Category: Fernando Damaso

Last week, according to the official Cuban press, between the First Summit of CELAC in Chile and the UNESCO-sponsored Third International Conference for World Equilibrium, the elections and homages to Jose Marti, it seemed that we were on the international hit parade. Nevertheless, if we make a dissection of each event, we show that it is not exactly so.

In the First Summit of CELAC, as is usual in this type of event, there was a lot of talk about the same as always, and the same words were allowed to be heard that are always heard: peace, justice, development, mutual understanding, consensus building, integration, sovereignty, solidarity, cooperation, dialogue, and many others. Now it remains to be seen how the gap between the words and the deeds is overcome.

In the Conference about World Equilibrium, a group of old Latin American intellectuals from the left (those on the payroll), accompanied by some from other latitudes (also on the payroll) digressed about how to resolve the world’s problems, and came to the conclusion (there could be no other), that it was necessary to banish capitalism at once, and implement a system that might or might not be called socialism of the 21st century. A pity to waste time and resources to arrive at such a genial conclusion.

Also, as in these days Jose Marti is remembered for the 160th anniversary of his birth, they felt obliged to introduce some aspects of his worldview, as much to shore up the principal thesis as to, out of the blue, condemn the Spanish daily El Pais, as an example of manipulation by the mainstream media. Also, proclaimed by one of the speakers was the process of global extinction of the written press, and he even said that, if Marti were alive today, he would be a blogger, on facebook, on twitter, with that unhealthy habit of transferring people from eras, through ideological spiritualism, and making them talk. It was not clear if forming part of the official camp or the alternative.

In case that were not sufficient, in the elections of February 3, the presence of the Apostle — as we call Martí — was not lacking, this time admonishing the young people to vote in demonstration of their Marti vocation, together with revolutionary principles. As it is easy to prove, once again, and it already constitutes an epidemic, Marti has been used and used again, according to the convenience of everyone.

Taking into account these events, the profits January left to us are quite poor. Hopefully the coming months will be more rewarding.

Translated by mlk

February 4 2013

Today marks the 170th anniversary of the birth of Jose Marti, our deceived and manipulated Apostle. After dying in an absurd military action, his image and ideology have been used by some and by others, according to the utility of each age: in some cases, in order to throw in our faces not being as he had wanted us to be, and in others, in order to serve as an example for us to imitate in times of disbelief and misery, as much material as human.

Since his fall in Dos Rios, Marti has weighed on the shoulders of Cubans like a glorious burden difficult to carry. Everyone who has had something to say or still has, proclaims himself a follower of Marti, although in reality he has never been nor is. To be a follower of Marti has become more of a wild card than a feeling, the same as wild cards have been (and in some cases, continue being) to be Marxist, Trotskyite, liberal, conservative or leftist, to cite only some examples. The wild card serves as a facade for what is found hidden inside, many times totally different from it, but it confuses and deceives; taking into account accumulated practice, it gives results. continue reading

Three years ago I went with Rebeca to greet the New Year at some friends’ house, located on Águila Street in the Central Havana district. What happened to us there became the basis of a post in her blog in which she described events in what had to be called the “wild west.” We decided not to repeat that unpleasant experience. This year she is travelling, and since “man is the only animal who trips over the same stone twice,” I accepted our friends’ invitation.

At twelve midnight, at least on Aguila street, the savagery of three years ago was not repeated; this time only water was thrown. Nevertheless, when after one in the morning I decided to retire, I found some adjoining streets — Neptune, San Miguel, San Rafael and others — besides being wet, had bags of waste and other objects scattered along them: the old and healthy custom of throwing water on the streets in order to dispose of the old year, has degenerated, for some, into this barbarity.

The renowned writer Leonardo Padura, wrote an article series not long ago, calling attention to the ruralization of the city of Havana, which has accelerated its deterioration and lack of hygiene. I would go a little further and speak of its marginalization. Abandoned by many of its children — those born here — and occupied progressively by immigrants from other provinces — with natural exceptions, not precisely in many cases their best exponents –it has been subjected to looting and destruction by those who lack emotional ties like identity with the city, and vulgarity, social indiscipline, disorder, physical and verbal violence, mistreatment, lack of respect, rudeness and many other negative phenomena, previously unknown,having prospered. The terrible thing is that all this happens before the complacent gaze of authorities of all levels, who do nothing effective to eradicate it, and also of many Havanans, participants and accomplices in the practices.

Havana is ceasing to be the capital of all Cubans, as the propaganda of a well know local television station says, in order to become the capital of all the marginalized. Do you doubt it? Walk any day through Downtown Havana, El Cerro, Diez de Octubre and other townships, and even through Old Havana, through the non-tourist streets. Like here, officially, the old year is not dismissed nor is the new one received, but only a new year of Revolution — with a little number and everything — and that in itself constitutes a social phenomenon linked to violence. Won’t this be, for some, a popular and original way of paying homage to it?

Fernando Damaso

Translated by mlk

January 1 2013

In the latest edition of Workers, an official newspaper published each Monday, there appears an article about some so-called VII International Colloquium of Philosophy and XV International New Political Science Workshop, to be held these days in Havana.

More than the contents of the first, the second calls my attention where the concept of a new Political Science with southern focus will be presented which departs, according to its creators, from Marx but fundamentally is based on the thought of Lenin and Ho Chi Minh and the national heroes of Latin America. I do not know how this soup (a type of stew in which its components lose their flavors and identities, on diluting in a thick broth with undefined flavor and color) will taste, but I presume that it will be very difficult to digest.

It also announces the presence of more than a hundred participants from all regions of the world, principally from Latin America. It seems that the international retired left and foolish left do not give up, in spite of the many practical demonstrations of the failures of their political concepts, and they try to create other new demonstrations with the objective of keeping themselves on the world stage at all cost. It is striking that those who previously criticized these dilettantes, dubbing them theoretical and impractical, have become the same.

It is true that the so-called western Political Science is not perfect and, starting from its practical application, it constantly finds itself under renovation, but it is not in inventing a new Political Science that it will answer to its limitations. That absurd tendency to try to be the belly button of the world, besides ridicule only causes loss of time and effort. It would be more useful to take advantage of the existing Political Science, learn it and use it, and to abandon the divisive position between North and South, which solves absolutely nothing.

Translated by mlk

November 16 2012

The recovery of the electrical system in the eastern provinces, destroyed by Hurricane Sandy, has been the subject of headlines, articles and commentaries in the various governmental media outlets, pondering the arduous and magnificent work of the Union Electric personnel participating in it. It issomething fair and that must be done, now that they deserve everyone’s appreciation, independently of the accompanying fanfare and of the official flags of the contingents, as if they were setting off to war, but all that must be understood as excesses of our tropical socialism.

If Union Electric is capable of working this way in extreme situations, why not do it in a similar way three-hundred-sixty-five days a year? No one escapes from the continuous outages of ten and more hours, the surprise service interruptions because of pruning (in reality destruction) of trees, maintenance, repairs, changes of line poles, etc., achieved with low productivity and at a slow pace, in any geographical part of the country.

Nor from the rupture of domestic appliances by voltage surges that destroy even the surge protectors. Add to this the poor information offered to clients, limited to the well known: extended maintenance, pruning, extensions, and repairs with no established deadlines. These effects, which no one compensates, besides affecting the citizens in their homes, also affect private businesses, causing sensitive losses. I exclude the State because, when there are outages, their employees are partying because of not having to work.

Sometimes it is tedious to compare with the past but, when the Cuban Electric Company, subsidiary of Electric Bonds & Share with Cuban shareholders, existed, outages were unknown and rarely (except in situations of natural disasters) did we hear about repairs, maintenance and tree trimming because the electrical service was not suspended: apparently these jobs were executed with hot lines.

It is true that the service then did not cover the whole country, but it was in constant development and, without doubt, would have managed it with the passage of the years. The blame for existing problems will be placed, as always, on the blockade (embargo), but in reality it is a problem of organization and stimulation of labor. The difference between an extreme situation and the usual one demonstrates it: it is not the same to work ten or fifteen days at full speed with all the resources and motivated, as it is to do it 365 days a year, without motivation, with miserable salaries and lacking the necessary means.

Translated by mlk

November 22 2012

The last days of October and the first days of November, besides Hurricane Sandy, have produced two electoral processes: one in Cuba and the other in the United States. The first, more formal than real, where the majority of citizens go vote because of inertia, convinced that their vote will decide nothing, like not electing some delegates from the base, without real power and lacking resources to solve anything, and with the important positions already decided beforehand (how else to explain the continuation of power in the same principal authorities for more than 50 years), happened without pain or glory. The journalists assigned to cover it, seemingly without much enthusiasm, did their jobs, pondering the supposed advantages of the Cuban electoral system, in contrast withall the rest of the world: the most democratic, popular, massive, just, patriotic, civic and all that occurs to them.

The second, in spite of being entirely the responsibility of the American people, seems to have had greater coverage: articles in the written press, television and radio analysis and even Roundtable TV shows. Some brainy journalists, not being able to show their analytical aptitudes in the Cuban electoral process (all is predicted and there are no surprises), didso withthe neighbors, where the voters had the last word on election day.

It is good to remember that, in the era of the republic, the American elections did not much interest us. A Democrat or Republican president was the same: Whichever won, the relations were of good neighbors. Interest grew after 1959. Since then, the American elections became a principal problem for the Cuban authorities, drawing up contingency plans for one winner or another. I am sure that they also have now.

We always hope, although the odds are small, that we will resolve the problems that we have created, and so, every four years, we look North, hoping for some sign, in spite of the fact that every day of the year we rant against it and blame it for all of our problems, the problems of Latin America and of the world.

The hurricanetheelections passed, our authorities will return to the international arena, demanding the end of the blockade (embargo), the liberation of spies imprisoned by the empire and millions in reparations. (In 2011, they valued damages at 3,553,602,645 total dollars, and in the past 50 years at 1,066,000,000,000 dollars. A marvel of calculation worthy of the best destiny!) They will also repeat other themes that have been political propaganda material for years, knowing that they will get nothing, but they will keep serving as entertainment for many gullible Cubans, which, in the first instance, has always been their true objective.

Translated by mlk

November 19 2012

Public opinion is a term that often appears in the print, radio and television reports whenever the authorities approve some measure to benefit, or not, the population. Our agile reporters, microphones and cameras in hand, go about the task of interviewing citizens—preferably in schools or workplaces, and at sites where people congregate, such as bus stops, checkout lines, etc.—by being where the double standard comes into play and few people dare to say what they really think. If an incorrect opinion happens to be expressed, however, it gets suppressed in the editing.

This means that all opinions that get reported, one way or another, are unanimous in their support for or rejection of—depending on the desires of the authorities—the approved measure. This bit of theater serves to promote the idea that all citizens are in full agreement with the authorities, that these same authorities are capable of addressing our concerns, and that we live in the best of all democracies—one that lately has been described as “indigenous.” This is somewhat of a replacement for the former term “socialist,” which has perhaps lost a bit of its luster.

Now, with emigration reform and the elections underway, something else has occurred. Certain politically chosen opinions—they range from the infantile to the ridiculous, and include the usual gripes and criticisms of “the Empire,”the source of all our past, present and future problems—are now brandished as “the opinion of the people.”

Translated by mlk and unstated

October 23 2012