[News] The Buying of "Democracy" Agents in Cuba
Anti-Imperialist News
news at freedomarchives.org
Mon May 26 10:38:19 EDT 2008
May 24 / 25, 2008
http://www.counterpunch.org/valdes05242008.html
The Politics of Unequal Exchange
The Buying of "Democracy" Agents in Cuba
By NELSON P. VALDÉS
"The populace may hiss me, but when I go home and
think of my money, I applaud myself. "
Horace (c. 25 BC)
"Unequal exchange, as practiced by the conquerors
with the natives purchasing gold with mirrors,
marbles and European trinkets, must cease."
Fidel Castro, 1998
In fiscal year 2008-2009 the United States
government has budgeted $45,000,000 to finance
the opposition against the revolutionary
government in Cuba. The money is used to fund
rightwing exile organizations, eastern European
rightwing politicians involved with Cuba and
money oriented "civil society" promoters. Some of
the money ends up in Cuba. The details of such
counterrevolutionary program is little known by
the world. The Cubans within the island who
receive the so-called "assistance" claim to be
involved in promoting "civil society" and
"democracy." They maintain that what they are
doing is not subversive. The official line from
the United States government is that the money it
supplies has a humanitarian intent. The
recipients, however, are agents of a foreign
power if we follow US law definitions. [1] It is
unknown how much money the United States
government is really spending to bring an end to
the revolutionary government in Havana. [2]
The videos, photos, documents and phone
conversation logs transmitted over the Mesa
Redonda TV program in Havana during three
consecutive days (May 19, 20, 21) disclosed some
of the mechanisms used to provide money payments
to dissidents via Marta Beatriz Roque, a sort of
dissident paymaster/accountant in Havana. She
describes herself in her emails to rightwing
exiles and US officials, as Tia McPato (as in the
Disney character - Aunt Scrooge McDuck. )
The money provided to the "dissidents" seem to be
mere peanuts, when compared to the total amount
of money appropriated by the US Congress. Indeed,
it is obvious, that the "dissidents" provide the
"cover" for the real entrepreneurs in Florida to
enrich themselves. One can very well assume that
if the US AID grants a lump sum of, say, $5
million to a Miami "democracy promotion
organization" and then the organization puts the
money in a bank to get yearly earnings - the
earnings might be sufficient to finance the
"dissidents". Miami, of course, will keep the
lion's share of the grant. And the "grant" [our
tax dollars at work] will be renewed the
following years. Both Republicans and Democrats
in the Congress approve of a "foreign aid" that
ends up in Coral Gables and the Florida keys.
In a sense, the "dissidents" in the island face
all the political and economic costs but receive
very little of the financial benefits - when
compared to exile donors. Granted, a monthly
payment of $200-1,500 US dollars is certainly 100
times what the average Cuban earns. Yet, the
island "dissidents" thank the exile "donors"
abroad when in fact; the exile entrepreneurs
should be thanking the "dissidents." Or, to put
it differently, the "dissidents" are the
proletarians while the Miami hustlers are the bourgeois employers.
The logic of such political opposition is NOT to
be too successful in the REAL recruiting of
thousands of political opponents inside Cuba. To
do so would be a major logistical and financial
conundrum - for that success would imply much
more financial accounting. Rather, the best
strategy is to CLAIM a lot of political
proselytizing in order to obtain as much funding from abroad as possible.
The Miami promoters/handlers need the
"dissidents" but do not want them to get too much
of a claim over the capital available. This is
accomplished by obtaining invoices for all
services rendered. In a sense, this whole
enterprise moves millions of dollars in Florida
and elsewhere, but it comes to "penny capitalism" in Havana.
Marta Beatriz Roque distributes an average of
$200 per "dissident". Thus, if 10 "dissidents"=
$200x10=$2000; 100 "dissidents", $20,000 and so
forth. By playing such a role Marta Beatriz Roque
is not a political "leader" but rather a
financial "accountant." She knows so and calls
herself Tia MacPato. How much money she receives
determines how many people she could, potentially
recruit. Of course, she could increase the
monthly payments of those who are already
recruited. On the other hand, that some of the
"dissidents" do not seem to get any money
payment, perhaps behaving on the basis of moral
incentives or not realizing that everyone gets a fee for services rendered.
Interestingly, the money is supplied on a monthly
basis rather than as a lump sum. Tia McPato would
like to get lump sums - that would provide her
with discretionary power. But it will reduce the
political influence that Miami would have over
Havana. The one with the money commands. Thus,
payments are done on a monthly basis - although
this is a cumbersome logistical mechanism. But it
is revealing what the method accomplishes:
1. It reminds the recipient of the funds who is
the boss - that is Santiago Alvarez. 2. It makes
the recipients financially dependent on a monthly
basis, which is a form of control: you dont
deliver political acts, you dont get paid. This
is measured on the basis of the foreign press
reporting on the actions. 3. The monthly
payments, delivered by Marta Beatriz, is a form
of political control. The money payments is a
tool of political recruitment and a form of
retainer, from month to month. 4. The monthly
payments allow the people with the capital in
Florida (who received the money from the US
government and other undisclosed sources) to set
up an account that earns interests. Thus, if AID
supplies the "non profit" organization in Miami
with the capital, then the money is put in an interest earning account.
The relationship between the Miami
promoters/bourgeoisie and the Havana
"dissident"/proletarians is a very unique
exchange. Miami has US-government supplied
financial capital; Havana "dissidents" claim to
have political capital. The latter is seemingly
correlated with time served in a Cuban prison or
openly challenging the Cuban authorities; both
generate more political capital in the eyes of
the Miami and Washington DC promoters of
long-distance "democracy". Those who have been
arrested or answer to the behest of the US
Interest Section have a higher exchange value
than those who do not. Moreover, those who served
some prison time but do not continue their day to
day "demonstration politics" then do not get pay
as much as those who do. Tia McPato who is the
money distributor among the "dissidents" claims
the political leadership over the proletarians.
In such a relationship, it becomes imperative for
the proletarians to try to extort as much from
the employers abroad. This requires that the
actions of the "dissidents" be covered by the
foreign press. ["If a tree falls in a forest and
no one is around to hear it, does it make a
sound?"] In other words, political "show and
tell" is the very stuff of such "demonstration
politics". No TV time or press headlines, no pay.
It is imperative, then, to cultivate the foreign
media stationed in Havana. The foreign media
plays the part of the stock analyst who keeps the
market ratings on "dissidence" high. Seemingly,
the correspondents' job is to tout the market
value of the "dissidents" whose stock would be
worthless if their real value were exposed.
The Cuban government has challenged the US
government, the foreign media stationed in Cuba,
or the island's "dissidents" to answer head-on
the evidence that has been disclosed and the
substantive charges. It is doubtful that any of
the players will do so. Meanwhile the commercial
enterprise called "democracy promotion" will continue.
Perhaps the promotion of democracy should begin
with exporting to Cuba some legislation from the
United States. I propose that our country
persuade the government in Havana to adopt from
the US Code 18 U.S.C.A. § 953 [1948] - better known as the Logan Act.
The Act reads in part, "Any citizen of the United
States, wherever he may be, who, without
authority of the United States, directly or
indirectly commences or carries on any
correspondence or intercourse with any foreign
government or any officer or agent thereof, with
intent to influence the measures or conduct of
any foreign government or of any officer or agent
thereof, in relation to any disputes or
controversies with the United States, or to
defeat the measures of the United States, shall
be fined under this title or imprisoned not more
than three years, or both." [3] All that would be
necessary is for the Cuban government to replace
the phrase "United States" and include "Republic of Cuba."
Now, that might be an interesting way of furthering democracy.
Nelson P. Valdés is a Professor of Sociology at the University of New Mexico.
This essay was originally published by Cuba-L Analysis.
Notes
[1] See the essay by Salim Lamrani: 05/07/08 -
Rebelión (Madrid) - Las contradicciones de Amnistia Internacional.
[2] There is a concurrent effort, also financed
by the United States government, to prepare the
"transition teams" that will be sent once the
Cuban revolutionary regime is overthrown. Just on
May 8th, 2008 AID requested proposals to the tune
of $30 million from five US corporations who have
been involved in such "transitions" elsewhere.
Source: AID email, May 8, 2008 entitled:
COMPETITIVE TASK ORDER SOLICITATION IN SUPPORT OF
THE CUBA DEMOCRACY AND CONTINGENCY PLANNING PROGRAM (CDCPP).
[3] See: U.S. Code, Title 19, Part I, Chapter 45, § 953
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