Dark Matter Politics a blog discussing the unseen forces influencing culture and politics in the Americas.

Adios Fidel

Fidel Castro is resigning the presidency of Cuba. But is he resigning control of the country? More significant, Fidel's influence will endure. The Cuban model will not change for some time.  The Cuban exile community in the US hoped that communist rule in Cuba would quickly crumble upon his demise. This will not occur. The political future of Cuba will be influenced by three factors.

The first is the second and third generation of hard-liners in the Cuban government that will follow from Fidel. These individuals will be bolstered by the support of Latin American leaders including Evo Morales, Rafael Correa and Hugo Chavez. Latin America's political DNA has evolved considerably in the past three years; helping to support the Cuban model. 

The second influence to consider is the upcoming US election. If elected Obama might opt for dialogue with the Cuban government. If elected McCain will probably follow the hard nose approach of the last eight years. If elected Hillary is likely to keep the status quo. While the United States does not have the will or credibility to deal with Cuba, the next president of the United States will play an important role.

The third factor to consider is the US embargo on the island. The US continues to ignore a United Nations vote (U.N 184-4) that called for the end of embargo, which has done nothing but deteriorate the living standard of the Cuban people.

Barack Obama Cuban Flag

Barack Obama has been compared to many political figures from the past including John F. Kennedy. The latest comparison (following an incident at a local support office in Houston) to Che Guevara, while absurd, raises the question of how important myth and icons have become in American politics.

Mainstream and independent media, including thousands of independent blogs have focused on the fact that the Obama campaign failed to denounce the Che Guevara Cuban flag incident. The focus should have been in his policies. This incident could have provided a platform to better understand Obama’s policy towards Cuba.

However the focus has turned into historical parody, reinforcing the Barack Obama icon – an icon, which like Che Guevara is laced with a combination of myth and truth, future tense and past tense, hope for change and thirst for things past.

How much do we really know about Barack Obama (beyond his policies) other than him being an icon of hope? How much do we really know about Che Guevara (beyond his beliefs) other than him being an icon for revolution? How much do we know about John McCain (beyond his policies) other than him being an icon of heroism?

Barack Obama and Che Guevara share little in common, other than the fact their beliefs and substance have been overshadowed by a need to construct and elevate icons. The image featured on this post is yet another example of this phenomenon.

While marketing may be the factory that manufactures and helps makes sense of politics, we should be careful not everything of great promise gets printed  onto a t-shirt.