THE AGENDA OF THE
POLITICAL DEBATE IN CUBA
Jesus Arboleya August 2021 (Original Spanish follows)
What is being
discussed in Cuba today?
As is probably
the case in almost the whole world, the
central theme of popular debate in Cuba is
related to the health crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic, its terrible economic consequences and the social
restrictions imposed by its treatment. Inthe case of Cuba, this situation,
which is aggravated by the intensification of the UNITED STATES embargo,
which has given rise to a perverse
combination, which has deprived the country of its main sources of income and placed at its limits the solution
of the consumption needs of the population.
Of course, social
discontent increases under these conditions and dissatisfaction with government
management, justified or not, tends to spread
in people. It could be said that the complaint
about the prevailing situation was the main driver of the protest demonstrations that took place in various parts of the
country on 11 and 12 July, although they also had the encouragement of
counterrevolutionary forces, mostly established abroad, which acted through social networks and
other mechanisms of internal mobilization, often to encourage the most violent expressions.
Although the actual
volume and social composition prevailing
among the demonstrators remains to be specified, about which there is much speculation, it could
be said that this is a fairly heterogeneous group of people, mostly devoid of a political project to guide
their participation in these events. However, we should highlight
the presence of dissident sectors, which
have been expressing themselves for some time through various acts
of civil disobedience, much promoted outside Cuba. Although minority, and also
diverse in their composition and objectives, these sectors provided a certain political
characterization to the event and a more exploitable image in the eyes of international public opinion.
The phenomenon
that occurred, quite unusual in the history of the Revolution, has had different
readings. On the one hand, the apocalyptic ones, which once again predict the
end of the Cuban revolutionary process and urge the US Government to act to
speed it up, including through military aggression, under the pretext of
humanitarian intervention. Around this logic are grouped the most aggressive
counterrevolutionary forces, advocating chaos in the country, which have considerable
external support, capable of establishing a media matrix that prevails in
social networks and the large media.
So far, U.S.
government policy seems to be determined by this current, given its supposed
electoral impact on Florida. Millions of millionaires are destined to stimulate
it, the sanctions against Cuba are increased and the story of the Cuban-American extreme right is imposed
in the official discourse of the country, as well as in the US debate on the Cuban reality.
With this current
there is no dialogue possible, so perhaps more important for the articulation
of a national debate, are the people who, whether or not they have participated in
the demonstrations, do not join the US plans,
but have been critical, both of the government management,
as well as of alleged excesses committed by the public force in the
confrontation with the demonstrators, arbitrariness in the legal treatment of
the detainees and the communicational conduct of the event by the government. The
clarification of these problems, the search for solutions to differences and
the establishment of clear rules to regulate this type of event for the future,
is an important step to alleviate the tensions generated by the demonstrations.
Also encouraged
by the current situation, but long-standing in the agenda of the national debate, the
discussions related to the conception and functioning of Cuban socialism have
gained more relevance. Here they are
framed from sectors very committed to the revolutionary process, whose main
demand is to improve government management and that the reforms approved years
ago by the party and the State be carried out, after broad popular consultations, to others who more
or less oppose socialism or perceive it
associated with Christian Democrat formulas, social democrats and liberals,
which they assume can be applied to sin
Cuba.
The agenda of
these groups or individuals is as diverse as it is sometimes imprecise in their
plans and solutions. They focus more on criticism of what exists than on specifying the proposals that may serve as
an alternative. It highlights issues
such as the design of the socialist model, the democratization of its
functioning, the role of the communist party, private property and commercial
relations, the application of the
economic order, the problems of equity and poverty, discrimination in its
various manifestations, emigration, ecology, animal care and many others, each
with more or less amplified repercussions in Cuban society.
Despite the
diversity of concerns and opinions,
these tendencies find a common place in the criticism of bureaucratism,
corruption and other vices associated
with government management, things that the official discourse itself also rejects and combats, as
well as in the confrontation with positions that they consider conservative and
refractory to changes, which they place
in certain structures of the party and the State, as well
as in intellectuals whom they
accuse of being dogmatic, although these ors
are not recognized in this definition.
The particularity
of the Cuban case is that all these tendencies, whatever their ideological sign,
are crossed by a constant that, whether they like it or not, defines them from
the patriotic point of view, say the role of the United States in the life of the nation.
Since the origins
of the Cuban anti-colonial struggles, the issue of relations with the United
States appears as a defining factor of the
patriotic scale. The annexationist
currents, which early seemed an alternative,on the understanding of joining that country on equal terms once independence was achieved, were diluted or quickly as a patriotic option, when it became
clear that this was not the American plan. José Martí was the one who best warned about the danger of U.S.
pretensions and set as the main objective of the national
struggles: "to prevent in time with
the independence of Cuba that the United States spread through the Antilles and
fall, with that force more, on our lands of America. "
It was not
possible and that "more force" inaugurated the neocolonial model in
Cuba. Andthe anti-imperialism, as a basic condition for the independence and
sovereignty of the country, then became the common factor of the patriotic struggles
tos Cubans from the advent of the Republic to the present day. Ignoring this
factor or placing it in the background limits the ability to understand the
Cuban problem and places people on
swampy ground, with the risk of becoming functional to the objectives of US policy
against the island, although that is not
their intention.
It is not enough
to mention the US blockade "on the fly" in order to concentrate on
domestic problems, which supposedly have a solution by ignoring the impact of
US policy on them. If we do not understand the integrality of US policy, we
cannot understand the Cuban dilemma or that of the rest of the world. We are in
the presence of a global hegemonic system, which penetrates through all the
pores of the social fabric and, as former President George W. Bush said, is
with him or against him. A truth that is
more than evident in the case of Cuba, although that confrontation may have
different degrees and nuances.
It is true that
the fear of "giving weapons to the enemy" and the practice of blaming imperialism for all the difficulties, equally
limits the comprehensive approach to
problems, has restricted democratic spaces and served as an excuse for
dogmatism in many cases, but the solution is not reverse reductionism, but the
promotion of political culture and the
dialogue that serves as its sustenance. The good news is that, both inside and
outside the country, cubans have the cultural capital that requires this effort, a knowledge that is installed in academic and intellectual
spaces, even in popular wisdom, and that has also increased its presence on
social networks. The issue is to know how to take advantage of it.
LA AGENDA DEL DEBATE POLÍTICO EN CUBA
Jesús Arboleya. Progreso Semanal. Agosto 2021
¿Qué se discute en Cuba actualmente?
Como probablemente ocurre en casi todo el
mundo, el tema central del debate popular en Cuba es lo relacionado con la crisis
sanitaria generada por la pandemia de la COVID-19, sus terribles consecuencias
económicas y las restricciones sociales que impone su tratamiento. En el caso
cubano, esta situación que se ve agravada por el recrudecimiento del bloqueo
norteamericano, lo que ha dado lugar a una combinación perversa, que ha privado
al país de sus principales fuentes de ingreso y colocado en sus límites la solución
de las necesidades de consumo de la población.
Como es lógico, el descontento social aumenta
en estas condiciones y la insatisfacción con la gestión gubernamental,
justificada o no, tiende a extenderse en las personas. Pudiera afirmarse que la
queja ante la situación imperante fue el principal motor de las manifestaciones
de protesta ocurridas en diversos puntos del país los días 11 y 12 del pasado
mes de julio, aunque también contaron con el estímulo de fuerzas
contrarrevolucionarias, en su mayoría establecidas en el exterior, que actuaron
mediante las redes sociales y otros mecanismos de movilización interna, muchas
veces para alentar las expresiones más violentas.
Aunque falta por precisar el volumen real y la
composición social predominante entre los manifestantes, sobre lo cual existen
muchas especulaciones, pudiera afirmarse que se trata de un grupo bastante heterogéneo
de personas, en su mayoría desprovistas de un proyecto político que orientara
su participación en estos eventos. No obstante, habría que destacar la presencia
de sectores disidentes, que hace rato se vienen expresando mediante diversos
actos de desobediencia civil, muy promocionados fuera de Cuba. Aunque
minoritarios, y también diversos en su composición y objetivos, estos sectores aportaron
cierta caracterización política al acontecimiento y una imagen más explotable de
cara a la opinión pública internacional.
El fenómeno ocurrido, bastante inusual en la
historia de la Revolución, ha tenido diversas lecturas. Por un lado, las
apocalípticas, que otra vez pronostican el fin del proceso revolucionario
cubano e instan al gobierno norteamericano a actuar para acelerarlo, incluso
mediante agresiones militares, bajo la excusa de la intervención humanitaria.
Alrededor de esta lógica se agrupan las fuerzas contrarrevolucionarias más
agresivas, propugnadoras del caos en el país, las cuales cuentan con un
considerable apoyo externo, capaz de establecer una matriz mediática que impera
en las redes sociales y los grandes medios de información.
Hasta ahora, la política del gobierno de
Estados Unidos parece estar determinada por esta corriente, dado su supuesto
impacto electoral en la Florida. Fondos millonarios se destinan a estimularla,
se incrementan las sanciones contra Cuba y el relato de la extrema derecha
cubanoamericana se impone en el discurso oficial del país, así como en el
debate estadounidense sobre la realidad cubana.
Con esta corriente no hay diálogo posible, por
lo que quizás más importante para la articulación de un debate nacional, son
las personas que, hayan o no participado en las manifestaciones, no se suman a los
planes norteamericanos, pero han sido críticas, tanto de la gestión
gubernamental, como de alegados excesos cometidos por la fuerza pública en el
enfrentamiento a los manifestantes, arbitrariedades en el tratamiento legal de
los detenidos y la conducción comunicacional del acontecimiento por parte del
gobierno. El esclarecimiento de estos problemas, la búsqueda de soluciones a
las diferencias y el establecimiento de normas claras que regulen este tipo de
eventos de cara al futuro, constituye un paso importante para aliviar las
tensiones generadas por las manifestaciones.
También alentadas por la actual coyuntura, pero
de larga data en la agenda del debate nacional, han ganado más relevancia las discusiones
referidas a la concepción y el funcionamiento del socialismo cubano. Aquí se
encuadran desde sectores muy comprometidos con el proceso revolucionario, cuya
principal exigencia es mejorar la gestión gubernamental y que se lleven a cabo
las reformas hace años aprobadas por el partido y el Estado, después de amplias
consultas populares, hasta otros que más o menos se oponen al socialismo o lo
perciben asociado con fórmulas democratacristianas, socialdemócratas y
liberales, que asumen pueden ser aplicadas en Cuba.
La agenda de estos grupos o personas es tan
diversa como, a veces, imprecisa en sus planes y soluciones. Más se concentran
en la crítica a lo existente, que en precisar las propuestas que puedan
servirle como alternativa. Se destacan temas como el diseño del modelo
socialista, la democratización de su funcionamiento, el papel del partido
comunista, la propiedad privada y las relaciones mercantiles, la aplicación del
ordenamiento económico, los problemas de la equidad y la pobreza, la
discriminación en sus diversas manifestaciones, la emigración, la ecología, el
cuidado de los animales y muchos otros, cada cual con repercusiones más o menos
amplificadas en la sociedad cubana.
A pesar de la diversidad de preocupaciones y opiniones,
estas tendencias encuentran un lugar común en la crítica al burocratismo, la
corrupción y otros vicios asociados a la gestión gubernamental, cosas que el
propio discurso oficial también rechaza y combate, así como en la confrontación
con posiciones que consideran conservadoras y refractarias a los cambios, las que
ubican en ciertas estructuras del partido y el Estado, así como en
intelectuales a los que acusan de dogmáticos, aunque éstos no se reconozcan en
esta definición.
La particularidad del caso cubano es que todas
estas tendencias, cualquiera sea su signo ideológico, aparecen traspasadas por
una constante que, quieran o no, las define desde el punto de vista patriótico,
dígase el papel de Estados Unidos en la vida de la nación.
Desde los orígenes de las luchas anticoloniales
cubanas, el tema de las relaciones con Estados Unidos aparece como un factor
definitorio de la escala patriótica. Las corrientes anexionistas, que
tempranamente parecieron una alternativa, en el entendido de unirse a ese país en
condiciones de igualdad una vez alcanzada la independencia, se diluyó rápidamente
como opción patriótica, cuando resultó evidente que ese no era el plan
norteamericano. José Martí fue quien mejor alertó sobre el peligro de las
pretensiones estadounidenses y fijó como objetivo principal de las luchas
nacionales: “impedir a tiempo con la independencia de Cuba
que se extiendan por las Antillas los Estados Unidos y caigan, con esa fuerza
más, sobre nuestras tierras de América.”
No fue posible y esa “fuerza más” inauguró en
Cuba el modelo neocolonial. El antimperialismo, como condición básica para la
independencia y la soberanía del país, devino entonces el factor común de las
luchas patrióticas cubanas desde el advenimiento de la República hasta nuestros
días. Desconocer este factor o colocarlo en segundo orden, limita la capacidad
de comprender la problemática cubana y sitúa a las personas en un terreno
pantanoso, con riesgo de convertirse en funcionales a los objetivos de la
política norteamericana contra la Isla, aunque esa no sea su intención.
No basta con mencionar “al vuelo” el bloqueo
norteamericano, para concentrarse en problemas domésticos, que supuestamente
tienen solución obviando el impacto de la política norteamericana sobre los
mismos. Si no entendemos la integralidad de la política norteamericana, no podemos
comprender el dilema cubano ni tampoco el del resto del mundo. Estamos en
presencia de un sistema hegemónico mundial, que penetra por todos los poros del
tejido social y, como dijo el expresidente George W. Bush, se está con él o en
su contra. Una verdad más que evidente en el caso de Cuba, aunque esa
confrontación pueda tener diversos grados y matices.
Es cierto que el temor a “darle armas al
enemigo” y la práctica de culpar al imperialismo de todas las dificultades,
igual limita el abordaje integral de los problemas, ha restringido los espacios
democráticos y servido de excusa al dogmatismo en muchos casos, pero la
solución no es el reduccionismo inverso, sino la promoción de la cultura política
y el diálogo que le sirve de sustento. La buena noticia es que, tanto dentro
como fuera del país, se cuenta entre los cubanos con el capital cultural que
requiere este empeño, un conocimiento que está instalado en los espacios académicos
e intelectuales, incluso en la sabiduría popular, y que también ha incrementado
su presencia en las redes sociales. El asunto es saber aprovecharlo.
A political x-ray for
possible dialogue in Cuba
By Jesús Arboleya On Jul 28, 2021 Progresso Weekly
Protests that occurred on
July 11 in Cuba have reinforced the idea of the need for a national dialogue in
order to articulate a new consensus and expand existing democratic mechanisms.
As it is difficult to specify an agenda and identify its possible actors, it is
worth trying to discern the political currents existing in the country and
their broader interests.
Since the triumph of the
Revolution, Cuban political life has been so intense and all-encompassing that
very few have been able to avoid placing themselves in one of the great
conglomerates in dispute — those who support the socialist system and/or its adversaries.
Let us analyze the balance of these forces and their possible disposition to
the dialogue that is proposed.
Defeated initially on the
Island, the hard core counterrevolutionaries settled abroad, especially in
Miami. For the most extreme sectors of this group, dialogue is a bad word and
there have been many disparagingly called “dialoguers (dialogueros)”
who have been harassed, attacked and even killed, for defending this position. Beyond the fanaticism that
characterizes these groups, there are objective factors that explain this
behavior: those who adhere to a hostility encouraged, protected and very well
remunerated by the U.S. government.
They are promoters of
chaos and U.S. intervention in Cuba. Their ultimate goal is to return to the
neocolonial regime that previously existed in the country. This is not a
gratuitous accusation inspired by left-wing fundamentalisms; it is clearly
expressed by the Helms-Burton law, a legal instrument that regulates relations
between the United States and Cuba.
These forces have some
supporters within the country, generally encouraged and dependent on the money
they receive from abroad. In no way is this a secret. Boasting of their
transparency, the U.S. government makes known the public funds allocated for
subversion in Cuba — money that is received from its Miami intermediaries,
extreme right groups who also profit from these funds.
Their activities in Cuba
and abroad, usually violent and meant to provoke, resonate internationally due
to the attention they receive via the large information consortiums and in
social networks where media campaigns are articulated, and often designed using
very sophisticated techniques for manipulating these media. Due to its nature and intentions,
under these circumstances there are no real possibilities of dialogue, nor is
it to be supposed that they would be willing to accept it, since it conspires
against their own existence and privileges.
However, not all
opponents of the socialist system are reluctant to establish a dialogue with
the government and various sectors of Cuban civil society. For some, this
responds to a strategy aimed at achieving a “regime change by other means,” as
Obama’s move to establish relations with Cuba was defined. For others it simply reflects
intentions for advancing their own interests — be they economic, cultural,
ideological, existential, even humanitarian — without conditioning it to the
overthrow of the Cuban government. This is not strange. Cuba maintains
more or less harmonious relations with countless governments, institutions and
people all over the world who oppose socialism.
No matter their
intentions, this dialogue is convenient for Cuba because these positions are
the majority within its emigration, and are based on their recognition of the
State and the Cuban institutions with which they propose to negotiate with. This dialogue should attempt to satisfy
matters of mutual interest while neutralizing the most aggressive options that
influence policies towards Cuba of those in power in countries where they live,
including that of the United States.
This tendency, which could be characterized as a peaceful
opposition with a willingness to dialogue with the Cuban government and civil
society, also has its proponents within Cuba, although there are no
organizations that represent it. As can
be inferred from the result of
the 2019 constitutional referendum, it is composed of around 9 percent of the
electorate, some 700,000 people, who voted against socialism, a figure that
could increase if we add some abstentions and invalid votes. A significant minority position,
which does not correspond to the matrix of propaganda against Cuba, that does
not imply that it is fair to ignore their rights, nor is it intelligent to
underestimate the importance of taking them into account for the construction
of a national consensus.
Although often they can
be freely expressed through the channels of the People’s Power, the open
consultations that are usually carried out on various issues, through unions
and other mechanisms of citizen participation, and either due to deficiencies
or limitations in the functioning of these structures or as a result of the social compulsion
that intolerance and misunderstanding of their positions can generate, the full
satisfaction of these rights is often limited.
Given the difficulty of
expressing themselves through official channels, it is common for them to
manifest themselves through churches and fraternal organizations, with which
the government maintains relationships, or through social networks. To increase dialogue with these
sectors and expand the possibilities of their participation in multiple aspects
of national life, it is enough to enforce what is established in the
Constitution and that they receive maximum protection from the State and the
rest of the country’s political institutions.
Paradoxically, it has
become much more complex to
establish the agendas and the composition of possible dialogues within the
left-wing conglomerate that, from various philosophical and political
approaches, declares itself in favor of socialism, although some may question
the model applied in Cuba and the management of the government. Although
practically all say they are willing to participate in a national dialogue,
they often differ in the scope of the convening, the focus of attention and the
priorities of the debate. Achieving conciliation of these positions is vital to
articulate the unity of the country around the socialist project. As much as
the argument has been degraded as a result of the abuse of slogans, the history
of the Cuban nation bears witness to the importance of this unit for the defense of the sovereignty and
independence of the country, the point of demarcation of political tendencies
in Cuba.
The issues in dispute are
many. They include the
conceptualization of socialism and its application to the Cuban reality; the
functioning of the government and the direction of the economy; the role of the
market and private management; the mechanisms of democratic participation and
popular control; the concept of citizenship and one’s rights; information and
cultural policy; bureaucratism and dogmatism; social problems of diverse
character; the role of the communist party and its methods of work; emigration
and the nation’s bond with emigrants; as well as relations with the United
States and the rest of the world.
These are very complex
issues, traversed by fairly recent phenomena such as the collapse of the USSR
and the European socialist camp, which had served as a model for the Cuban
system; the tremendous economic crisis that this meant for the country, with
its resulting inequalities, social problems and the deterioration of values
that greatly influenced citizen behavior; the increase in emigration as a
result of discontent and lack of expectations, especially among young people;
as well as the death of Fidel Castro, who was a unifying factor domestically
and of influence internationally, especially on the left.
Add to all of this the
resurgence of the U.S. blockade in the midst of a devastating pandemic, as well
as the worsening of inherited structural problems which complicates even more solutions
for the current circumstances. The
strange thing is not that there have been protests of social discontent, but
that the system has been able to survive despite these immense inconveniences.
Under these adverse
conditions, new leadership in government, which has made its own mistakes, has
had to function. Which does not exempt them from assuming the maximum
responsibility of channeling possible dialogues, which in fact they have
promised to stimulate and have tried to do so through various official
announcements. The problem is
that dialogue not only consists of establishing spaces to express opinions and
debate on various topics, but also in the resolution of conflicts, through the
confrontation of different ideas, sometimes supposedly antagonistic.
The Cuban government has not always had the flexibility and
breadth that is required for this endeavor, in part because, in the case of
Cuba, the real need to be on the defensive, with no gaps, is important. One consequence of U.S. harassment has been the
objective limitation of the exercise of democracy in the country. With everything that
must be recognized as a right and from that condition they must be treated when
they occur within the parameters established by law, protesting in Cuba does not entail the same dangers to
national security as in other countries. No one has thought of a
humanitarian intervention in Colombia, for example, although those killed by
the police in the demonstrations in recent months number in the dozens.
“The art of the Revolution has been its ability to turn enemies
into friends.’ –
Fidel Castro
Revolutionary intransigence demonstrated by the
Revolution has been an essential component of the capacity to resist and
forms part of the tradition of Cuba’s fight for independence and national
sovereignty. A
possible dialogue’s problem is when this intransigence is assumed through a
misunderstood radicalism, which confuses principles with conjunctures and
objectives with methods to achieve them. Any student of Cuban history will recognize
that Fidel Castro, the most radical of Cuban revolutionaries, was a magician of
dialectics. On one occasion I heard him say, and I quote him from memory: “The
art of the Revolution has been its ability to turn enemies into friends.”
The most conflictive moments of the revolutionary process,
and the cause of many of the worst political consequences, has been when,
protected by a distorted ‘revolutionary radicalism,’ the most extreme
tendencies prevailed. Many people felt alienated by a perverse logic which
unfairly mistreated them until turning them into enemies, thus justifying the
original abuse. Extremism, as Lenin, another radical revolutionary par
excellence, warned, is a breeding ground for opportunism, and opportunism is a
cancer that corrodes revolutionary processes. One only has to look at the
Soviet debacle, a disaster that hatched within the system, to perceive the
magnitude that these damages can attain.
Extremism obstructs dialogue when it entrenches itself in
the indefensible and, in the name of defending the Revolution, disqualifies any
type of criticism, as well as violates ethical principles of socialist political
conduct where the end cannot justify the means. It would not matter much if it
simply reflected another current of thought which struggles to defend its truth
on an equal footing with other tendencies, but it can be very harmful when, as has happened on occasions,
it assumes the representation of the official line of the party and the State,
monopolizes public expressions and exercises the ability to repress its
adversaries.
In this way, in recent
years, attempts have been made to discredit, even punish, left-wing
intellectuals, mostly young people who, rightly or wrongly, take critical
positions regarding certain conceptions and government policies. Also, options for dialogue with
non-socialist sectors have been frustrated which, regardless of great
differences, have been willing to find common ground with sectors of the left.
They have even tried to silence the critical voices of revolutionary militants
through pressure or by limiting their access to the official media.
It is clear that any of
these expressions can serve individuals with hidden counterrevolutionary
intentions. Surely, there are departments within the CIA, right-wing
organizations and so-called experts in many places trying to gain ground in
Cuba. Be it a non-conforming
left, or followers of other ideologies or, even, among the most extreme
radicals, the issue is not to make things easier for them by making enemies of
those who are not and who do not want to be. Once again, respect for the
Constitution and the laws is the best protection against the penetration of the
enemy and the main antidote to avoid committing excesses covered by this
purpose.
Although it is not
possible to speak of the existence of a properly institutionalized national
dialogue, many dialogues exist
in Cuba and are more widespread than many suppose. They take place
within the communist party itself, particularly in the nuclei, whose symbiosis
with the popular bases should be listened to and exploited more closely. They
happen with great intensity and breadth in academic circles, either among
students and teachers, or as a result of social research that, although
increasingly taken into account for the design of public policies, are not
disseminated until they become a source of popular culture. It occurs between
intellectuals and artists within their own organizations; it has even been seen in the
commissions of the National Assembly of People’s Power, although the result of
the votes always reflects an exaggerated unanimity. It exists between
emigrants and the government, as well as various sectors of civil society, not
to mention the streets, declared a permanent forum for political debate in the
country.
Perhaps the main obstacle to the potential of these
scattered dialogues to contribute to the national consensus lies in the
limitations of the press and other official media to disseminate their results
and integrate them into the political work of the nation. For years the government
itself has criticized the deficiencies of the press to reflect the situation in
the country and meet the information needs of the population. But this
criticism has been focused more on pointing out the results, than analyzing
their causes. The most
negative consequence has been the loss of credibility of public bodies and
their defenselessness in the face of the distortions that are often generated
through social networks or other strange media.
This contrasts with the
quality of our journalists and other information professionals, many with a
high vocation for social service, trained in good schools, and aware of the
most innovative techniques of the trade. They are not even problems in essence
attributable to the directors of the organizations and officials who direct
these activities, since their replacement would suffice to overcome the mess. It is a much deeper problem related
to the conception of the role of the press in the construction of socialist
hegemony and the norms for its operation, an old unsolved problem of the
socialist system. Add to this a huge gap when facing the scenario
created by the new information technologies. The solution, then, requires a
thorough review of state and party policies, as well as their conceptions
regarding the press and its democratic demands.
The phrase, “It’s the
economy, stupid,” was Bill Clinton’s campaign theme in 1992 and was considered
so descriptive of the situation that some say it was decisive in his victory.
The same logic applies to the current Cuban reality. No dialogue will be able to solve the impact of this
objective reality in the daily life of Cubans, but violence will achieve even
less. Dialogue is a way to find solutions, especially by taking
advantage of the enormous human capital the country has developed, and produce
the welfare that comes with social harmony and contributes to popular political
culture. Therein lies its importance.
https://progresoweekly.us/a-political-x-ray-for-possible-dialogue-in-cuba/
The perfect storm
By Jesús Arboleya Last updated Jul 28, 2021
Many feel that protests
that occurred in Cuba on July 11 constitute the announced death of the
Revolution. Although truly shocking and damaging to the image of a country that
prides itself on citizen tranquility, it is not rare for the revolutionary
process to have been able to overcome major confrontations.
In the early years these
confrontations were expressed in the armed struggle against terrorism, rebel
gangs and invasions organized by the CIA. But even after overcoming this stage
in the domestic scene — more or less violent social upheavals did not end — the
common factor has been the participation and encouragement of the United States
government and the external counterrevolution.
What occurs at the moment
does not substantially change this pattern. It is difficult to qualify as
‘spontaneous’ demonstrations that occurred in unison throughout the country.
They’ve been in the planning for months and have the financing, at least
indirectly, of the hundreds of millions of dollars publicly allocated by the
United States for the “promotion of democracy” in Cuba.
We are in the presence of
a new U.S. aggression and this constitutes the central element of the analysis,
although the majority of the protesters have not received instructions from the
White House and their objectives do not even correspond to the pretensions of
that country in Cuba. In reality, one of the great tragedies of this type of
event is that many of its participants do not even act with full awareness of
what they want, although generally they do know what they do not want, nor are
they able to calculate the consequences of their actions. This is the
difference between revolution and chaos.
It also would be
simplistic to say that these types of conflicts only respond to a “malevolent
imperialist plan,” since they are a reflection of the economic, social and
political problems that the country traverses. Many times they are the result
of the United States’ own aggressions, especially the blockade, but also as a
consequence of errors and inadequacies in the construction of socialism in
Cuba, and the inevitable political struggles that a process of this nature
generates.
That said, it is worth
analyzing the particularities of the current protests, an expression of the perfect
storm that the country is experiencing. The most important is that the
political subject has changed — both of society as a whole, and of the
government that should govern its destinies — without the cohesive factor that
the figure of Fidel Castro represented.
‘Continuity’ can be a valid slogan when referring to
the objectives of the revolutionary process, but inoperative when it comes to
conducting it. The country’s own leadership has insisted on the need for
institutions and political cadres to change the “mentality” and ways of
operating. That leadership has also tried it in many ways. But the main
criticism of its management has been the inability to generate these changes at
the speed and depth required, even to carry out many of the reforms that it has
designed and that enjoy a positive national consensus.
Another peculiarity has
been the level of violence applied by the forces of order in certain places —
without justifying attacks against the police or the vandalism of the
protesters. Although there have been moments of great confrontations, the
government has always been careful to establish limits to the repressive
actions of the police, knowing its political consequences.
Without reaching the
scale that is unfortunately quite common in other countries, we have
experienced scenes of violence and police abuse which do not correspond to the
traditions and practices of the Revolution. It is true that the demonstrations
were not always peaceful and orderly. Just as videos demonstrate police
excesses, there is plenty of evidence of the violence and vandalism in various
demonstrations which justify the determined action of the police. The problem
is that although repression in Cuba may be minimal compared to other countries,
a single case is enough to transgress the ethics of the revolutionaries and
damages the image of the country, with what this entails for the national
security itself. It is also bad policy.
This violence also takes
place at a time when the process of approval of a new Constitution is being
consolidated, which had the support, granted by secret ballot, of more than 80
percent of the voters. Violating the postulates of this Constitution
constitutes a crime for either party and there are no reasons to do so, since
it affects the consensus that underpins the strategic project of the nation.
Another peculiarity is
the difficulties of the revolutionary forces to confront the subversive actions
channeled through social networks. This is a new scenario for Cuba, at a
disadvantage in the face of enemies who have all the money and experience in
the use of these instruments of social communication — whether it be to sell a
pair of shoes, destabilize a country or elect a president. For sure, the
profiles of the majority of Cubans already rest on servers ready to be
classified and dozens of operators are in charge of manipulating them. Nobody
summoned me to the July 11 demonstrations, but thousands of people, more
willing than me, surely received the message.
However, beyond the
problems of the use of new technologies, there is the problem of the content of
the information that is distributed and the methods used to guarantee the
effectiveness of the message and its credibility. The shortcomings of the
press, with no solutions in sight, have been the object of constant criticism
from the country’s leaders. A
good part of the human capital of the intelligentsia is wasted in the media and
the result of social research continues to have very limited diffusion, which
affects the accuracy and depth of the analyses that are transmitted to the
population. The debate from different positions, present in other settings,
even in the queues outside grocery stores, is a rare animal in the Cuban press.
Many of the social
problems that lack adequate attention, and which President Díaz Canel himself
has pointed out among the causes of the events that occurred — namely poverty,
marginalization, racism and other social differences — have been studied for
years by Cuban academic centers. And the results that warn about these
phenomena and their treatment have not always been duly taken into account.
Although there is a lack
of research to confirm this data, Díaz Canel also defined the fundamental
components that he considers were present in the demonstrations and identified
three large groups: the annexationists, who act bent on the interests of the
United States; people with criminal attitudes; as well as a large presence of
young people. The former are easily identifiable by their political ties and
attitudes, the second group by their conduct, but the last respond to a much
broader and more complex definition, related to much bigger problems in the
life of the country.
Although the economic
blockade has not been able to overthrow the regime, as its proponents have
hoped for, it has been a determining obstacle to the economic advancement of
the country, as well as serving as a constant political wear and tear,
conditioned to create overwhelming deficiencies for the common citizen.
The Cuban miracle has
been to survive under these conditions, but to resist eternally does not
satisfy the life expectancy of ordinary people, especially young people. Such a level of dissatisfaction
explains the volume of emigration that exists, as well as the expressions of
dissatisfaction that are observed in various settings. The cause is
economic, but its consequences are political and as such must be addressed.
The resurgence of the
blockade, to the point of economic suffocation as a result of Donald Trump’s
policies, has been compounded by the devastating humanitarian, social and
economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is no coincidence that the
demonstrations were called for at the worst moment of the pandemic, when the
country faces record levels of infections and deaths, a situation that should
improve in the coming months as a result of the application of Cuban vaccines.
Nor is it a coincidence
that they occurred at a time when the Biden administration seemed ready to
announce the much-studied policy toward Cuba. Since taking over as president,
the Cuban-American extreme right has been articulating provocations and media
campaigns to prevent the sanctions established by Donald Trump from being
reversed. It seems that Biden
is cornered by these pressures and that policy towards Cuba will not have
significant changes in the coming months.
The only thing that depends on the Cubans is Cuba itself.
May the crisis, the mother of great transformations, in a climate of dialogue
and peace, allow us to evaluate everything that must be evaluated and change
everything that must be changed. The future of a Revolution depends on it, a
Revolution where many Cubans have poured their life, heart and soul into.
https://progresoweekly.us/the-perfect-storm/
