José Latour on Cuban policy and politics
A passage from José Latour's Comrades in Miami, a thriller about defection and disillusionment in Cuba:"Although he never before had visited prosperous cities in the West, the database manager was not so much impacted by affluence as by freedom. It amazed him to watch newscasts in which Spanish parliamentarians from different political parties openly and respectfully disagreed about what was best for their country. Nobody called his opponent a traitor, a rat, or a worm just because the other was a Nationalist, a Socialist, a Christian Democrat, a Communist, or a Liberal. Legislative decisions were made by majority; unanimity was something had ever heard of."But wait! There's more:
"Under capitalism, many nations had achieved what he had been led to believe only communist societies could: free education and health care."You may not be surprised to learn that Latour has settled in Canada and not the United States since leaving Cuba.
© Peter Rozovsky 2009
Labels: Canada, Cuba, José Latour
posted by Peter Rozovsky at 4:16 AM
12 Comments:
Nobody called his opponent a traitor, a rat, or a worm just because the other was a Nationalist, a Socialist, a Christian Democrat, a Communist, or a Liberal.
Apart from Berlusconi, maybe.
Happy Easter
v-word:hound
Thanks, and the same to you.
It's funny you should make that exception. I found myself thinking when I read that passage that some of the dirtier mud-slinging in American politics can be not just unedifying but quite possibly tending toward the undemocratic.
Berlusconi cries communist everytime someone contradicts him. Even the Economist is secretly run by communists.
I hope this little CNN story didnt go unnoticed. US Cuban policy really has to change for the mutual benefit of the US and Cuba.
Marco, Latour spent two years in Spain between leaving Cuba and coming to Canada. Perhaps his character might have had different thoughts about Western democracy had Latour spent two years in Berlusconi's Italy instead.
Adrian, have you read Latour? I first heard about him from John McFetridge in a comment to my post about Fifty Grand and Killing Castro. The protagonist's travels in Comrades in Miami afford Latour the chance to comment on U.S.-Cuba travel policies and restrictions on both sides.
Peter
I havent no, but I will rectify that at some point. The Obama admin has lifted restrictions on Cuban Americans travelling to the island but the big step has to be letting everyone travel there.
Actually anyone is allowed to travel to Cuba, the problem is that under Helms Burton you are not allowed to spend money once you get there.
Time to change that.
Adrian, I'll be posting something shortly that will refer to today's decision relaxing restrictions.
I remember when Burton interfered in Canada's affairs, insisting that it consider itself bound by Helms Burton.
Such an idiot that man. The more engagement the better. Obviously though it has to be two way. It'd be nice if Cubans were allowed to travel anywhere they wanted too. The brothers think they would all flee to Florida, but I'm not convinced that would happen. Not ALL of them anyway.
An idiot who would be a dangerous bully if he behaved the same way in a position of executive power.
In re what the brothers would allow, Latour's novel has an undercurrent of speculation, hope and resignation over what might happen when the Chief dies. It's interesting to compare its comments about Raul with yours in Fifty Grand. Latour's book regards Fidel as a scheming, calculating, ruthless, nervous, decaying genius, and Raul as a dull beneficiary of nepotism.
Hmmm
I dont know about that. Thats what they said about Putin too and he and Raul have survived pretty well for the last few years. Both of course ran the secret police. Indeed both Russia and Cuba seem to share the same oligarchic rule by ex secret policemen. Crucially though and unlike Putin neither Castro brother is a young man.
Well, Latour wrote the book a few years before yours, which may well mean a few years before Raul came to the fore the way he has more recently.
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