 "Photo: Associated Press")
Things remained calm on the streets in Cuba when Fidel Castro permanently resigned from his presidency on Tuesday.
The Cuban leader made the announcement in a letter to the country that was published in Granma, the official daily newspaper of Cuba's Communist Party.
Although the party's leader has stepped down from his position after nearly 50 years, not much will change for the country's government, said UT history professor Jonathan Brown.
"This is not a turning point for democracy, but a turn from one-man rule to establishment party rule," he said.
Brown said that when the national assembly convenes on Sunday, it will most likely elect Raul Castro, Fidel Castro's brother and leader of the Cuban armed forces, or Carlos Lage, vice president of the Council of Ministers of Cuba.
Brown said that Castro did some positive things for the people of Cuba during his 49 years as president. He established a state-controlled economy that distributed most of what it had equally to everyone in society, free universal health care and a primary education system that is better than Texas' at the public level, Brown said.
He added that Castro's strict persecution of dissidents and ability to keep his position for nearly five decades was because of these improvements, the leveling of power in the country and the U.S. embargo on Cuba.
"The embargo has been very effective in keeping Cuba poor," Brown said. "That's what keeps him in power - U.S. hostility."
Robert McDonald, journalism senior and member of the UT International Socialist Organization chapter, said that Castro's resignation is a good thing for the people of Cuba, who were being used as political tools against him by the U.S.
"I have sincere, deep problems with what Castro calls socialism," he said. "No one-party socialism is the kind of socialism that I ever want to see."
Brown visited the University of Havana last week for the 280th anniversary of its opening with UT Vice Provost Terri Givens. The two signed a convenio, or letter of intent, formally recognizing an agreement between the two universities to exchange graduate students and professors for research, which has taken place in the past. He added that U.S. law prohibits such travel by undergraduate students.
"We are the only country in the entire world who does not let our citizens travel freely to Cuba," Brown said. "The rules for undergraduate travel won't open up until Bush leaves for sure."
Brown said that most Cuban-Americans would like more dialogue between the U.S. and Cuba. He cited a 2007 Florida International University Cuban Research Institute poll that showed an increase in the number of people in favor of the dialogue from 55.6 percent in 2004 to 65 percent in 2007.
The departments of history and Latin American studies are hosting "Transitions in the Cuban Revolution" on Thursday and Friday, which will focus on the country's revolution process and the future of Cuba.
Be the first to comment on this article!