Change in Cuba, Closing a Chapter of History

1. Internet access in Cuba is highly restricted, but the video above, made by several university students there, was recently leaked to the BBC and posted on YouTube, showing them grilling the speaker of parliament and voicing their complaints about wages, unfavorable currency rules and unfair elections. Things like this have been happening since Raul Castro called for a debate on how Cuba should change in July last year.

2. From a rare Cuban blogger Yoani Sánchez, reacting to Fidel's retirement (her blog site is Generation Y):

"Maybe things will change now. For me and the young generation, this news comes as a great relief. We've never had another president, and we saw him as an obstruction to our country's development. I'm not saying that's what everyone thinks; for some this will be a huge shock.

Fidel is a symbol. We hope that his departure will close a chapter of history for the country and help the Cuban government to aim for more political and economic liberty. I do think the country will force its leaders to move on, because we've really had enough, we need a change.

But I'd say that the most likely scenario is that we see a Chinese-style regime imposed in Cuba: the development of economic productivity while political liberty is kept to a minimum. And, remember, Castro's announced that he'll no longer be head of state, but not that he'll resign as first secretary of the communist party. So it's possible that he'll still have a strong influence in the government."