[Marxism] "Fidel believes in Obama, " says Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner

[Walter Lippmann]

How perfect is NADA (the Spanish word for NOTHING) which
the critic chooses to use for his e-mail self-designation.
That's the political value of the viewpoint of NADA.

As has been pointed out many times, Cuba's ultraleftist
critics would prefer that Cuba remain poor, but pure, so
NADA's response to the notion that Washington would end
the US blockade of Cuba is to look at gift horse in the
mouth to try to find what would be WRONG with such a thing.

Not that Obama has any plan or intention of doing so, but
if he should do so, NADA and others will find something to 
criticize. Abandoning critical thought? Hardly. I'm prepared
to criticize ultrleftoid posturing and sectarianism when
it seems to me to be acting against the interests of the
socialist movement, Marxism, or any other good thing.

I've never been afraid to uphold minority political views, 
when in the SWP, the YSA, nor even on Marxmail. 

(I'd love to listen to Bill Fletcher, but here on this
dialup connection, that's unfortunately not practical.
If there's a transcript, I'll happily read it.)


Walter Lippmann
Havana, Cuba

Argentine president meets Fidel Castro in Cuba
By ANDREA RODRIGUEZ Associated Press Writer

Jan 21st, 2009 | HAVANA -- Argentine President Cristina Fernandez met 
with Fidel Castro behind closed doors in Cuba on Wednesday, easing 
rumors that the ailing former leader's health had badly deteriorated.

"I was with Fidel about an hour or more. We were talking, conversing, 
he looked good," Fernandez told reporters before boarding a flight to 
Venezuela at Havana's Jose Marti International airport, concluding her 
state visit to the island.

Fernandez said the 82-year-old Castro wore the track suit that has 
become his trademark uniform since he fell ill and vanished from public 
view nearly two and a half years ago.

"He told me he had followed the inauguration of Barack Obama very 
closely, that he had watched the inauguration on television all day," 
she said. "He had a very good perception of President Obama," she said, 
adding that Castro told her the new U.S. president seems "like a man 
who is absolutely sincere."

"Fidel believes in Obama," Fernandez said.

Raul Castro, 77, who succeeded his brother as Cuba's president 11 
months ago, told reporters at the airport, "now you know that Fidel is 
fine, and not like the rumors around here."

Castro said his older brother spends his days "thinking a lot, reading 
a lot, advising me, helping me."

"Do you think if he were really gravely ill that I'd be smiling here?" 
Raul Castro said. "Soon I'm going to take a trip to Europe. You guys 
think I could leave here if Fidel were really in grave condition?"

It was the elder Castro's first confirmed meeting with a foreign leader 
since a Nov. 28 encounter with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. 
The presidents of Panama and Ecuador visited earlier this month but 
left without saying they had seen Fidel Castro, adding to rampant 
speculation about his health.

Rumors that he was gravely ill -- or worse -- had also been fed by the 
fact that he has not published any of his usually fairly regular 
newspaper columns since Dec. 15, and by comments from close friend and 
ally Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez saying Castro might not appear in 
public again.

A spokesman for Fernandez said their meeting was not part of the Argentine 
president's original agenda but was arranged by Raul Castro. He said the 
pair met alone. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not 
authorized to talk about the issue.

Earlier Wednesday, Raul Castro said Obama "seemed like a good man" and 
wished him luck, striking a conciliatory tone not echoed by Venezuela's 
government.

Obama has pledged to ease limits on Cuban-Americans' visits to the island 
and on how much money they can send back home to relatives. He has also 
offered to negotiate personally with Raul Castro, though he has said he won't 
push Congress to lift the U.S. trade embargo, at least not right away.

Cubans see those as important steps in improving U.S.-Cuba relations. Obama's 
predecessor, George W. Bush, tightened sanctions on the communist-governed country.

Obama is receiving a rougher reception from Venezuela after referring to Chavez 
as "a destructive force in the region" during a recent 
interview with the Univision television network.

"We are willing to initiate diplomatic discussions about how we can 
improve relations," with Venezuela, Obama said, according to a 
transcript released by Univision.

Obama also was quoted as saying that he would have "to be very firm 
that when we see news of Venezuela exporting terrorist activities or 
supporting militias like the FARC, that creates problems that we cannot 
accept" -- a reference to allegations that Chavez's government has 
backed Colombian rebels who are on a U.S. list of terror groups.


Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said he "hopes Obama 
rectifies" the comments and said the new U.S. president revealed his 
"total ignorance" about Latin America.

"President Chavez has won 12 of the 14 elections in the past 10 years. 
He is the legitimate president, and his leadership has gone beyond the 
region and helped solidify the peoples of the world," Maduro was quoted 
as saying Tuesday by the state-run Bolivarian News Agency.


------

Associated Press writer Mayra Pertossi contributed to this report from Buenos Aires.

=================================================
NADA wrote:
If Obama does the Full Monty and recognizes Cuba, Embassy, consulates, 
trade missions, etc and if this is what Cuba wants and has asked for, it 
will be applauded...on Cuba's part. A serious *political* analysis, from 
a Marxist point of view, would then have to be given on what the reasons 
were for such a move on the part of the US. Since Obama won't do a thing 
against the wishes of the ruling class, it has to be assumed that that 
which looks 'good', is certainly not because he's 'nice' but because it 
is in capitalism's interest. To see, for example, a possible penetration 
of US capital and personnel into Cuba *may* be seen as the best way by 
the ruling class here in the US to *undermine* the Revolution. This is 
the OPEN position of many Democrats and Republicans. Why should Obama be 
any different for expressing a similar *counter-revolutionary* point of 
view?

I am sure people are wondering why Walter demands every one where kid 
gloves when talking about the supreme Imperialist ruler in the world 
today. Has Walter forgotten that this is a supposed to be *Marxist* list 
where all ideas are supposed to be given scrutiny? Where Imperialist 
rulers don't stop being the *class enemy* simply because he projects 
"hope" onto so many people? Do we subordinate our own objectivity to the 
mass "mood" in the country?

With every day, Walter appears more and more to have moved into some 
sort of liberal resonance of capitalist politics. Why is he even on this 
list if he has so much abandoned Marxism's critical thought?


=========================================
     WALTER LIPPMANN
     Havana, Cuba
     Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews
     http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/
     "Cuba - Un Paraíso bajo el bloqueo"
=========================================