The Wall Street Journal
Castro's Handoff Splits Miami's Cuban Exiles

By EVAN PEREZ
August 3, 2006; Page A4

 

MIAMI -- Fidel Castro has baffled Miami's Cuban exile community again.

Anti-Castro groups in South Florida long have prepared for the day the Cuban dictator dies and leaves his brother in charge. But now, they are split over how to respond to a development that few of them expected: Mr. Castro handing over power to Raúl Castro -- at least temporarily -- while still alive.

[Raul Castro]

Although the groups are steadfast in opposing Fidel Castro, there are deep cleavages in how to proceed. Some would continue a hard line, figuring Raúl Castro is little different from his brother and would only change if Cuba's economy heads into a tailspin aided by the U.S. trade embargo. Others, though, would make overtures to Cuban government insiders who they think are sympathetic to a democratic transformation. Some note that at points in his career, Raúl Castro has pushed experiments in small-scale entrepreneurship.

The outcome of this debate can help shape U.S. policy, because of the political prowess of Cuban-American groups and their ability to turn out large numbers of Republican voters. Wednesday, Cuban-American members of Congress, including Miami Republicans Lincoln Díaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, flew to Washington to meet Bush-administration officials to discuss a U.S. response to events in Cuba.

"There are no diplomatic overtures being made to the Cuban government," Rep. Ros-Lehtinen said after returning to Miami. Rep. Díaz-Balart, in an interview, dismissed "discordant views" and said those who represent the overwhelming majority of Cuban-Americans "are unified in purpose and strategy" against any softening toward the Cuban government.

[Fidel Castro]

Fidel Castro's health situation has been unclear since he underwent intestinal surgery on Monday. A statement released in his name said he is in stable condition. Wednesday, a headline in a Communist Party daily read, "Fidel Get Well," the Associated Press reported.

For years, the Cuban-American community in south Florida was dominated by the outsized figure of Jorge Mas Canosa, who built the Cuban American National Foundation into a powerful lobbying group that played a large role in shaping Washington's hard-line policy toward Cuba. The group modeled itself after influential Jewish groups that lobbied for Israel.

But Mr. Mas Conosa's death nine years ago signaled a generational split in the community. Although older exiles overwhelmingly continued to support the U.S. trade embargo of Havana, Cuban-Americans born in the U.S. and those who have come to this country since the 1980 Mariel boatlift -- and who have close ties to families left behind -- are more willing to consider lifting barriers, pollsters have found.

Indeed, many younger Cuban-Americans believe a transition to democracy must start on the island, says Dario Moreno, a political-science professor at Florida International University here. That would leave the U.S. a more limited role of trying to influence events from the outside.

[Island Power]

Now, the Cuban American National Foundation has softened its position somewhat. It believes that even if Mr. Castro recovers, his advanced age -- he would turn 80 on Aug. 13 -- means his tenure is limited. That presents a historic opportunity for change, which Cubans in the U.S. should encourage. José Hernández, the foundation's president, says his group has used "intermediaries" to contact officials inside the Cuban government. "We want to tell them that now is the time," Mr. Hernández says. "The democratic transition in Cuba has to have the participation of everyone in Cuba."

Francisco Aruca, a Cuban-American radio talk-show host who is viewed by many here as sympathetic to the Castro regime, would go further. He urges the U.S. to ease restrictions on Americans dealing with Cuba. He says a travel agency he owns has lost about half its business since the Bush administration two years ago made it more difficult for Americans to travel to Cuba.

On his talk show, he says, he tells listeners, "What a lot of people are not realizing is that a new government is taking power, but it is doing it with Fidel alive. This is more orderly than it would be if Fidel were dead." Callers to his show are divided and emotional, with at least one telling Mr. Aruca, "You are an imbecile!"

Indeed, many influential Cuban-Americans argue that reaching out to the Castro government now is ludicrous. Ninoska Pérez Castellón, director of the Cuban Liberty Council, which split from the foundation five years ago because it felt the latter took too soft a stance, says Raúl Castro is a political clone of his brother. "I don't think that there are any democratic people in the Cuban government," says Ms. Pérez Castellón, who is also a popular talk-show host on Miami radio. "Right now, Raúl Castro is nothing but one more general who has helped Castro remain in power for years.