Frank Calzon. Published Wednesday, February 14, 2001, in
the Miami Herald.
When he said that he hoped George W. Bush "is not as stupid as he
looks,'' Fidel Castro was being his normal self. But given his record of
dangerous behavior when he gets upset, his current shouting match with Argentina
has observers worried.
The spat goes back to last year when Argentina signed a United Nations Human
Rights Commission resolution criticizing Castro's human-rights record. Argentina
will chair the commission this spring, and its diplomats are expected to press
the matter of human rights in Cuba and elsewhere.
Castro's response was to call them "U.S. bootlickers.'' Already
irritated by perhaps being reminded of his outstanding Argentine loans, which
were used in the 1970s to buy automobiles manufactured in Argentina, Castro fell
back on what he does best: insult his critics. Buenos Aires's response was to
recall its ambassador for consultation. Which is what civilized nations do.
Weary Cubans are referring to "the comandante's last tango.'' Hope, but
don't hold your breath. It is the latest episode, on the mournful note of
Argentina's world-famous music, in an old soap opera. Castro is always the star,
and there is an ever-changing supporting cast.
Back in the 1960s when many states broke relations with Havana, Francisco
Franco's Spain maintained diplomatic relations. Nevertheless, Castro expelled
many Spanish priests. Inculcating "scientific socialism,''
elementary-school teachers asked their students to close their eyes and pray for
candy to Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar, the three magi who, during Christmas,
bring presents to children throughout the Catholic world. When the children
opened their eyes, there was no candy.
ASK CASTRO FOR CANDY
The teachers then asked the children to petition Castro for the candy, and
when they opened their eyes, the generosity of the comandante was before them.
Fast-forward to Jan. 6, 2001, when Spanish diplomats dressed up like the
three magi gave away candy and presents to children. Castro became apoplectic,
denouncing the Spaniards as "agents provocateurs.'' A few days later, two
Czechs who played prominent roles in the 1989 "velvet revolution'' in their
country were caught "bringing gifts of vitamins, aspirin, a computer and 20
pens'' and meeting with ordinary Cubans -- what former President Clinton called
"people-to-people diplomacy.''
Castro charged them with subversion, threatening to put them on trial; the
sort of trial that central Europeans who escaped communist rule in 1989 remember
only too painfully.
With his intemperate insults and bursts of anger, Castro is signaling to
President Bush and to Cuba's dissidents not to expect change. Peaceful
transitions to freedom, as occurred in Argentina, Spain and the Czech Republic,
aren't in Cuba's future so long as the comandante is in control. But some
observers see the "velvet hostages'' who were allowed to go home last week
after many governments urged Havana to release them -- and the comandante's "last
tango'' -- as signs that Castro is losing his grip both on himself and on the
island he has ruled for more than 40 years.
This could be serious. In light of the Missile Crisis, Havana's armies in
Africa, several refugee crises, Castro's support of terrorists in many
countries, his state of mind and his undiplomatic behavior, Castro requires
close scrutiny by the new U.S. administration.
Copyright 2001 Miami Herald | 