THE 50th anniversary of Fidel Castro's takeover of Cuba should be a time to reflect on the general uselessness of America's continuing boycott of that country, not to mention the need to put to rest completely the now-defunct ideological divide that characterized the now-extinct Cold War. It should never be forgotten that Castro led his forces to overthrow a government that was essentially owned by the US with a very powerful US-based Mafia running casinoes and other tourist-oriented industries on the small island. It was a classic example of the type of government and economy that helped Communist ideology gain a strong foothold in Latin America in the 50s and 60s. Huge sums of money were passing through the country only to end up in the hands of corrupt officials who turned a blind eye to the poverty, lack of education and poor health care that afflicted ordinary Cubans. Castro's turn towards Communism and an alliance with the Soviet Union inflamed passions in the fervently anti-Communist government in the US, prompting assassination attempts and the backing of disastrously failed invasion of the island by anti-Castro Cubans who had emigrated to the US. Left with no options other than verbal opposition to Castro, the US instituted a ban on commerce with Cuba in the sorely mistaken belief that sanctions would bring the Castro government to its knees. After decades of such sanctions and the demise of Cuba's patron state, the USSR, Castro remains in power despite the assumption of nominal power by his brother Raul last year. Just as economic sanctions failed to affect the governments of South Africa, Iraq and now Iran, they did nothing but foment misery among the common people of Cuba. The Castros, of course, are far from angelic. Political opponents have been tortured and murdered over the years and political dissent has been violently supressed. But history has shown that governments that rule with such an iron fist are not easily removed from power, especially through the ideological machinations of outside powers. The writing has been on the walls for years: End the American boycott and a resultant prosperous Cuba will have no alternative but to embrace a market economy that can benefit hugely from its proximity to the US. Since Reagan assumd the presidency in 1982, the most-trumpeted policy of the US has been “free trade.” It is time for that country to practice what it preaches in regards to Cuba if it really wants to bring about change there. __
