European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 27, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Cow Havana Alliance Are numbered Here a Assembly in Havana last april. A decade ago the world seemed More congenial to Castro. 1979 produced for Castro two new ideological i lies in the hemisphere Grenada and Nicaragua i the ouster Ole Salvador s military dictatorship in closer of that year seemed to breathe new Lile into r be leftist insurgency there. In Washington. The Carter of ministration appeared overwhelmed by crises both 3 reign and Domestic. In one unhappy four week period. . Embassies in  islamic countries were assaulted by angry Obs. The administration seemed especially inept when it announced the discovery of a soviet brigade in Uba Only to ruefully acknowledge later that it had Een there All along Castro s International reach extended Well into Africa where thousands of cuban soldiers were employed in support of pro soviet regimes in Angola rid Ethiopia. But perhaps As a portent Lor the Bleak decade that i / ahead Lor Castro just Lour Days before the 1970s need the soviet Union invaded Afghanistan creating n extremely uncomfortable situation or Castro in i � Cwi Cut blame  outpost m them a ism Esphera and a almost alone of i communist Leader. It dung to today Tel to Ort Doicy. It costo the sow Union mom than �4 Ballon a St. A Mca Raija Salvador. That som Aid May dry up wily i 1991 when to Tot cuban troop Art do to lev Angola. The qum i 5 whether Calro and Cuba can turn the without  win ,.". . " a Wiliam j. Casl Elk View of Afghanistan s role As a founding member of the non aligned movement. The invasion occurred less than Lour months after Castro was touting at the non aligned Summit in Havana that the soviet Union was the natural ally of the movement the overwhelming majority of the More than 100 members in the movement criticized the soviet action when it came up in the United nations Cuba despite Castro s role As chairman of the movement consistently cast its vote with Moscow. Now even the soviets themselves have repudiated the invasion of Afghanistan calling it a most serious violation of soviet norms. For Castro one of the most dispiriting events of the 1980s began less than 100 Days after the decade began. In april Castro opened the port of Mariel to cubans wishing to head North to Florida. For live months wave upon wave of cubans an average of almost 1,000 a Day escaped the Island on the Mariel Freedom flotilla until Castro closed the port in september. The departure of that Many cubans left the impression among Many that something was gravely wrong with the revolution. Other reverses were to Corne the election of perhaps the most committed anti Castro american president in the history of the revolution Ronald Reagan meant no respite Lor Cuba As far As Washington was concerned. Reagan steadily tightened loopholes in the economic embargo against Cuba and also dealt setbacks to Castro in other ways the cuban backed government in Grenada was ousted by a us. Invasion in 1983. Reagan meanwhile was arming anti communist insurgents in Nicaragua and was sending Large scale military assistance to Al Salvador to help counter cuban backed leftist guerrillas. The Overall trend in the hemisphere was toward democracy not violent revolution. Castro s High Hopes of acquiring new allies in the hemisphere have been stalled. Not Long alter Castro assumed Power president John f. Kennedy was worried that cuban style upheavals could erupt All Over the hemisphere. As the 1980s end says Sally Shelton Colby the growing rejection of the cuban Model even by the latin american left is the single most startling change that has occurred in the hemisphere in 20 years. Domestically. Castro can Point to some successes particularly in social services. There is quite possibly no Leader anywhere who pays closer attention to meeting the health needs of his people than Castro and his efforts have produced impressive results Cuba says its infant mortality rate is about a half to a third less than that of the soviet Union the Good health of cubans is underscored by the unusually Large number of world class athletes the country continually produces. Castro also is Able to boast that virtually every school age child has Access to education. A child in Cuba has a much better Chance of becoming a healthy productive adult in Cuba than say in Peru if the revolution sometimes alls Short in its Promise of a Job for everybody Cuba s employment rates certainly have been much higher than the typical latin american country. But critics such As professor Irving Louis Horowitz at Rutgers University maintain that the Cuba thai Castro inherited in 1959 was not a typical latin american country. He claims Cuba was the third ranking developed country in latin America in 1959 and now ranks something like 16th or 18lh" because of marxist economics. The undercurrent of dissatisfaction is obvious for Many Access to Obs education and he ally care is nol enough. There Are powerful constraints on personal and political Freedom and life for Many is a chore. Rationing imposes strict constraints on both diet and fashion lines Are Long Al stores and restaurants commuting is a Nightmare and recreational opportunities Are scarce Castro has acknowledged the existence of widespread corruption at government enterprises he also complained about a tendency among cubans not to give their Best Florl on the Job or not to show up Lor work at All despite Castro s exhortations the work ethic among Many cubans is sadly lacking partly a result of a system thai provides Only meager material rewards Lor a Day s work As Many observers see it. Castro s vision of a nation populated by selfless workers who think Only of the common Good seems illusory. He once said he never visited a construction site without finding the workers taking a break ii Reagan s landslide re election in 1984 was grim news Lor Castro. There was an even More ominous development seven weeks alter Reagan s second inauguration the death of Kon Lanlin Chernenko. Secretary general of the soviet communist party did not seem to be a momentous event at the Lime but the accession of Mikhail Gorbachev not Only transformed the lace of East West relations it also has raised questions for the first Lime about the durability of the once seemingly unshakable soviet cuban Alliance analysts wonder How Long the soviets will be willing to continue subsidizing the cuban Economy Al the rate of Mote than $4 billion annually particularly if the soviets continue their policy of focusing increasingly on Domestic problems while de emphasizing International issues As the cuban troop commitment to pro soviet regimes in Africa fades and Castro becomes less useful politically to the Kremlin. Moscow s compulsion to assist Cuba economically presumably will Lade with it. According to the current schedule the last of Cuba s troops will be leaving Angola Early in 1991. Castro can Point to some achievements during the decade the cuban military presence in Africa was a major Factor in bringing about the removal of South african forces irom Angola and the breakthrough in 1988 toward Independence in Namibia. Once eared As a promoter of violent revolution and scorned by his neighbors Castro now has Normal diplomatic relations with most latin american countries sinary 27.1990 stars and stripes Page 15