Cuba after Castro

Meulenhoff|Manteau publishes a swift, penetrating book on the world's most infamous island: Cuba. Journalist Lode Delputte takes the measure of contemporary Cuba and of its history.

Everybody has an opinion about Cuba, but in Cuba na Castro (Cuba after Castro), Lode Delputte shows what is really going on. The future of Cuba is inextricably bound up with its so-called glorious past. The Cuban revolution took place half a century ago. True to the scenario, Fidel Castro, the father of the revolución, has handed over power to his younger brother Raúl. No tension in the streets. No popping champagne corks in the Cuban houses, since champagne is not something the Cuban people can enjoy.
Castro’s time has come: no reasonable human being will doubt this. Even the upper political class understood that the revolution that once settled many a matter has seen better days. They did not realize it just yesterday or the day before yesterday, but many years ago, when in Europe left and sometimes even right beatifically talked about Fidelism. Today, many Cubans long for more, better… They want more freedom. But there still aren’t many people who would like a steamroller to come rolling along. Give and take: the best of both worlds. A people finally resigning itself to its fate: that is what the majority wants. If only this could be the future of Cuba...
Driven by a constant urge to tell fascinating stories, Lode Delputte draws a portrait of Cuba’s past, present and future. Cuba na Castro (Cuba after Castro) is a great, erudite and critical book covering one of the greatest myths of modern times.

Lode Delputte (1968) is an international correspondent for the newspaper De Morgen. He visited Latin America dozens of times and for many years has followed the developments in that part of the world.