Reform #1: Spend More on Parades

APRIL 27, 2011


BY: THE HILL


The Castro regime has announced another expensive parade -- despite the island's economic woes -- for May 1st ("International Worker's Day").

The theme of the parade -- just two weeks after its April 17th military parade -- will be "to endorse Raul's reforms."

It seems Reform #1 is to cut meager food subsidies from the Cuban people, in order to spend more on expensive political parades.

After all, Raul now claims to believe that 2+2=4.

Jesting aside, the regime is obviously concerned about the negative response it has gotten (even from its usual apologists) pursuant to the farcical VI Communist Party Congress.

Thus, another propaganda parade.

But as The Economist pointedly notes:

[T]here is little doubt that many of the public displays of adulation are manufactured. Those who took part in a march on April 16th to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs episode were bussed in. Several admitted that their boss or university professor had ordered them to attend. Many shops in Havana display hand-written signs expressing support for the party congress; scribbled in biro and hastily put up, they look like something done more out of duty than passion. The online comments posted beneath Raúl Castro's speech to the party congress are similarly monotone. (Sample remark: "100 points with stars for Raúl. I expected nothing less.")