“Intelligent Power” of Obama & Cuba
By Pedro Campos
HAVANA TIMES, Dec. 29 – Imperialism, under its new “Obamaian” cover, is applying a new policy against Cuba based on the “power of intelligence,” which skillfully, sophistically, proportionally and appropriately combines the instruments of foreign policy: ones that are economic, military, intelligence related, diplomatic, political, migratory, and journalistic and others.
The strategy of the current administration is the same in principle as those maintained by Washington since the 1959 Cuban Revolution: to destroy it and prevent its socialist advance. It will always be this way. To expect a truce is a waste of time and only serves their plans.
But it will not be some imperialistic policy that reverses this revolution. If this occurs, as Fidel Castro expressed (in Nov. 2005), it would be by its own revolutionaries, whose inabilities offer the fuel that feeds the anti-socialist fire. The main danger is from within, from those “revolutionaries” suffering from blindness, authoritarianism and bureaucratic sclerosis.
The differences between the Obama administration and the preceding ones are tactical: Obama is putting more emphasis on political, media-related and diplomatic aspects. His measures around “loosening” the blockade, for example, have managed to improve his government’s image.
Moreover, they have damaged the perception of Cuba, juxtaposing the two countries’ positions on issues such as remittances, travel, the Internet, and individual and other freedoms – which all sensibly affect large groups of citizens.
The policies of “intelligent power” will have to be counteracted with “more intelligence” and with concrete advances toward a new society with “unity in diversity,” not with dogmatic inflexibility or threats against differences.
This would be a far cry from the artificial sharpening of the “class struggle” incited by sectarian extremists or armchair politicians aiming to “intensify the revolutionary spirit.”
In practice such demagogy only serves the counter-revolution, which they strengthen. They give credibility to “human rights violations,” they stimulate dissatisfaction with “socialism,” promote capitalist restoration, destabilize the country, foment divisions in the revolutionary core and divert the attention of the people and the government from pressing changes required by the current “model,” which is immobile, always immobile…
Fear of something different
To seek Marxist socialism is never adventurous. Those who do not want it are afraid of “changing what should be changed,” moving toward utopia, creating something different. They will never advance toward the new society, but will instead act as guardians of the past, obstacles to that which is inevitable.
Continuity is in change. It is necessary to look for the form in which these past 50 years will be included in the history of Cuba as revolutionary, not as everyone’s failure.
Only with “more intelligence” will it be possible to defeat “intelligence power.”
Examples: On December 10, several official activities were carried out in an “intelligent” manner to commemorate the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
At the same time, sectarian opportunism performed its fancy footwork trying to “expose” -dangerously and explosively- certain left initiatives as being platforms of the opposition (Biennale Art Festival, Temas magazine forum, the March for Nonviolence, the Poetry Without End Festival and others).
A “more intelligent” response would start by not falling for provocations orchestrated by the opponent and/or extremist factions. Instead, it would be to structure a coherent general strategy that dialectically and contextually integrates and applies dialogue and the different ingredients of inter-disciplinarily policies, aiming to guarantee the cohesion of the revolutionary forces, the advance of socialism and the destruction of those bases from which imperialism mounts its campaigns.
Cuba can do this; it has more than enough experience and potential. However, the power rules.