US President George W. Bush and leading dissidents on the island have called on the Cuban people to rise up against the government. Many Cubans have eagerly awaited small economic or social reforms that could take hold in the older Castro's absence, but Aguilera said those would be a far cry from a major political overhaul.
"Change will come, but probably not the change other people of the world are hoping for," he said.
Humberto, the baker who, like many Cubans, balked at giving his last name to a foreign journalist, said daily life is often a struggle on the island, but that free-market alternatives might be worse.
"I have adapted to living like this. It's what I know," he said. "I look at human development in other places, and I'm not convinced that change is a good thing."
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