Foreign Correspondent: Apr 5

In tonight’s Foreign Correspondent reporter Michael Brissenden takes a look at Cuba and the choices it will have to make in a post-Fidel Castro existence.

The younger generation are desperate for change after years of Castro’s rule. Will the country change for better or worse?

In a weary old national building on groaning floorboards the gifted grandchildren of the revolution dance like there’s no tomorrow. There may not be – at least as they’ve come to know it.

The talented, driven, ambitious dancers of Cuba’s national ballet want to be the best dancers they can but do they dare to dream of a wider audience on the world stage?

Sometime in the not-too-distant future the once ultimate authority in this Island nation will pass and many speculate that when Fidel Castro dies, so too will his communist creation. There’ll be a rapprochement with its nearest, very powerful neighbour the United States and it won’t be long before Cuba takes its place in the wider world and the global economy. Or so the speculation goes.

The once stunning capital Havana is crumbling, grand old edifices are turning to dust, the famous yank-tank clunkers still burble around the ratty city streets. Unemployment benefits have been cut and recently a half-a-million state workers have been laid off because of the sclerosis besetting Cuba’s isolated and impeded economy.

There have been begrudging moves to enable boutique enterprises with the government issuing permits for a grab-bag of businesses. But when street corner DVD sellers make multiples of the average wage how long before pressure builds to make further capitalist concessions?

In this stunning and revealing program, North America Correspondent Michael Brissenden takes us into seldom seen parts of this fascinating, idiosyncratic and anachronistic place, gathering insights from young and old and those very close to the top echelons of power.

It airs at 8pm tonight on ABC1.