The Associated Press: 'Raw Video: Fidel Castro Makes Surprise Showing'

Source:The Associated Press- Cuban Communist leader Fidel Castro in public.

"Fidel Castro made a surprise appearance at a Communist Party Congress in the Cuban capital of Havana Tuesday, earning a thunderous applause from the crowd. (April 19)"

From the Associated Press

With Fidel Castro making it official that he's no longer President of Cuba and in charged of the Communist Republic that he built with his brother Raul being President and running that government for that last few years, Cuba is finally ready to move forward as a country become a member of the Americas and the 21st Century and move forward. 

If you look at Cuba it's a very rich country as far as resources and potential and its society. Two things that the Castro Regime had actually done well in Cuba, was with its education and health system. They are very well-educated and get the health care that they need. The problems with Cuban economy is that there aren't enough good jobs for a lot of the workers who have the skills to get good jobs, because Cuba's Marxist-Communist, state-owned, command and control socialist economy. 

Cuba did have a Marxist-Communist economy where the State owns the means of production in the society. Meaning the economy and all of the business's and industries. Even including small business's, which the Cuban people are more than capable of running as well as big business's in Cuba. But one thing that President Raul Castro has recognized is that Cuba's command and control economy doesn't work and hasn't worked for a long time. And has moved to privatize small business's like restaurants and hotels as well as the agriculture sector. Which the Cuban people will benefit from. 

But they need to take other steps especially when it comes with social policy, which President Castro has already announced with term limits for the Presidency, for Cuba to ever have an official relationship with America again. I'm in favor of America once again opening up diplomatic and economic ties with Cuba, as long as its done under certain circumstances. 

One, that Cuba stops arresting non-violent political protesters. 

Two, that they release all non-violent political protesters from custody. 

Three, that they move to privatize a lot of their economy, so the Cuban people benefits from whatever benefit comes from an American-Cuban trade agreement. So that the Cuban Regime just doesn't pocket most of the revenue instead. 

Four, that Cuba stop heavily taxing all money that comes into Cuba from Cuban America to their low- income relatives. 

Five, that Cuba allows free and open travel for its citizens, so they don't have to try to escape their country just to go to Florida or Dominican or Bahamas. That the Cuban Regime allows its own citizens to move as freely around Cuba, as they allow their tourists. 

If Cuba were to do these things then it would no longer make any sense for us to isolate a country thats clearly not a threat to us. Especially when we are currently have economic and diplomatic relations with another Communist Republic, the People's Republic of China, which is clearly a competitor with us. 

I would like to see Cuba make other reforms to its country like, open and free multi-party elections. Allow private media in the country including foreign media. As well as freedom of assembly and protest and religion. But again we already have economic and diplomatic relations with other authoritarian republics that work with us. So we shouldn't hold Cuba to another standard for us to have a relationship with them.