The Other Cuban Succession

the AZEL PERSPECTIVE Commentary on Cuba's Future, U.S. Foreign Policy & Individual Freedoms - Issue 89

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The Cuban succession conjecture pastime began in earnest in 2006 when an aged and ailing Fidel Castro transferred power to his younger brother Raul. With General Castro now 86 years old, the speculation continues as to whom, in the younger generation of Cuban military officers and political apparatchiks, will succeed him. In Cuba, Raul Castro is seeking to perpetuate the power of the communist regime around a military-party-dynastic succession. It is a succession my colleague Dr. Pedro Roig has labeled as “a supreme manifestation of tragic insolence” that seeks to give continuity to the Marxist catastrophe recycling its offspring. It is a fragile succession of questionable legitimacy offering only freedomless lives. It is a succession that presumes that the also aging historical exiles will simply fade away.    They miscalculate; there is a less noticed Cuban succession taking place north of Havana that juxtaposes the one on the Island. It is the Cuban-American succession from first wave anti-Castro exiles to their American sons and daughters. My generation - of the aging heroes of the urban resistance of the 1960’s, of the Bay of Pigs invasion, of the uprisings in the Escambray mountains, of the Pedro Pan exodus- is also transferring its 58 years old quest for a democratic Cuba to the next generation. It is a generation in prime adulthood of U.S.-raised and educated professionals exceling in every field of human endeavor. By way of  example, in the Washington political establishment, it is the generation typified by the cohort of Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Representatives-elect Alex Mooney (R-WV) and Carlos Curbelo (R-FL). Alongside Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Representatives Albio Sires (D-NJ), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), and Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) there are eight Cuban-Americans serving in the U.S. Congress. Cuban-Americans make up less than ½ of 1 percent of the U.S. population, yet they make up 3 percent of the U.S. Senate and more that 1 percent of the U.S. House of Representatives. They speak for four states and both political parties. Even more remarkable is the fact that all Cuban-American representatives, regardless of party affiliation or state representation, speak with a single voice regarding Cuba and its future. My generation may not have succeeded in ridding Cuba of the Castro regime, but in our unplanned succession we have succeeded admirably in transmitting love of country -for both the U.S. and Cuba- and democratic values to our sons and daughters. Ours is a vision of a democratic Cuba that they will continue to articulate, sometimes in broken Spanish, but eloquently and passionately. Those inheriting our struggle, unlike their counterparts in Cuba, understand freedom as a state of being, and a state of consciousness. They apprehend the free flow of information, economic freedom, human rights, political liberty, transparency, freedom of speech, and empowerment of the individual as a way of life. Their freedom fighting tactics may differ from ours, but these are values they will not repudiate by embracing Cuba’s tyrannical collectivism. We are passing the torch to a generation that understands instinctively that economic well-being is a consequence of freedom, and that to value freedom is an insightful philosophical and moral achievement. Also, in dramatic contrast with their counterparts in Cuba, it is a generation that has acquired the American ethos that public servants are not enlightened messianic emissaries. It is a generation that grew up listening to our stories of a lost country and has learned from us the lessons of Pericles as he sought to inspire the Athenians during the Peloponnesian War: “Make up your minds that happiness depends on being free, and freedom depends on being courageous.” Their love of freedom honors us. Please let us know if you  this article. We welcome your feedback. Abrazos,  Lily & José  (click on the name to email Lily or Jose) This article was originally published in English in the Miami Herald and in Spanish in El Nuevo Herald.   José Azel, Ph.D. José Azel left Cuba in 1961 as a 13 year-old political exile in what has been dubbed Operation Pedro Pan - the largest unaccompanied child refugee movement in the history of the Western Hemisphere. He is currently dedicated to the in-depth analyses of Cuba's economic, social and political state, with a keen interest in post-Castro-Cuba strategies. Formerly, a Senior Scholar at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) at the University of Miami, Jose Azel has published extensively on Cuba related topics. In 2012 and 2015, Dr. Azel testified in the U.S. Congress on U.S.-Cuba Policy, and U.S. National Security.  He is a frequent speaker and commentator on these and related topics on local, national and international media.  He holds undergraduate and masters degrees in business administration and a Ph.D. in International Affairs from the University of Miami. José along with his wife Lily are avid skiers and adventure travelers.  In recent years they have climbed Grand Teton in Wyoming, trekked Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Machu Pichu in Peru.  They have also hiked in Tibet and in the Himalayas to Mt. Everest Base Camp. They cycled St. James Way (El Camino de Santiago de Compostela) and cycled alongside the Danube from Germany to Hungary. They have scuba dived in the Bay Islands off the Honduran coast. Their adventurers are normally dedicated to raise funds for causes that are dear to them.  Watch Joe & Lily summit Kilimanjaro. Books by Dr. José Azel In Reflections on Freedom, José Azel brings together a collection of his columns published in prestigious newspapers.  Each article reveals his heartfelt and personal awareness of the importance of freedom in our lives.  They are his reflections after nearly sixty years of living and learning as a Cuban outside Cuba. In what has become his stylistic trademark, Professor Azel brilliantly introduces complex topics in brief journalistic articles. Buy Now En Reflexiones sobre la libertad José Azel reúne una colección de sus columnas publicadas en prestigiosos periódicos. Cada artículo revela su percepción sincera y personal de la importancia de la libertad en nuestras vidas. Son sus reflexiones después de casi sesenta años viviendo y aprendiendo como cubano fuera de Cuba.  En lo que ha resultado ser característica distintiva de sus artículos, el Profesor Azel introduce con brillantez complejos temas en  breves artículos de carácter periodístico. Compre Aqui Mañana in Cuba is a comprehensive analysis of contemporary Cuba with an incisive perspective of the Cuban frame of mind and its relevancy for Cuba's future. Buy now   Pedazos y Vacíos is a collection of poems written in by Dr. Azel in his youth. Poems are in Spanish. Buy now

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