El Baracko & Dissension in the Ranks

I could not resist that variation of Obama's name I found in the comments section somewhere. For the English speakers among us, the word sounds like another word for comemierda or dope.
But enough of word play.

The reaction to Obama's op-ed piece in the Miami Herald yesterday in the Cuban community was everything the regime could have desired, as Cubans in the blogosphere and elsewhere engaged in heated debates involving assertions of cowardice and testicular impairment. No wonder the Cuban government was delighted with his proposal, not only will it enrich their coffers and relieve pressure, but it's already fostering dissension in the Cuban/Cuban American community.

The discussions have made evident hairline fractures in a fairly monolithic community. Folks, we have differences in perspective. It don't make us bad people. We are in this together. Already, I see signs of progress as some of the posts get more conciliatory. In actuality, this is an opportunity for us. Some of us stand on the deck of the HMS Principle and are willing to go down with the ship if that's what it takes. Others are more pragmatic and will deal with the Devil if it will help. Unfortunately, we've all read those stories about dealing with the devil.

In the end, we all want the same thing: a free and well-fed Cuba. So what can we take from the discussions? These are some points I've been seeing repeated.

Position A-

• Tourist travel to Cuba is done at the expense of the Cuban people. The bulk of the money goes into government (in this case military) coffers. Cuban workers are paid a pittance.
• Exile travel aids the government in two ways: the revenue from the logistics, and the alleviation of pressure by subsidizing family members.
• When family travel and money transfer were less retricted, it became for some, an abuso, making parts of the American public question whether they were in actuality economic refugees, say like the Haitians, and demand their own access to Varadero. It was also a source of resentment for those on the island who don't have relatives to send them money or build them a new house.
• Lifting the rest of the faux embargo will further enrich the government by giving it access to American markets and credit. You know someone's greed will overmaster their business sense.
• All other qualms aside, there can be no lifting of anything until political prisoners are freed and democracy reinstituted.

Position B-

• The pittance earned by working in the tourist sector makes a major difference in the lives of ordinary Cubans. Witness the doctors working as taxi drivers and the engineers as pool boys.
• Exposure to Americans and American values, the people to people exchange, will make the populace hungry for the same.
• Exiles should be allowed to go and see their dying mothers, ailing relatives, etc... More importantly they should be allowed to help them out of their abject misery.
• Forty odd years of these restrictions have not worked, if by success you mean the fall of the regime. It seems no amount of hunger is enough to make enough people take on the machinery of repression.

My question, why not see if these points can serve as guidelines for a position? As opposite as they seem, I think it is possible, and I would love to see us play with possibilities, although I don't think now is the time to propose anything. I would have loved to have seen some sweeping gesture made upon the announcement of the tyrant's death (It sounds so Shakespearean, doesn't it.) But it is too late, I think. Who knows what Faustian bargains have already been struck? So why bother now? Because once the announcement is made, if it is to be more of the same, I think we need to provide a united front and a new perspective.