A China Model for Cuba?
Marking an anxious birthday in Cuba | Economist.com
The United States hopes that the only bastion of communism in the Americas might be toppled by people power, as in the revolutions in central Europe in 1989. But the Cuban authorities may hope for a different transition model: China's. The People's Republic survived the death of its towering founder, Mao Zedong, and then eventually flourished by liberalising its economy while keeping strict one-party control over the state.
Cuba may attempt to do the same. Raúl Castro, Fidelâs brother, has 'temporarily' taken over the most important jobs of party leader, president and commander-in-chief of the army. Previously he was the world's longest-serving defence minister. As in China, the army is not only the 'defender' of the revolution, but an active player both in politics and business. The slightly younger Castro is said by some to be more intolerant of opposition than his brother, but he is also thought to have been responsible for the limited liberalisation of Cuba's economy in the 1990s.
