I write you from Havana, where shocking news has just been given in the afternoon noticiero: Fidel Castro's most faithful Cabinet ministers, Vice President Carlos Lage, and Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, have been removed from their posts.
The Miami Herald has just picked up the story. And here's the AP story, via the NYT.
Raúl has been building up his power for the past year and a half as his brother disappears ever further from public attention. The removal of Lage and Perez Roque, however, means that the ground has fundamentally shifted.
Raúl is much more of a financial pragmatist than his brother, who was happy to have his regime propped up by foreign powers, sacrificing local industries that have all but collapsed in the last 30 years (save for the luxury goods--rum and tobacco).
While there were some interesting, though largely cosmetic, changes in domestic policy over a year ago, not much has happened since. The general sense here is that a struggle was taking place precisely between the old politics of Fidel, represented by figures like Lage, and Raúl's military-influenced style of hierarchy and efficiency. It will be interesting to see if reform resumes now that some of the most potent Fidelistas are gone.
In other news from Havana, I found Yoplait yogurt and Philadelphia cream cheese at the supermarket (sent via Guatemala). That was shocking to me--something I haven't seen in the 3 years since I've lived here. They usually don't import dairy products that expire quickly because they don't have refrigerated storage facilities. Hmph. Maybe the Chinese are sending some refrigeration.
President Obama, really, now's the time to get down here and do some talking.
More soon when I have more news.