Aging Cuban Dictator Fidel Castro Admits Cuban Model of Marxism, Gov’t Controlling 90% of Economy, Doesn’t Work for Cuba Anymore
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on September 8, 2010
Ruthless Cuban dictator Fidel Castro in his early days... says now that the Cuban economic model doesn't work for them anymore. Duh.
Aging Cuban dictator Fidel Castro has admitted that the Cuban economic model of Marxism/communism doesn’t work for them anymore.
“Anymore.”
Crikey, when DID it work, you old fart of a power-hungry, thieving tyrant?
I mean, worked to improve the lives of up to 99.97 percent of destitute Cubans living in near or abject poverty, and not the 0.03 percent that includes Fidel and his bro and some corrupt Cuban cronies living in the laps of outrageous luxury?
From Associated Press, Report: Castro says Cuban model doesn’t work:
HAVANA – Fidel Castro told a visiting American journalist that Cuba’s communist economic model doesn’t work, a rare comment on domestic affairs from a man who has conspicuously steered clear of local issues since stepping down four years ago.
The fact that things are not working efficiently on this cash-strapped Caribbean island is hardly news. Fidel’s brother Raul, the country’s president, has said the same thing repeatedly. But the blunt assessment by the father of Cuba’s 1959 revolution is sure to raise eyebrows.
Jeffrey Goldberg, a national correspondent for The Atlantic magazine, asked if Cuba’s economic system was still worth exporting to other countries, and Castro replied: “The Cuban model doesn’t even work for us anymore” Goldberg wrote Wednesday in a post on his Atlantic blog.
He said Castro made the comment casually over lunch following a long talk about the Middle East, and did not elaborate. The Cuban government had no immediate comment on Goldberg’s account.
Since stepping down from power in 2006, the ex-president has focused almost entirely on international affairs and said very little about Cuba and its politics, perhaps to limit the perception he is stepping on his brother’s toes.
Goldberg, who traveled to Cuba at Castro’s invitation last week to discuss a recent Atlantic article he wrote about Iran’s nuclear program, also reported on Tuesday that Castro questioned his own actions during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, including his recommendation to Soviet leaders that they use nuclear weapons against the United States.
Even after the fall of the Soviet Union, Cuba has clung to its communist system.
The state controls well over 90 percent of the economy, paying workers salaries of about $20 a month in return for free health care and education, and nearly free transportation and housing. At least a portion of every citizen’s food needs are sold to them through ration books at heavily subsidized prices.
President Raul Castro and others have instituted a series of limited economic reforms, and have warned Cubans that they need to start working harder and expecting less from the government. But the president has also made it clear he has no desire to depart from Cuba’s socialist system or embrace capitalism.
From the original article by Jeffrey Goldberg at The Atlantic:
…I initially was mainly interested in watching Fidel eat — it was a combination of digestive problems that conspired to nearly kill him, and so I thought I would do a bit of gastrointestinal Kremlinology and keep a careful eye on what he took in (for the record, he ingested small amounts of fish and salad, and quite a bit of bread dipped in olive oil, as well as a glass of red wine). But during the generally lighthearted conversation (we had just spent three hours talking about Iran and the Middle East), I asked him if he believed the Cuban model was still something worth exporting.
“The Cuban model doesn’t even work for us anymore,” he said.
This struck me as the mother of all Emily Litella moments. Did the leader of the Revolution just say, in essence, “Never mind”?
I asked Julia to interpret this stunning statement for me. She said, “He wasn’t rejecting the ideas of the Revolution. I took it to be an acknowledgment that under ‘the Cuban model’ the state has much too big a role in the economic life of the country.”
Julia pointed out that one effect of such a sentiment might be to create space for his brother, Raul, who is now president, to enact the necessary reforms in the face of what will surely be push-back from orthodox communists within the Party and the bureaucracy. Raul Castro is already loosening the state’s hold on the economy.
From Hot Air, Castro: The “Cuban model” doesn’t work anymore:
Presumably [Castro's] point about the “Cuban model” is meant as a communique to American leaders that a little capitalist outreach right now might be received, if not warmly, at least not coldly. Obama’s too far left to get away with that politically but if he got some cover from the GOP — in particular, a Senator Rubio would be exceedingly helpful — it might give him space to reconsider the embargo. Ed argued last year that it’s time to drop it, partly because the Castro boys have been reduced to decrepit old jokes internationally and partly because outreach might do more to earn concessions on democracy and human rights at this point than further isolation.
From Gateway Pundit, Tell Obama… Castro Says Cuban Marxist Model Does Not Work:
Someone tell Obama…
Castro says the Cuban Marxist model does not work.
No kidding.
From Power Line, Now He Tells Us!:
Jeffrey Goldberg is in Cuba, and has filed a series of fascinating reports. Most recently, Fidel Castro told him that the Cuban economic model doesn’t work, even in Cuba.
Ponder that for a moment: Castro has ruled Cuba for more than 51 years. He imposed on that country a cruel tyranny, jailed or murdered those who dared disagree with him, and installed a Communist economic system that has reduced Cuba to abject poverty. The last 50 years have been great for Fidel, however. Along with bedding many of the island’s most beautiful women, he has been a thief of epic proportions, having possibly made off with a higher percentage of his country’s wealth than any tyrant in history, and having thereby landed on Forbes’ list of the world’s richest people (unearned income category).
[...]
So, on the verge of death, Fidel is now willing to say, never mind–it was all a mistake. But not for him, of course.
From Capstone Report:
According to wire services, “Fidel Castro told a visiting American journalist that Cuba’s communist economic model doesn’t work.” Read the entire story below. But you really don’t have to since Castro is just saying something that everyone else in the world already knows.
From CNN, Fidel Castro casts doubt on ‘Cuban model’:
(CNN) — Fidel Castro told a visiting American journalist that the “Cuban model” no longer works, an apparent admission of failings in the communist economic model introduced by his revolution more than 50 years ago.
“The Cuban model doesn’t even work for us anymore,” Castro told Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic in an interview last week. Goldberg published parts of the exchange on a blog Tuesday and Wednesday.
Castro’s younger brother and successor, President Raul Castro, has said as much in numerous speeches since taking the reins of power in 2006.
More recently, he said that a full fifth of state jobs could be redundant and that the government would have to review its role in the country’s economy.
A few small changes have already been introduced: allowing more private enterprise for farmers and barbers, for example.
Farmers and barbers.
Oh, yeah, that will jump-start the economic catastrophe Castro created five decades ago for Cuba.
Standard one-room home in Cuba | Photo credit: Deanna Bean, Flickr
Typical Cuban housing
Housing in Old Havana
Quite the contrast… one of Castro’s mansions. He may have 50.
One of the main homes of Fidel Castro. He is believed to have as many as 50 different residences throughout Cuba, many large mansions
Additional reading on the economy, Castro, and Cuba:
Gateway Pundit: MARXISM A BUST… Cuba Lays Off Half a Million – Allows Private Enterprise and Obama’s Latest Hail Mary Pass: Attack GOP Leader Boehner & Push For Tax Hikes and Cuban Marxist Dictator Fidel Castro Praises Obama & Dems on Nationalizing Health Care
Humberto Fontova, Big Hollywood: GLORIA ESTEFAN: ‘Our Gloria’ Betrays Cuban Fans, Jumps On Obama Bandwagon
Sister Toldjah: You can have your paycheck when we’re done with it
Frugal Café Blog Zone: Cuba’s Tyrannical Leader, Aging Fidel Castro, Makes First Public Outing in Four Years and Stupid Hollywood: Left-Wing Celebrities Love Fidel Castro, Castro Loves American Celebs… and Spies on Them, Bugs Their Hotel Rooms, Tails Them for Intelligence and Democrat Liberal Rep. Laura Richardson, Castro Groupie, Under Investigation for Foreclosure Scandal and Cuba, the Musical: CBC’s Fawning over Castro Is Naive, Nauseating and Embarrassment – Dems Have Lovely Chat with Fidel Castro… Blame America for Cuba’s Poverty Because of Embargo and The Sham of Socialism: Save America While There’s Still Time
Humberto Fontova, Babalú Blog: “We love you Fidel–Oh yes we do” sings the CBC
The Astute Bloggers: RAUL CASTRO: SOCIALISM IN CUBA TO STAY!
Blog for Cuba: The U.S. should not negotiate with crazy dictators
Henry Louis Gomez, Babalú Blog: Jane, you ignorant slut…
AOL Political Machine: Lawmakers Take Time Out of Their Busy Schedules to Suck Up to Fidel Castro
Founding Bloggers: Which Caucus Visited Cuba? The Black One Or The Progressive One?
Myriam Marquez, Miami Herald: Lawmakers’ Cuba concerns are misplaced
Val Prieto, Babalú Blog: Michelle Malkin on the CBC
Free Republic: Socialism Coming Back To Haunt U.S.
John Nolte, Big Hollywood: Spike Lee Slams America, Lays Off Hugo Chavez
Joe Lima, Big Hollywood: REVIEW: ‘Oscar’s Cuba’ Brings a Hero to Life, Exposes Fidel’s Cuba
Cuban-American Pundits: National Review on The Man Who Invented Fidel
Humberto Fontova, Big Journalism: The New York Times — Defending Murderous Dictators Since Walter Duranty
Michelle Malkin: U.N. declares Castro a “World Hero of Solidarity” and Race-baiter Democrat Rep. Diane Watson praises Cuban health system, Castro & Guevara who “kicked out the wealthy” and Castro Watch: Walking Commie corpse appears on TV and Culture of Corruption Watch: Hill edition and CBC: Congressional boot-lickers for Castro and Grading the MSM’s Cuban revolution coverage
About the author
It’s pretty easy to admit your mistakes when you’re in the 11th hour. What does Castro want? Redemption? Phooey.
Wonder if our political leaders want this for our country. They sure live a charmed life off the backs of the taxpayers.
Well said, HereOnMars.
I have no idea what brew Castro’s drinking these days – this isn’t sounding like the despicable despot Castro we’ve grown to loath these many years nor is the stance than he’s taken in the past 50 years. Maybe a ventriloquist was hiding under the table…
Dementia could be eroding the great dictators’ ability to mandate communism upon the citizens of Cuba.
However, the people behind the scenes of this news blast should be at the very least exposed.
Perhaps something was lost in the translation.
When Fido was quoted as saying that “the Cuban model doesn’t even work for us anymore,” maybe he really meant “doesn’t even work for US anymore,” effectively critiquing Obama’s short-lived attempt to implement the Castro model in the US over the last 18 mos.
… still love to read your work, Frugal Lady!
Ztower! I’ve missed you, dear buddy – are you back to blogging now?
Your excellent blog eliminated the need for a Ztower, although I do keep it out there for one dedicated purpose.
Last year I began another on a somewhat unrelated topic that has consumed my free time. If that issue gets resolved, who knows.
I’m very happy to get my news and views from the Frugal Cafe.
Keep the edge ever-sharp, the opposition mumbling and, most of all – smile!
*lifts cup of steaming java to the awesome Ztower… whose conservative blogging spirit and writing skills may be on hiatus for now, but are still remembered and respected*