner will be restricted as to how much rent to charge the tenants or in the amount of any increases in their rents."

[Note: In the US, the typical time for eviction is 30 days]

FARMS

Sixth, food is raised in Cuba either on State-run farms or by private farmers joined into agricultural cooperatives. After the transition, these cooperatives would return to the pre-Revolution condition, again extant in much of Latin America, with absentee landowners and uncultivated land; page 212: "Agricultural cooperatives could be sold to their members, which is a form of management-employee buyout. Other agricultural enterprises could target sales to strategic outside investors."

Clearly, if the farmers do not have the requisite dollars, the land would return to large landowners."

All of the above, the force required, serious lack of food and medical care, no money for the elderly, raises an important point.

The report declares that the "gross national export of Cuba, presently used to pay for the peoples" needs, is 1.6 billion dollars. We must then ask why there would be insufficient funds to continue to meet those needs.

REASON FOR INSUFFICIENT FUNDS

The US report gives two reasons. One that money, plus six percent interest, must be paid for industries, factories and other "expropriated" properties; page 228: "The US Government should encourage a free Cuba to indicate at an early stage in the transition, and in the strongest possible terms, Cuba's intent to settle the expropriation issue as quickly as it can and in an open and fair manner."

RECLAIMING NATIONALIZED PROPERTY

That expropriation issue being, as pages 207 and 208 clarify: "The expropriation of US assets was one of the major initial causes of the deterioration of relations between Castro's Cuba and the United States and of the imposition of the US trade embargo.

The US Foreign Claims Settlement Commission (FCSC) has certified 5,911 claims (totaling about $1.8 billion) by US nationals against the Castro regime for the taking of their property since January 1, 1959.The FCSC determined that simple interest at 6 percent should be included as part of the certified claims. Using this figure results in a value in excess of $7 billion, as of April 2004."

FOREIGN DEBT RE-INSTITUTED

And two, the foreign "debt" currently strangling the rest of the Third World would be reinstituted in Cuba and the back interest paid. Page 222: "A free Cuba will need to normalize relations with its external creditors. This would involve a number of actions by Cuba and the international community, including an effort to reschedule Cuba"s debt, including arrears, and establish conditions whereby Cuba might resume making the debt service payments."

All now becomes crystal clear. Obviously, if Cuba's income is $1.6 billion, and it must pay $7 billion, plus on the foreign debt, the country would be destitute.

One final point: The report repeatedly refers to a "free Cuba". One must ask, aside from the US security forces that would be present to "secure" the transition, would Cuba be truly free or would a US bureaucracy control her? Page 121:

"If requested by a transition government, the US Government should. Establish in Havana an Office of Agricultural Affairs (OAA) and an Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), which would enable the US Government to assist with development activities and to foster increased trade opportunities for both countries.."

And page 250: "In order to be prepared for a transition and to implement programs in the economic arena quickly, it would be prudent to establish a US Government Standing Committee for Economic Reconstruction (SCER), to act in coordination with the Department of State Transition Coordinator specifically on economic issues addressed in this report.

The SCER would meet as necessary to review reconstruction plans, ensure that appropriate agencies are prepared to implement programs immediately and to update programs as needs change or as a situation might dictate.

This committee should be made up of representatives from Commerce, State, USAID, Justice, SBA, OPIC, EXIM, Agriculture, HUD, USTR, and Treasury. Other agencies can be included as required. This Committee should be chairs at the Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) level with participation at the DAS or Office Director level, at participating agencies."

There should now be no doubt in anyone's mind that the outcome of a US transition to capitalism for Cuba would mean hunger, sickness, death, homelessness, poverty and despair for a people now well-fed, healthy, long-lived, well-educated, and with no homeless.

What the choice for Cuban people will be is manifest. It is left to the people of the United States to determine if they would attempt to do this, at the price, the Cubans, and ultimately, they would pay.

* The writer is an American translator and reporter for Prensa Latina.

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