I don't know where I stand on the Cuba issue; my thinking is it may be one of Obama's first successes. But if you caught 60 Minutes last week, the interview of Hector Maseda Gutierrez was telling; while he supported the Obama move, he continues to oppose lifting of the embargo, which is significant. He makes the point that the Cuban government "does not care about the people."
This is significant because it is a great illustration of what happens when governments try to foist egalitarianism on the masses. As pointed out in the 60 Minutes piece, everyone makes the same money -- grave diggers or accountants, doctors or mechanics and the result is consistent mediocrity.
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Hector Maseda Gutierrez went to prison for criticizing rations, pay and medical care. And yet he was willing to do it again with us.
Hector Maseda Gutierrez: I have always been and will always be faithful to the truth, even if it harms me.
Scott Pelley: What is the truth that needs to be known?
Hector Maseda Gutierrez: What happens in Cuba every day, the way people suffer, the shortages, the deprivations. The government simply does not care about what happens to the Cuban people; it only cares about its own interests.
He's a man of extraordinary courage -- a nuclear engineer by training -- Maseda Gutierrez started an opposition news service. He was jailed in 2003 in a roundup of 75 dissidents. His wife led a protest movement that Cubans called "The Ladies in White." In 2011, Maseda Gutierrez was released into her arms but eight months after this picture she was dead. It was a sudden illness. And he will not forgive missing her last eight years. After so much sacrifice we wondered what a man like him thought of America establishing relations with the regime.
Hector Maseda Gutierrez: I think this is a very interesting, very intelligent and very positive move by the U.S. government. We applaud this and will support it. It is what the people need. Even if only some of this is achieved, it will be a substantial leap forward, regardless of the Castros. "The government simply does not care about what happens to the Cuban people; it only cares about its own interests."
Any connection to America, he told us, will inevitably increase pressure for reform.
Scott Pelley: Are you in favor of the embargo being lifted?
Hector Maseda Gutierrez: I am against the lifting of the embargo. It is a way to pressure the Cuban government to really achieve things for the Cuban people and for the world.
Scott Pelley: Do you have hope for Cuba?
Hector Maseda Gutierrez: Yes, I have great hopes for Cuba, as I never have had before. |
