Still, he wrote, and in missive after missive, he repeated, “It is time, Dr. Castro.”
For what?
He put it differently on every occasion: time to end the deception, time to leave the destiny of Cuba to young Cubans, time to abandon Communism or, as he wrote in 2005, time “to bequeath to history that gesture of greatness that will make you the bravest politician of all time.” He was appealing to Fidel’s sense of supreme self-importance. In all the letters, my father’s basic message was clear: It was time for change.
In the tradition of my father, I write to you now. I realize that you might not want change; after all, your slogan when you were handed the presidency in 2019 was “Somos continuidad” (We are continuity). But unless you are completely isolated, you must know that continuity is not what most Cubans want.
Surely, you have seen the indicators: estimates that between 40 percent and 89 percent of Cubans live in poverty. A five-pound package of chicken can cost a retiree two or three times her monthly pension. You have electricity, but you know that blackouts are relentless and people go 10, 16, 22 hours, and sometimes days at a time, without it. Hospitals have trouble powering incubators or dialysis machines or even the old fans in their perpetually losing battle against the heat. Your health minister has said that 70 percent of basic medicines are not available. Outside, mounds of garbage run together, like ramparts rising around a crumbling fort.
For you, sir, continuity may be a political slogan. For many ordinary Cubans it feels like a death sentence.
Yes, I know. The embargo. It makes everything so much harder. You can’t trade with the United States, the country that geography suggests should be your natural trading partner. American tourists can’t descend on your beaches. Worse than that, U.S. law punishes third countries, foreign companies, even vessels that do business with Cuba. Your designation by the U.S. as a state sponsor of terrorism makes international financial transactions nearly impossible. Lately, the sanctions have been crueler than ever.
