Yesterday, 1 January 2014, General Raul Castro (i.e. Cuba’s Pinochet) delivered yet another tedious and long-winded speech to commemorate the triumph of the Cuban Revolution. (Why are most revolutionaries, generally speaking, so much better at giving rousing speeches than respecting basic human rights?) You can read his dull and dreary speech (in Spanish) here, but why bother? It’s the same old tired rhetoric of yesteryear. But this remarkable event, the 55th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution, raises a larger and more important question. We Cubans are, for the most part, a strong-willed, independent-minded, and freedom-loving people, so how have Raul and his brother Fidel (like Mugabe in Zimbabwe) managed to stay in power for so long? When will Cuba be free and prosperous again (or at least prosperous)?