Omar Lopez Montenegro, CANF

Inside the government, there are people with a reform consciousness who during a long time were restricted by the presence of Fidel Castro – the main reason for generating fear.  More importantly, that in the moment of Fidel giving authority to Raul Castro, the political situation had undergone a change.  It is important to remember that castroism is more than a political ideology; it is a political mythology.  Around the figure of Fidel Castro, a myth formed.  Because Fidel Castro saw himself as a godly figure when, meanwhile, it shows that he is only a human being who fell ill and is dying just as the rest of us.

In the moment when this mythology fades, Raul Castro has to remember that position and myth which sprang forth from Fidel and is not within reach for him.  It means that many people from the government social circle in Cuba will have the possibility of finding a place for them in the future.  This kind of conviction is making itself known.  There are people who look to the future; they see a democratic Cuba.  There are people who want a democratic future.

You can find them not only within the opposition.  Everyone is waiting for the opportunity to take action.  It seems that perhaps it can also be a moment which takes advantage of the opposition.  Then its representatives could present their project allowing them to gain a much stronger position, which they presently do not have in Cuban society.  And they could enter an alliance with the social circuit of the reformers inside the government.