7-31-06, 8:30 pm

Reading about the imaginative plans Washington's expatriate plotters have for a post-Castro Cuba, the thing that always sticks out is their lack of any grounding in reality. I recently received three reports to the National Endowment for Democracy explaining what the Miami-based Cuban Democratic Directorate (formerly the Cuban Democratic Revolutionary Directorate) was doing with the $350,000 to $400,000 a year it receives from the public. If you believe the authors, they are going to give Cubans education, health care, gaming (the mob's contribution) and a government that is responsive to the needs of the people, and they are going to accomplish this by training them in citizen activism. The 100,000 residents of Queens, New York, who sweltered for a days without electricity this month, should ask the Directorate to set up an office there.

The Directorate's plan, titled 'Promoting Democratic Transition,' is ambitious and elaborately prepared. Its objective is 'To promote and support a peaceful, democratic transition in Cuba.' The government always adds that word, 'peaceful,' to its stated goal of turning Cuba's entire political and economic system upside down. However the Miami Herald reported on June 22 that under the indulgent gaze of the Clinton administration the Cuban American National Foundation amassed an arsenal which included a cargo helicopter, 10 ultralight radio-controlled planes, seven vessels and abundant explosives. Another Cuban expatriate was recently busted in Southern California with 1,500 guns, 130 silencers, a live hand grenade, a rocket launcher tube and about 89,000 rounds of ammunition. He claimed to that the U.S. government had given him the weapons.

But returning to the peaceful transition, the Directorate's activities in Cuba are two-pronged: to train dissidents to build an opposition movement and to garner international support for this movement. Once the exiles are in charge in Cuba, the real fun of 'state reorganization' will begin, and it reads like a ladies' magazine cover: 'Ten steps for the transformation of the Cuban medical system.' 'Ten steps to reform the Cuban judicial system.' 'Ten steps to reform the electoral system and the reorganization of political parties.' 'Ten steps to rehabilitate cattle-raising in Cuba.' 'Ten steps for the rehabilitation of the educational system.' And last, but not least, 'Ten steps for the transformation of the economy in Cuba.'

One of the more interesting ideas to advance the transition is to set up a program of 'social auditing' which would train citizens to hold government officials responsible for delivering the services they are supposed to, in the same way that the City of New York is responsible for guaranteeing a reliable electrical system for its residents. But it turns out that New York City isn't responsible after all since Con Edison is now a private utility! Mayor Michael Bloomberg, himself a former corporate CEO, gamely dodged the bullet during the blackout, saying 'It's not our network-their company, their network-and they've got to go in and fix that.' Cuba, on the other hand, is an internationally-recognized leader in public health, education, organic farming, disaster planning, energy conservation and environmental protection. And that is where the transition confronts an insurmountable obstacle called reality.

Washington's plans for Cuba have been a total failure, but not for a lack of resources or funding, for which Bush requested $80 million this year. They are doing everything by the book: setting up varied organizations, training leaders, forging consensus on political programs, printing subversive literature and promoting international solidarity. They are even educating workers about labor rights. But one thing is always missing, and that is the need for another revolution. Do they think Cuban workers are eager to sell off state industries and services to international capital? Or that Cubans imagine they would get better health care under the standard pay-or-die system of underdeveloped countries? Better education than the free one they get through the doctorate level? Do they really think Cubans are that stupid?

What Cubans can expect after the transition to capitalism is that they, like the residents of Queens, won't have the government to complain to once their electrical system and everything else is privatized. Then they will have more time to work and save up for food, medicine and school supplies for their kids at the zona franca factories owned by Taiwanese. But maybe some of that training in labor rights will come in handy.

Diana Barahona is an independent journalist with an interest in Latin American politics. She can be reached at dlbarahona @ cs.com