The Economist ~ Cuba

Day 2,334, 16:17 • Published in Poland United Kingdom • by Spite313



Dear friends,


In this article I just want to very briefly follow up on the issue of the four new countries by focusing on one country in particular- Cuba. Now we all knew from the first day Cuba would be likely added as one of the four new countries in the game, but many of us were perplexed as to why. With an almost total ban on internet use by the “ordinary” Cuban people (who aren’t tourists or very important to the regime) it seems like another “North Korea” situation where a country is added with very few native citizens.


Looking more closely at those who are campaigning for it being added, you realise they fall into two broad camps. The first are people who just want a fresh start- fair enough, many of us play for countries which are not our RL birth countries and that’s fine. The second group are mostly role players who want to be Che Guevara and join Cuba because of it’s counter culture appeal, or because they want to join a RL “communist” country.


Of the two reasons, the first one is the one I can empathise with most. However there are many countries like that around already- you can see how easily for example the Serbs settled in Thailand. There are half a dozen small nations out there you can go and have a fresh start. Hell, the eUK is famous for accepting oldfag immigrants from around the world and for being a multicultural and multi-ethnic society. You don’t need another country for that.


Virtually everyone else who has made articles or shouts on the subject seems to be doing it because of the communist connection. Again I object to the idea of swarming to a country based on some RL ideal which doesn’t even exist. Firstly, Cuba isn’t really a communist country IRL, and it’s “values” are statist not communist. Anyone who truly adheres to communist values has little of worth to find there. Secondly, RL aside, communism in eRep has been a dead concept since they did away with orgs. Now it’s just organised charity, which whilst admirable, is not communism.


Even the most die-hard pro-Cuba players out there have to acknowledge that their votes are coming from one of those two sources. But why write an article about it, you are almost certainly thinking. Why write an article at midnight when your brain is barely ticking over, I am asking myself. I think Cuba will inevitably be added, but we shouldn’t let it become a vehicle for failure. Something picked up by role players then tossed aside or PTO’d by those who follow.





From discussions I’ve had with several leading players, the very existence of Cuba is going to be perceived as a threat, especially since a lot of pro-Cuba people are inherently anti-American (despite being neither Cuban nor American themselves). In addition the external threat from PTO because of it’s proximity to the United States (and thus the danger of it being used as a proxy state to attack them) means that if Cuba is to survive unoccupied and unPTO’d it must manage to do what eNew Zealand managed all those years ago - become a truly independent state capable of setting it’s own foreign policy to the benefit of Cuba not to external powers.


Looking at it from an Asteria perspective I think it sounds like I’m saying it should be aligned with Sirius, but I’m really not. Young countries are always fragile, and they need space to grow and develop the organs of government which allow them to survive and foster a political tradition where things like theft and mismanagement don’t occur. For that you need stability and peace with your neighbours. I can assume Cuba will border the USA and Mexico, possibly Venezuela. It may have connections across the Atlantic too. But to survive it must have good relations with it’s neighbours, even if those relations don’t extend to actual alliances.


Over the next three to six months Cuba will need to go from a mishmash of people from all cultures with a dozen different languages to being a fully fledged state. The worst case scenarios are parties representing specific countries outside of Cuba, division over alliances, role playing groups who won’t compromise because their fantasy state can’t be built. These scenarios are not inevitable but they need more than hope, they need conscious state building. Parties formed round ideas and not round nations. Deliberate breaks from the past along with all MUs and other ties. A new state entirely based on “Cuba” not on Spain or Slovenia or wherever else citizens might come from.


Respect is something hard won in this game and I don’t expect everyone to trust each other immediately. I’m too tied up in the UK and it’s alliance to ever be considered a citizen of any other country, but if Cuba needs my help during it’s first months in the form of advice or support I’ll do what I can. With a good start and hard work, keeping cool heads, it can work. Rather than everyone going their own way alone, people needs to talk to one another and develop plans together. I see forums already exist, but only in Spanish. Communities are already segregating themselves from their fellow citizens. People need to rethink the whole situation based on one idea- there will be few if any native Cubans. Everyone will be an immigrant. Build a society which is based on that and you have a chance of success.



Iain