When he took office in February of last year, Raul Castro made it clear that he didn’t like the government organization chart he inherited, and he intended to streamline it. An announcement from the Council of State today tells us that he did some streamlining: the Ministry of Fisheries is now folded into the Ministry of Food Production, and the Ministry of Foreign Commerce is now folded into the Ministry of Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation.
Apart from that, the announcement seems to indicate that Raul is putting some of his own people into key positions, most notably with the replacement of foreign minister Felipe Perez Roque by his deputy, Bruno Rodriguez.
Economics czar Carlos Lage is out of his post as secretary of the Council of Ministers but remains Vice President of the Council of State, which means that he keeps his more important job, the one that puts him in the line of succession.
Beyond that, the terse announcement gives no indication of Lage’s future role. It does minimize the importance of the job Lage is leaving, noting that it has no “decisionmaking capacity in government matters, nor does it have any protagonism at all in the leadership of the government.”
Does any of this have implications for relations with the new U.S. Administration? My guess is no, unless the new foreign minister announces new policies or sets a new tone. Given that Raul Castro has himself stated clearly his own views on relations with the
So Roque is jobless? This does seem significant on some level, though I think the whole "Fidel's people" and "Raul's people" line of analysis we are seeing in the media is severely lacking. Roque seems to have been doing quite well - capping off a string of successful State visits by important world leaders. He did have a reputation as bit of a hard liner, but is there any indication Bruno differs in any policy area? Also, I have to wonder exactly what foreign policy Cuba would be expected to make in regards to the US? If there were to be changes the US would be interested in, they'd be on the domestic and security sides.
ReplyDeleteJobless, not so sure...he's a member of the Council of State and there's no indication that he is out of that job.
ReplyDeletePlan pijama for the three stooges.
ReplyDeleteQue te paren en el medio de la calle no es saludable, aquí tienen el ejemplo de Roque, le han pasado por arriba; dividido entre la lealtad a su creador político y su obligatoriedad para con el sustituto, finalmente ha sido atropellado. No se puede obedecer a dos amos, dice la Biblia.
ReplyDeleteAl parecer, luego de la caminata del fantasma, el sustituto ha apresurado los cambios, pues el sátrapa morinauseabundo, cuando ha mostrado mejoría, ha querido retornar al protagonismo.
El rpoblema no ha sido atacado de raíz, la ineficiencia probada del sistema, permanece, de manera que no se avizoran grandes cambios. Posiblemente, sean más bien cosméticos. Como suelo decir, veamos si el sufrido pueblo le da tiempo a seguir con la lenta e inoperante política. Es saludable recorar, que contrario a muchos países, aquí en Cuba la política mueve a la economía, de ahi el descalabro; proque el ser humano primero fue económico que político.
no implications for relations with the U.S.? are you serious? come on peter. call a spade a spade. i read this blog bc it contains a semblance at times of balance, but this move further retrenchment, further hard-lining by raul, a clear signal that the regime has taken a more strident position. it is a move of confidence given its foreign affairs accomplishments in the last year or so. all overtures by the U.S. to improve realtions with the cuban govt will be met with inflexiblity. this is the first step of sabotaging any improvment with the U.S. past is prelude: the planes were shot out of the sky in 1996 bc the embargo was on its way to be lifted/significantly related. let’s see what other “positive” signals havana sends.
ReplyDeletewhat the regime does or doesn't do has nothing to do with what the US is doing or isn't doeing. The regime has one objective and one objective only: remaining in power. end of story.
ReplyDeletePhil, I'm sorry but, are you completely out of your mind? Can't you recognize a purge in front of you?
ReplyDeletePhil, I think you're wrong. But you can check the last Castro's Reflexión if you want to know what jobless mean... :-) Regards,
ReplyDeleteErnesto, thanks, just read it and commented on it.
ReplyDeleteAnon from 2:06, I'm open to any thesis anyone wants to state. But if it's a purge, do you want to tell us what the point is? Who is in and who is out? What do the old guys have in common, what do the new guys have in common, and what does it mean for politics or the direction of the government?
Changes under Raul were not unexpected; he had indicated from the start of his elevation to presidency that changes would occur. What they will mean to Cuban matters national and to AMerican relations are two entirely different things. This wasn't done in any effort to placate American perspectives, as again Raul stated at the beginning he would talk to the US about anything. Hopefully the changes will help facilitate the flexibility Raul hopes to bring to national policies.
ReplyDeleteAnd re anon: it is the US that has been inflexible in its politics towards cuba; the 96 shootdown was entirely provoked by the Cuban-American organizations who desperately did not want any further movement on easing the embargo. Why does Havana have to send any "signals" to the US; they've stated their position, its the Americans with the embargo on, not the other way around. But typical of the arrogance of American dictating and trying to convince its negotiations. Positive signals, give me a break.
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ReplyDelete