For Better or Worse!!
Probably the best journalist-photographer at the Miami Herald is Mimi Whitefield. Revolutionary Cuba, with ample reason, considers both the Miami Herald and Mimi Whitefield to be Counter-Revolutionaries. Yet, Revolutionary Cuba allows Mimi Whitefield to routinely visit the island on behalf of the Miami Herald and routinely interview everyday pro revolutionary Cubans as well as...and especially...anti-government dissidents. Yet, Mimi Whitefield and the Miami Herald routinely brand Revolutionary Cuba "a closed society." With the first post-Castro transition in six decades about to take place in Cuba, Mimi Whitefield was back on the island this week, primarily interviewing dissidents for an article entitled: "As the Selection of a New President Approaches, Cubans Say They Want Meaningful Change." As far as Mimi Whitefield and the Miami Herald are concerned, "Meaningful Change" means a return of Cuban-exile Miami extremists in the dominant leadership roles on the island.
Mimi Whitefield's Counter-Revolutionary article this week in the Miami Herald included many of her photos of dissidents, but as if as a token she included her photo above of three freshman pharmacy students at the University of Havana. Shown on the left, Laura de Leon had some mild pro-government comments, pure tokenism. But that's a bit refreshing because normally the Cuban narrative in the United States, especially from Miami, only presents the viewpoints of dissidents on the island and Counter-Revolutionary extremists in Miami and in the U. S. Congress. So, this week let it be registered that Mimi Whitefield and the Miami Herald included a pro-Cuban comment from student Laura de Leon, and a token is better than nothing.
The Mimi Whitefield-Miami Herald article from Havana this week was topped by this Ramon Espinosa/AP photo. That's President Raul Castro in the middle checking his watch, a very apropos metaphor considering that time is running out for a Castro as the leader of Cuba. The iconic Fidel died at age 90 on Nov. 15-2016 and the tired 86-year-old Raul is retiring as President next month. Revolutionary icon Esteban Lazo Hernandez is shown on the far left but it is the non-revolutionary Miguel Diaz-Canel, at Raul's left-side in this photo, that will be Cuba's next President. The aforementioned Mimi Whitefield article pointed out, in somewhat of an understatement, that the Raul-to-Miguel transition takes Cuba "toward an uncertain future." Ms. Whitefield also wrote this interesting sentence: "Raul Castro, 86, plans to retire and apparently move to Santiago de Cuba, the cradle of the revolution, on the other end of the island."
The photo above and the next two below are courtesy of www.cubatravel.cu/en. They reflect the fact that Cuba, left to its own devices in the post-Castro era, has vast potential...including in the economic sphere. Incoming President Miguel Diaz-Canel is determined to employ major elements of a Vietnamese-style market economy. He also plans to de-emphasize U. S. relations and re-emphasize engagements with friendlier nations, including the two major anti-U.S. competitors China and Russia. And, as the above photo indicates, there are many, many U. S. companies -- including cruise lines and airlines based in Florida -- eager to tap into Cuba's stifled economic potential.
Not only is Cuba the largest Caribbean island, it is awesomely beautiful and arguably the most pristine and intriguing tourist attraction. For example, its crystal-clear waters are considered by USA experts as the most environmentally friendly shores and beaches in the region because the revolutionary government has maintained the area's most rigid environmental protections. And even the Counter-Revolutionary Trump administration continues to cooperate with Cuban experts in regards to the environment, the threat of oil spills, anti-drug trafficking, and human trafficking.
Cuba's uniquely clear waters.
In other words, this week's Mimi Whitefield-Miami Herald article, which included one token pro-Cuban university student among a more volatile mishmash of the usual Havana suspects and dissidents, is a reminder of two basic Cuban facts: {1} The pugnacious island has been a rather formidable U. S. opponent since 1959; and {2} the imminent transition to a post-Castro rule could mean that Cuba might evolve into a very important U. S. friend and ally. Yet, right-wing Republican thugs in Miami and in Washington -- with little resistance from the U. S. media and its citizens -- will try for another 60 years to capture the whole map shown above, not just Guantanamo Bay!!
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