“I Always Did What My Conscience Dictated” / Dimas Castellano, Oscar Espinosa Chepe

One of the central figures of the Cuban opposition, who participated in the revolution before its ultimate victory but ended up being sentenced to 20 years in Castro’s prisons, was the independent economist Oscar Espinosa Chepe, who died in Madrid. He recounts his life and ideas in this interview. Born in Cienfuegos on November 29, … Continue reading ““I Always Did What My Conscience Dictated” / Dimas Castellano, Oscar Espinosa Chepe”

Oscar Espinosa Chepe / Rafael Leon Rodriguez

I met Chepe one afternoon when we both just happened to be at the home of Elizardo Sanchez. It was the end of the decade of the ’90s of the last century, and our organization, the Cuban Democracy Project, along with others of various political stripes, were working to put together a program of economic, … Continue reading “Oscar Espinosa Chepe / Rafael Leon Rodriguez”

Eugenio Yanez Remembers Oscar Espinosa Chepe

Oscar Espinosa Chepe was a person convinced of what he did in life, without any extremist opportunisms or false remorse about his “revolutionary” phase from his earliest youth. A person of integrity, when speaking or writing he did not care about what his bosses (when he had them) would like to hear; or, after breaking … Continue reading “Eugenio Yanez Remembers Oscar Espinosa Chepe”

Alejandro Armengol Remembers Oscar Espinosa Chepe

Two qualities, among others, were always prominent in the articles by Chepe that appeared regularly both in Cubaencuentro as well as other publications like El Nuevo Herald. One of them is that he could achieve the delicate balance that allowed him to present a balanced article or analysis while making clear his point of view.  … Continue reading “Alejandro Armengol Remembers Oscar Espinosa Chepe”

Haroldo Dilla Remembers Oscar Espinosa Chepe

Despite living for so long on an island so small, I never met Oscar Espinosa Chepe in person. It would have been an honor and an opportunity for me, mostly after discovering him in one of his incisive articles for the late magazine Encuentro during a night of insomnia on a plane in route to … Continue reading “Haroldo Dilla Remembers Oscar Espinosa Chepe”

Carmelo Mesa-Lago Remembers Oscar Espinosa Chepe

Oscar Espinosa Chepe was one of the best informed and courageous Cuban economists. Despite the difficulties to access the internet, he was always up to date on the regional and local [Economics] organizations’ publications; and his works were always well documented and objective. His criticism was based on publications and official figures, but he also … Continue reading “Carmelo Mesa-Lago Remembers Oscar Espinosa Chepe”

My Memory of Oscar Espinosa Chepe / Reinaldo Escobar

Óscar Espinosa Chepe When I heard this morning that Oscar Espinosa Chepe had died, some memories of the prominent Cuban economist came to mind. I had the privilege, the pleasure, of meeting him in person; he offered a master class on the Cuban economy in our Blogger Academy and participated on one occasion in the … Continue reading “My Memory of Oscar Espinosa Chepe / Reinaldo Escobar”

A Rerun of the Embargo Show / Oscar Espinosa Chepe

Cuban authorities, as has been their custom for years, have launched a new campaign against the U.S. embargo, taking advantage of the start of high-level United Nations General Assembly sessions. The worn-out script began with a press conference by Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Minister of Foreign Affairs, in Havana on September 20. The only thing that could … Continue reading “A Rerun of the Embargo Show / Oscar Espinosa Chepe”

The Speck in Our Own Eye / Oscar Espinosa Chepe

For years it has been the practice of totalitarianism to try to divert attention from the complicated situation that exists in Cuba by showing the problems that exist in other countries, often exaggerating them to make people believe our own are not that serious. This is done by taking advantage of the disinformation possible through … Continue reading “The Speck in Our Own Eye / Oscar Espinosa Chepe”

Who is the Mercenary? / Oscar Espinosa Chepe

“I do not agree with giving mercenaries the same rights as intellectuals,” claimed the writer Miguel Barnet, president of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) and member of the Communist Party Central Committee, at the 30th Conference of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) held in San Francisco, California, this May. Barnet’s … Continue reading “Who is the Mercenary? / Oscar Espinosa Chepe”

Tracey Eaton’s Interview of Oscar Espinosa Chepe

Tracey Eaton, a Florida-based journalist, has been traveling to Cuba for a long time, and more recently has been undertaking a series of interviews with Cubans ranging all across the ideological spectrum. He has now begun the work of subtitling these videos in English. Here are links to Tracey’s blogs/sites: Along the Malecon; Cuba Money … Continue reading “Tracey Eaton’s Interview of Oscar Espinosa Chepe”

My Friend Chepe / Rene Gomez Manzano

HAVANA, Cuba , September, www.cubanet.org – I chose to let a few days pass before writing a few lines about the unfortunate death of the eminent Cuban economist Oscar Espinosa Chepe, in Madrid last Monday. I knew that many colleagues would write about it but was not intimidated by the idea that my possible arguments … Continue reading “My Friend Chepe / Rene Gomez Manzano”

Oscar in Memoriam / Rosa Maria Rodriguez

Photo from paraclito.net I met Oscar Espinosa Chepe† at the home of another opposition activist around the year 1997.  Later, I had the opportunity to interact more with him when he would go to the headquarters of CubaPress, then situated in the residence of Ricardo González Alfonso, in Havana’s Miramar neighborhood, so that the editor … Continue reading “Oscar in Memoriam / Rosa Maria Rodriguez”

Chepe / Luis Cino Alvarez

HAVANA, Cuba, September, www.cubanet.org – I met Oscar Espinosa Chepe in 2002, at the home of the poet and independent journalist Ricardo González Alfonso, an ideal place to establish good and lasting friendships. Between dreams and fears, we worked on the magazine De Cuba. I remember the first collaboration Chepe sent to us for the … Continue reading “Chepe / Luis Cino Alvarez”