The Vanishing Fac,ade

When Fidel Castro took power in Cuba on New Year's Day 1959, 16 newspapers were published daily in Havana. As Castro's intolerance of opposition mounted, the number rapidly shrank to eight. Last week two more Havana papers--the dailies Avance and Informacion--abruptly disappeared.

Avance was no great loss. Its staff which last January seized the paper from anti-Castro Editor-Publisher Jorge Zayas, was more distinguished for unswerving Fidelity than for journalistic competence; Cuban Press Boss Carlos Franqui was simply heeding the cold voice of economic reason when he decided last week that Avance's circulation of 5,000 (down from 20,000 under Zayas) no longer justified consumption of scarce newsprint.

But Informacion, the last Havana paper not under direct government control and the only one that did not subscribe to the government-owned Prensa Latina news agency, was also the only remaining journalistic outlet for even mild criticism of Castro. Last week, when Informacion, bedeviled by government economic pressures, decided to abandon the struggle, even the fac,ade of press freedom finally collapsed in Cuba.

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