ecurity is sick" (Marx 2006). In fact, the regime seems far from collapse, and the "fractious and widely scattered opposition appears powerless to effect change in a police state that has used a combination of repression and skillful political maneuvering to neutralize its opponents," thus they keep a low profile (Marx 2006). Most experts say it is unrealistic to expect the emergence of a Solidarity-like group in Cuba, after all, major institutions are under government control and dissidents lack the "ability to tap into the desire of many Cubans for some sort of economic, if not political change" (Marx 2006). They have no way to spread the message of democracy and economic liberalization to a wider audience because all Cuban media (newspapers, television and radio) are run by the state (Marx 2006). Moreover, Castro refers to the dissidents as "mercenaries" of an imperial United States government intent on reasserting hegemony over Cuba, all the while proclaiming that democracy and capitalism would mean the loss of jobs, homes, health care and education for Cubans (Marx 2006). Castro has kept control not only by using fear and security, but also by implementing an efficient set of ideas, remarks one Havana diplomat (Marx 2006). Some observers blame Cuba's weak opposition movement on the island's proximity to the United States, stating that if Cuba was 900 miles rather than 90 miles from the U.S., the more than 1 million Cuban exiles in Miami would instead be in Cuba campaigning for change (Marx 2006). Furthermore, Cubans receive 20,000 residency visas every year from the U.S., which many suggest is a convenient safety valve for Cuban authorities to rid the island of dissatisfied residents (Marx 2006).
             In fact, Cuba's most prominent dissidents flee, such as writer/poet Raul Rivero who is exiled in Spain and journalist Manuel Vazquez Portal who lives in Miami (Marx 2006). According to Diosmel Rodriguez, head of a Miami group...