Machado Ventura and the Theory of Relativity

Machado Ventura and the Theory of Relativity / Reinaldo Escobar
Reinaldo Escobar, Translator: Unstated

"The enemies of the Revolution, both those within and those without —
under the umbrella of criticizing the supposed slowness or lack of
boldness of the adopted measures — hide their true intentions of
restoring the shameful regime existing in Cuba until 1959."

The above quote is one of the pearls shed by José Ramón Machado Ventura,
second to the General-President, in his statement at the event for the
59th anniversary of the 26th of July. His boss later took the podium
where, in an improvised speech, he announced that the table was set for
talks with the Americans, but this has already been talked about too
much and I won't add fuel to the fire.

It turns out, according to the guidelines emanating from the highest
levels, that accelerating the speed or imparting boldness to the adopted
measures is a sign of counter-revolutionary conduct. Because, according
to what we are told, the ideologically correct thing is to advance
little by little, without haste, but without pause, as the Revolutionary
gradualist Raúl Castro frequently repeats.

On more than one occasion I have said "the adopted measures" go in the
right direction but lack the necessary depth and adequate velocity. And
I think they go in the right direction because they don't dictate the
closure of private businesses, nor the suspension of self-employment, as
happened in the notorious Revolutionary Offensive of March 1968. It is
not a nationalizing but a "cooperativizing" and in some ways
privatizing, although slowly and superficially.

Those of us who think it should be accelerated are now accused of
wanting to return to the past. When in reality the only thing the
leaders of this process would be delighted to return to are the earlier
times when the Soviet Union existed. They would return with pleasure to
those decades when Cuba was a subsidized satellite that sent troops to
Africa to indulge the geopolitical appetites of one of the contenders of
the Cold War. In return we barely received technological junk, so that
the government could buy our loyalty with an Aurika washing machine, a
Krim TV or, in the best of cases, a Lada car. This is not velocity, my
dear Machado, but a direction that leads to a destination. The slowness
only serves to buy time before the inevitable.

"You don't understand — my son told me — that gentleman believes in the
time machine, pure Theory of Relativity: if you go very fast, you could
get to the past."

30 July 2012

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