CUBA ENCOURAGES SPIRIT OF OPENNESS

Marc Frank of the Financial Times writes from Havana about the current campaign from the Cuban Government:

Debate in Cuba has been circumscribed for decades. All media is government- controlled and the occasional public policy discussions under president Fidel Castro were often dismissed as formal processes.

But since his younger brother Raúl took over as acting president last year, following Fidel’s hospitalisation with intestinal problems, many believe there is a new spirit in the air.

In tens of thousands of meetings in workplaces, communities and Communist party clubs in recent months, ordinary Cubans have been encouraged to discuss the direction of the country in a spirit of openness.

Although debate has been officially encouraged in the past, most recently during the “workers’ parliaments” during the country’s economic crisis following the collapse of the Soviet Union, people have been unsure about how much criticism would be tolerated.

Many hope that may now be changing. “The meeting was great. Everyone said what they really thought for once, even me,” said a Communist party member who had complained for years that her monthly meetings were formal and useless.

The spark for the latest debate was the state of the union speech delivered by Raúl Castro in July.

In the speech, Raúl said Cubans faced economic hardship and social problems that would take time to fix . He admitted wages were too low compared with prices in the state-dominated economy, and agriculture needed structural reform.

Communist party members have been encouraged to hold meetings to discuss the speech with the public. “A profound debate should be carried out in an atmosphere of absolute liberty and sincerity,” states a guide distributed to party members leading the public meetings and seen by the FT.

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