A recent New York Times article – In Havana, Castro’s Death Lay Bare a Generation Gap – zoomed in on Salon Rojo, a life music nightspot in Havana, Cuba as the announcement of Fidel Castro’s death stopped the music. There was a silence inside. But outside three middle-aged natives of Cuba could be heard mourning the death of “the most precious thing [they] have.” Or now, had.
Cuba’s atmosphere following Castro’s death reverberated with both grief and relief coming from those who either loved Castro or hated him. Those indifferent, mostly a younger generation, couldn’t be heard in their silence.
So, what will we hear next from Cuba?
Elaine Diaz, a Cuban blogger told the New York Times that she thinks that Castro’s passing will open a door for “diversity of opinion.” It will be a diversity that will only be widened by an apparent gap between old and young generations. There is a good amount of people living in Cuba today who have lived in a communist country under Castro for more than 50 years. But for others, that life has been becoming more and more blurred by western ideals like technology and social media for years now. But will this young generation make themselves heard.
On Sunday, Fortune shared Cuba’s emerging concerns with Trump’s election. With “El Comandante” not there how will the developing relations between the United States and Cuba play out? The Cuban people know, as everyone else, that Obama and Trump aren’t quite of the same mindset. Trump has made it clear that he is in opposition to Castro and his family and we’ll have to wait in see if he will actually close down the recently re-opened U.S. embassy in Cuba. We were just starting to regain our trust. It’s a controversial decision, if enacted, that I think will definitely spur a negative response from the country. Trump has the opportunity to work with a new president in Cuba and quite frankly a new Cuba – the question is if he’ll make it a positive transition.
Another matter of conversation is Cuba’s economy, which has been doing better since a growth spurt in 2015. And when it comes to growing the economy further, the hot topic is reform. There is a chance that Raúl Castro, Fidel Castro’s predecessor, will carry out some market-oriented reforms that his older brother stalled. The future president might also lead the country towards a degree of socialism and a role for private businesses in the economy.
If you listen close enough you can start to hear reform outcry lament. It’s a time of change and I don’t think anyone really knows how it’s going to turn out quite yet.
