BRITAIN

BRITAIN
The Times, London, August 2: Both on the island (of Cuba) and abroad, people are preparing for change. Few doubt that the communist system will die with Senor Castro. The collapse of the Soviet Union made its continuation ever more precarious -- and cautious market reforms a few years ago so quickly began to unravel the entire structure that the frightened government quickly backtracked. For now the economy is in stasis. But entrepreneurs know well the pent-up demand for change, for imports, luxuries and links to the outside world, and are already preparing to seize the moment when the U.S. embargo is lifted.
American rich
Some fear that the country could quickly return to 1959, becoming a playground of the American rich, where weak governments are dominated by gambling interests and corrupt businessmen. There is, indeed, a danger of change coming too explosively and of a new mafia taking advantage of a communist collapse, as in much of Eastern Europe. But that is to ignore everything that has happened since the fall of Batista. Cuba is more robust now. For all the repression, religious persecution and assault on human rights, the Cuban people have three advantages on which to build a future: an education system that has given them literacy and qualifications; a credible national health system; and a cultural pride, seen in the flowering of the arts and music.
Rumors abound and hopes are rising. But nothing should be assumed. Senor Castro has survived past health scares. He could yet stagger on.