Francesca Seta/The Hoya Brian Latell, an adjunct professor in the School of Foreign Service and an expert on Cuba spoke in Lauinger Library Wednesday.

Brian Latell, an adjunct professor in the School of Foreign Service, called Cuban dictator Fidel Castro’s rule a “Faustian bargain with the devil” during a speech entitled “Castro’s Cuba Today” in the Murray Room at Lauinger Library on Wednesday.

Latell’s speech focused on the changes that occurred in Cuba since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and what he deemed as Castro’s “Faustian Revolution”, which he described as a retreat from earlier Communist principles. The revolution, he said, was a way for Castro to remain in power without Soviet support .

“If [Castro] wanted to keep the [Communist] Revolution going, he was going to need some new strategies,” Latell said].

Latell also said that these strategies included succumbing to the material desires of his military generals. Therefore, it was necessary to open Cuba to foreign tourists, especially Americans, who brought in the money needed to sustain the generals’ lavish lifestyles.

Latell said that this change caused even more polarization between the rich and poor in Cuban society. In 1985, the top five percent of Cubans received 10 percent of the income and by 1995, that same five percent of Cubans received 30 percent of the national income.

“Cuba has become one of the most unequal societies in the modern world. Whatever utopian principles Castro espoused in the 1960’s and 1970’s, all had pretty much been compromised by the 1990s,” Latell said.

He went on to describe a new generation of revolutionaries that has surged in the past decade to oppose the Castro regime.

“There is a new generation of dissidents,” Latell said. “They are the Martin Luther King Jrs. and Gandhis of their era. They are activists who oppose the regime peacefully and quietly.”

About 75 political prisoners have been detained since Castro began a political crackdown in March 2003. However, according to Latell, many of these prisoners believe their detention is only temporary.

“[The dissidents] want to stay. They have a sense that Castro is not going to stay around too long,” Latell said. “Many dissidents are betting that they won’t have to complete their 25 year sentences.”

Latell highlighted political figures such as Osvaldo Paya, who has initiated a project to legally redress a democratic aperture under the Castro constitution and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Latell sees change in Cuba’s future, though he is reticent to predict exactly what this change could be.

Latell specifically described a generational gap where younger Cuban-American exiles are more likely to support the regime than their parents and grandparents.

“The Cuban population is more divided than at any other time since Castro came to power,” he said.

During the speech, Latell also made a conjecture when asked what would happen if Castro died today.

“Watch his brother [Raul.],” Latell said. “He has been the longest serving Defense Minister ever.”

If Castro’s reign was to end in January, he would have ruled Cuba for 45 years, outlasting the last 10 U.S. presidents.

Kelly Omohundro (SFS ’03) attended the event to hear Latell’s comments.

“Unfortunately I never had the chance to have [Latell] as a professor so I wanted to come and see what he was like. I was impressed.”

Joan Cheverie, head of the Government Documents Room in Lauinger Library helped organize the event. “[Latell] is someone who uses the Government Documents Room a lot and we like to highlight people who actually use the facilities here” she said.

Latell, a Latin American and Caribbean specialist, has taught at Georgetown since 1978 and is currently a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Previously he has worked for the Central Intelligence Agency and National Intelligence Council.

The speech was part of the annual Government Documents and icroforms Speaker Series organized by Lauinger Library since 1992.