‘Flip Side of Democracy’ in Latin America
It is sad that Castaneda is quick to applaud the Latin nations rejection of a move to condemn Cuba for human rights violations.
But after all, who is left in Cuba to protest?. There you either adapt or perish! There is no Cuban Civil Liberties Union. All the heroes are dead. The relatively few brave ones are either in jail or in exile. Paraphrasing Harvard historian Adam Ulam: “Those who care only about the suffering of people under rightists, do not care about the suffering of people in general”--and much to the applause of many intellectuals.
Havana seems to act following a bitter French proverb: “Shed tears and people doubt; shed blood and they believe.”
JOSE MANUEL CUETO
Santa Ana
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