An indignant Fidel Castro has condemned a U.S. offer to pump billions of dollars into a post-Castro Cuba, but Cubans and foreigners split on whether the overture will hasten or delay change.
Cubans are hearing about the proposal through Radio Marti's repeated broadcast of its complete text -- at 80 minutes per reading -- and then passing the word quietly to neighbors.
The brouhaha focused on President Clinton's offer Tuesday to channel up to $8 billion in aid to Cuba once Castro and his brother Raul leave power and the island begins shifting toward democracy.
The Cuban president blasted the offer late Tuesday in a brief but sharp speech at the end of a torchlit march down Havana's La Rampa boulevard marking the birthday of Cuban national hero Jose Marti.
``It's shameful to imagine that liberty and dignity can be bought, and it's shameful that someone thinks we will again be slaves,'' he said. ``There is not enough money or power in the world that can turn us into slaves.''
Comparing Cuba to a lamb facing a U.S. dragon, Castro declared: ``You will never devour this lamb . . . because this lamb is smarter than you, and its blood has and will always have only venom toward you.''
Foreign officials and analysts predictably split between supporters and opponents of U.S. policy toward Cuba, designed to pressure the island to make economic reforms and move along the path to democracy.
Spanish reaction
Spanish Foreign Minister Abel Matutes called the proposal ``positive'' and in line with a recent European Union initiative, spearheaded by Spanish officials, to link economic relations to Cuba with improvements on human rights.
``Instead of focusing on hard sanctions, such as the [U.S.] embargo, it is good to have a proposal for stimulating an amenable transition to democracy,'' Matutes said on a visit to Rome.
Frank Calzon, Cuba programs director at the pro-democracy lobby Freedom House, said the U.S. offer is a message to the Cuban military that Washington is not interested in determining the shape of a post-Castro Cuba.
Washington made and met similar promises to Poland and Czechoslovakia for their post-Communist development, Calzon said, and made a significant concession by offering to negotiate the future of the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo.
Critic's view
Former U.S. envoy to Cuba Wayne Smith, now a strong critic of Washington policies toward Cuba, said the U.S. offer would likely be seen around the world as a nasty Washington invitation for a coup.
``It looks to anyone reading this as if it says: `As soon as you overthrow Fidel, we'll give you $8 billion,'' he said.
But Smith figures that in the end, the offer will prove to be a lot of rhetoric with little real impact.
``The plan is, in fact, irrelevant. Castro isn't going anywhere anytime soon, unless a helicopter crashes or he has a heart attack,'' he said. ``This is not going to bring Castro down.''
Havana residents also were split, with some branding the offer a denigrating attempt ``to buy support among the people'' and others welcoming it as a sign of a new U.S. flexibility on Cuba.
``You can imagine the buzz around here today,'' said one Havana resident. ``There are people screaming about imperialism, and others saying, `If only there was a change.' ''
Radio Marti transmitted the full text of the offer Tuesday night and planned to broadcast it again Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights plus several times on Saturday and Sunday.
But Havana residents said it was all but impossible to listen to the station after 7 a.m. each day, apparently because of Cuban jamming.
Copyright © 1997 The Miami Herald