From: ez000281@hamlet.ucdavis.edu
Newsgroups: soc.culture.latin-america
Subject: Re: Cuba Halts Nuclear Plant Construction
Date: 8 Sep 92 16:10:24 GMT
Organization: Computing Services, UC Davis

Another meltdown: Castro's $1.1 billion Chernobyl

During the sixties we saw Mr. Castro tranform Cuba's economy into that of a 
sugar junkie.   The entire country became obssed with turning a 15 megaton 
yeild of sugar.  The obsession of reaching 20 megatons soon became Castro's 
first white elelephant. As his ever increasing supply rose, suguar prices fell, 
and only soviet subsidies could pay for the true production costs of such a 
harvest.  Later, Castro's obssesion was with cattle.  Mr. Castro himself became 
a geneticist and came of with the idea of breeding cattle that would produce 
both milk and meat.  In spite of warnings from geneticist that such was 
imposible, Castro went ahead with his plan and soon Cuba had cattle that would 
niether much sugar nor mucho meat.  What is worse, Cuba was rapidly deforested 
with unproductive cattle which no had to be slaughtered    Finally, with soviet 
oil production reaching record lows, Cuba's supreme economic planner decided to 
the countrie's energy crises forever: become the first Latin American country 
with a nuclear power plant.  Nuclear power would theoretically cut Cuba's oil 
dependency, and solidarian Mexicans would have to send no more oil to keep the 
hotels up and running (and who knows y a bomb could come out of the project) 
Unfortunately, the project has just blacked out in recent days.  In a Saturday 
night ritual, Castro finally annunced that the construction of the Cienfuegos 
reactor (which has now been many years in the making) will be abandoned.

As with all of Fidel's white elephants, someone other than Fidel must be made 
accountalbe for the this huge monster, whose core will now probably house 
manure instead of plutonium.  Since the "embargo" excuse convinces nobody in 
today's Cuba, and since the countering of the embargo was precisely the primary 
reason for the construction of the nuclear elephant, the Comandante had to find 
someone else who did'nt run by the name of Castro to blame.  Who would it be? 
The Russian republic.  Mr. Yeltsin's government asked Castro to pay for 
whatever tecnology they needed to complete the task with hard currency instead 
of former Soviet subsidies.  Given the fact that Soviet reactors are in 
shambles and meet no international security standards (in fact, many have 
closed down), how in hell could the build a new one in Cuba at no expense?  So, 
after having invested close to 1.1 billion dolars and reached 70% completion, 
the Cuban plant will now become a rustbucket.  Howard French of the New York 
Times (9/1/92) notes: "For many Cubans, the nuclear plant was one of the few 
bright spots on an increasingly  bleak economic horizon."  French notes that 
vehicles have dissapeared from the streets, basic foods have become scarce, and 
eletricity is rationed.  

What else did Castro blame the Russians on in his Satuday speech?  See for 
yourself:

1) Foreign imports have fallen by 70%

2) Sugar production has been hurt by falling prices

3) Nickel mining has been hurt by falling prices 

4) Foreign investment (i.e., Canadian, Spanish...) has fallen to a trickle

In fact, it seems that all Cuban woes are blamed on: 1) the US embargo, 2) the 
absence of the Soviet welfare program, which interestingly is referred to by 
Mr. Castro as "the second blockade".


The Times also notes that hard times also have an impact on the political 
climate.  Purges of the party brass occurr almost daily:

a) In June, the ruling nepot purged his own son as head of the nuclear energy 
program.

b) Later, the head of the Chamber of Commerce and foremost recruiter of 
foreign investment was purged.

c) Plans are in the kitchen for the "removal" of the head of the Communists 
Partiy's "Chief of Ideology"

d) Plans are in the kitchen for the "removal" of the head of the Union of 
Young Communists.

Meanwhile, in Saturday Night Live from Cuba, the dictator anticipates what he 
intends to do with any oppostion from withing his own ranks: "There are those  
who become discouraged, who become cowardly.  There are those who are traitors, 
those who desert.  This happens in all areas, in all revoultions."  Of course, 
the great comandante, after having burried one billion dollars in Cienfuegos 
has no reason to become discouraged, since just as happens with members of 
prison gangs, he cannot desert nor become cowardly, for otherwise he becomes 
weak, and prison gangs punish the weak.  So Fidel, light up a cigar and enjoy a 
southerly view of the centaur in his fight with the scorpion from your dark and 
 obscure summer skies, and don't look north at bear. Just think of it: $1.1 
billion bucks down the drain!

Edelmiro
Newsgroups: soc.culture.latin-america