Author: Edward L. Seaton
Published: December 02, 1998
Last Updated: May 20, 1999
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A note from the president

Never in my dreams had I thought I’d be in Havana moderating a six-hour “dialogue” between the leadership of America’s daily newspaper editors and one the the 20th century’s legendary figures — Fidel Castro. But that’s how things evolved on ASNE’s board trip to Cuba, and I ended up debating Castro directly for a time.

My first surprise was being asked to take a seat at the head table between Castro and Carlos Lage — the man who people on the street say may be his successor. Cuba’s foreign minister, and the president of the congress sat on either side.

As president of ASNE, I knew I would get to ask the first question. I said in Spanish that I had a question about the future: How did the Cuban leader envision his country evolving when he was no longer president? After some introductory musing, he answered directly: “The day I die nothing is going to happen and perhaps things will be even better.”

Then came my second surprise. “What is your vision of Cuba’s future?” he asked me. Uh oh. He wanted to debate. It was to be wonderful theater — and I would be the straw man. What choice did I have? In Cuba, he is the Comandante.

For the next 15 minutes we batted back and forth our contrasting philosophies — I said that my vision for Cuba was of democracy with free expression and competitive elections; he said that his government already expresses the will of the people. Ultimately, we agreed we hold different views of democracy.

Now he was having fun. I was sweating. “We’re going to have a dialogue,” he said, “and you can be the moderator.”

So began our six-hour “dialogue.” It was mostly one-sided. The editors raised 15 topics. Fidel, in crisp military fatigues — his “working clothes” — used their questions as launching pads for dissertations on topics of importance to him. One rambling — but fascinating — response lasted 55 minutes.

I had arranged the trip both for fact-finding and to push Cuba to allow U.S. news bureaus.

Castro agreed to meet with ASNE’s board and leadership in part because his first trip to the U.S. after the revolution was for an address to our society. As things turned out, that 1959 trip was his only unrestricted visit to the U.S. as president. He stated very clearly in his two-hour and 15-minute speech at that year’s convention that he and his fellow revolutionaries were not Communists.

Perhaps three hours into our session, Castro rhetorically asked an editor what Cuba could do to make the United States lift its 36-year-old trade embargo. The editor let the moment pass and raised another issue. I grabbed the prerogative of a “moderator” to interrupt to say that U.S. officials had told us even minor loosening of controls would be matched by comparable loosening of the embargo.

This lit his fuse. He pointed his long fingers, he raised his voice, he almost shouted. The United States, he scolded in a 15-minute harangue, “has assumed the role of Goliath and we of David, and the world will always be in favor of David.” The U.S. has said the same for years, he explained: the embargo will be lifted “if Cuba cuts its ties to the Soviet Union, if it gets out of Angola. The line has always been Cuba’s conduct.”

Over the six hours — actually six hours and 15 minutes with a break after four hours, the Cuban leader was both jocular and defiant, endearing and insensitive. At 72, he seems to have unlimited energy and gave no indication of reported health problems. Clearly, his kidneys and vocal cords are fine.

He sat erect on the edge of his chair throughout. He used a four-inch stack of papers, many heavily marked in his own handwriting, primarily as props for dramatic effect. His hands mostly rested gently on the edge of the table before him. Occasionally, he tapped the stack of papers or, when becoming agitated, pounded lightly on them. Facial dramatics and head nods are his stock in trade.

I surprised the Comandante at one point. Mysteriously, out of my pocket came a shrill pop like a distant gunshot. It jolted Castro — long a target for assassins. He was alarmed. I pulled out my tape recorder and a cassette case. Later I realized the noise came from my metal glasses case inadvertently shutting.

He told me I shouldn’t have a recorder in my pocket and reminded me he had at that moment been talking about an assassination plot against him this year in the Dominican Republic. Then he made light of the situation. He liked the unit’s small size: “I’d like to have one so small.”

My own discomfort grew as the hours passed. The legendary marathon speaker had warned us at the outset: “I have no time limits. You can stay here as long as you want or until you get bored.”

After five hours, he had outlasted me. I suggested we continue over the lunch he had promised us. It was now 4 p.m. He suggested we continue while the lunch was prepared. An hour and 15 minutes later I finally asked, “You hungry yet?”

We got up from the table. But goodbyes took another 45 minutes, including a photos with each of the 32 people on the trip. Privately, he apologized for putting me on the spot. Lunch was served promptly at 6 p.m.

The wide-ranging “dialogue” addressed many subjects. Among them:

• There should be greater cooperation between the U.S. and Cuba on fighting terrorism, Castro suggested.
• On retirement: “Do you think one has the right to retire in these circumstances? As long as I have the necessary energy to be useful and I have the mental energy and (the people) ask me, I will be here,” he said.
• Castro was vague on whether U.S. newspapers will be permitted to have bureaus in Cuba. An ease in the embargo might bring permission, he suggested, then adding that our reporters aren’t always objective.
• Fidel gets a daily digest of news reports worldwide. That day’s had 271 pages with 46 on Cuba.
• He is not happy with inequalities that have come from his decision to permit the use of dollars. Workers in the joint-venture tourist industry and the tiny private sector are significantly better off than state employees. He said he had no choice after losing the $5 billion annual subsidy from the Soviet Union.
• Cuban baseball players are so good his country could put together a team that would have beaten this year’s Yankees, the World Series champions, he joked. (As an icebreaker, I presented him a gift of a baseball signed by Chicago Cubs star Sammy Sosa .)
• Dissidents are jailed, he said, because Cuba’s constitution does not allow criticism of the revolution, opposition to the state or aid to  the United States.