Reinaldo Escobar – Page 26 – Translating Cuba

Inventory of Differences / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar

Talk about the lack of unity within the Cuban opposition has already become commonplace. (Marc Gautier / Flickr / CC)

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, 26 June 2015 – To talk about a lack of unity within the Cuban opposition has already become commonplace. Among the causes of these lamentable circumstances are enumerated some peculiarities rooted in the greatest depths of our history, whose paradigmatic example is warlordism.

However, there are also rational reasons because opponents gather in separate airtight rooms. First of all, in political vocations. Liberals, socialists, Christian democrats, anarchists, social democrats and other less profiled denominations assume positions about certain topics that can become irreconcilable.

The mere fact of recognizing these nuances sparks commentary from all sides that the most important thing is to dislodge the tyrants from power and that such minutiae can wait until democracy is achieved. But it is not enough to make the immense sacrifice of overlooking future programmatic differences. The spokes in the wheel, the weights, the headwinds, the points of honor that hinder or prevent reaching agreement usually arise from unexpected places.

Here are the most common obstacles to consensus: continue reading

The Cuba-US Dispute

Before December 17, 2014 the discussion centered on whether or not the US economic restrictions toward the island should be maintained, what some call “the blockade” and others “the embargo.” The mere choice of one of these words has prevented prestigious leaders from signing a collective declarationen masse. On this plane we also find the issue of Americans traveling to the island, the reopening of embassies and eventual normalization.

Some are betting that the rigidity of the Cuban system cannot be maintained in an environment of good economic and diplomatic relations with the neighbor to the north. Others believe that the commercial interests of the United States could take precedence over human rights and in the end would award the Cuban Government the benefit of undeserved legitimacy.

The recognition of the reforms made by the Government

Between those who think that, “As long as what has to change isn’t changed, nothing has changed here,” and those who believe that “In this house of cards the slightest movement could lead to the collapse,” there is a large gradation.

This has led some to consider self-employed people as accomplices to the dictatorship, because with the payment of their taxes and their growing habits of consumption they sustain the dictatorship. While others see them as the most dynamic part of the population, who by empowering themselves economically could point the way to political emancipation in defense of the middle class.

The reluctance at every step of the reforms, adjustments, or whatever they prefer to call them, awakes in some the suspicions that it is all about an operation of recycling to maintain themselves in power – a fraudulent Change – and in others hopes that behind every little change there could be lurking a tropical Boris Yeltsin.

In the event that the announced but not yet proclaimed legislation opened the tiniest crack for the participation of the opponents, the divisions would become more pronounced

The attitude toward elections

Not going to vote, voiding or leaving the ballet blank and, more recently, casting one’s vote in favor of a lesser evil or for some malcontent who has managed to get past the controls, are the different attitudes with which some want to demonstrate their disagreement.

The Government’s announcement that it will formulate a new Electoral Law has given the issue new scope for disagreements, as there are those who believe it makes sense to disseminate proposals that could open a space to something like a multiparty system; on the other hand, those who see in the new law another maneuver by the regime to buy time or who call for an independent plebiscite.

In the event that the announced but not yet proclaimed legislation opens the tiniest crack for the participation of the opponents, the divisions would become more pronounced between those who accept involving themselves in the hard-fought elections, and those who consider participation in them as something that gives the game to the dictatorship, and even as a betrayal.

In the street or indoors

Although a consensus is seen in the opposition for the renunciation of violent methods, especially weapons or terrorism, there is a clear difference between those who have chosen to express their differences by going out into the streets, and those who express their critiques through documents, programs or opinion columns. From both sides there are sincere calls to weigh as valid the methods chosen by each grouping or individual, but still, in isolation, expressions appear that label a posture as uselessly provocative proposals of victims, and another as a convenient methodology, free of risk and displaying little solidarity with those who dare to receive beatings.

We are not willing to easily give way before a semantic dilemma; we all agree that it would be easy for the other to accept our terminology

Terminology

I have left for the end an element that affects the text that I am writing. The difference between use the labels Government or the authorities, and others who use the terms regime, dictatorship or tyranny, is perhaps one of the most frequent differences in the opposition endeavor. Other incompatible binomials enter there, like the already mentioned embargo-blockade, or election-voting reforms-cosmetic changes, exile-diaspora, not to mention how difficult it is to classify someone as an opponent, dissident, activist, or independent journalist.

To this is added the generational definitions, which mark a dividing line between those who have spent “more than thirty years in the opposition,” and the recent arrivals; or the contrast between having suffered a prison sentence versus having been detained for only a few hours.

We Cubans depend too much on orality, and are not willing to easily give way before a semantic dilemma. Moreover, we all agree that it would be easy for the other to accept our terminology.

Of course this is an incomplete inventory, I could have mentioned the way in which the role of the churches is seen in the problematic Cuban politics; the choice between remaining on the island and leaving for exile; the relentless pursuit of “doing something” or the patient resignation that time and biology will do its work; with or without dialog with the Government; resisting arrest or letting them take you prisoner; accepting financing from foreign organizations or rejecting it on principle; attending a government-sponsored “Rendering of Accounts” to channel complaints, or not attending to deny its legitimacy; going abroad to participate in events or declining invitations to not miss even a minute of the main struggle, and so on, until we run out of imagination in choosing the very colors of our arrogant identity.

One Year and Already Walking with Solid Steps

Rebeca Monzo, 22 May 2015 — A little over a year ago our friends Reinaldo and Yoani came for a visit to tell us that, finally, the long-cherished dream of starting an independent newspaper was about to be realized and to ask us if we would be interested in contributing articles.

Why such an unusual name for a newspaper? I’ll tell you: The number fourteen refers to the floor on which they live, Y stands for Yoani, who came up with the idea, and medio is a reference to communication media.*

We, along with others, enthusiastically began making our modest contribution and the dream quickly came true. On May 21, 2014 the first issue of the digital daily 14ymedio was published.

Yesterday, we all gathered at the newspaper’s headquarters: the founders, the staff and the contributors. We had a delightful evening of conversations and discussions in which the main course consisted of new suggestions and ideas to further improve 14ymedio.com.

HAPPY FIRST ANNIVERSARY!

*Translator’s note: The title is a play on words. In Spanish, 14 y medio literally means fourteen and a half. The word medio can mean either half of something or medium, as in the medium of television.

Induced Compliance / Reinaldo Escobar

Desde Aqui, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 8 June 2015 – What has come out in the magazine Muy Interesante (Very Interesting) generates no surprise, but what is published in the newspaper Granma causes astonishment.

In the “Direct Line” section, on page 4 of the edition of June 6, under the title, “Are there foods that wake us up and foods that relax us?” we learn that research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has demonstrated that “the proteins of eggs, meat or fish bring tyrosine to the brain, an amino acid that increases the production of neurotransmitters that keep the mind alert, focused and productive (dopamine and norepinephrine).”

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The article adds that “when tyrosine levels drop we suffer apathy and lack of motivation. If the proteins wake us up and accelerate our thinking, relaxation usually comes from carbohydrates (potatoes, pasta, rice, bananas .. .). These foods induce the release of insulin, which eliminates from the blood almost all amino acids except tryptophan, which exercises a soothing effect.”

My namesake, the commentator Reinaldo Taladrid, takes the opportunity to say here, “You may draw your own conclusions.” Obviously, MIT lost a golden opportunity in our country for study, especially in the times of the microjet bananas that eventually became our daily bread during the harshest times of the Special Period, moments in which in other better-fed latitudes they wondered at the resignation of Cubans in enduring such hardships.

The widespread listlessness in production and provision of services disappears when poorly-fed Cubans jump to other frontiers

This massive obedience, which the Party-State characterized as conscious and unconditional support, should be attributed exclusively to the diet the population was subjected to, though no one would seriously affirm that such dietary restrictions obeyed a scientific plan conceived by some malign genius, but at least it is a detail that should not escape observers of our reality.

It should be added that the effects of this lack of motivation could extend beyond the scarcity of political rebellion and also contribute to that widespread listlessness in production and the delivery of services, which disappears almost by magic when the poorly-fed Cubans jump to other frontiers in which they are converted into beings fiercely eager for prosperity. There they are seen to work without rest, creating with imagination and protesting in freedom.

Is it just a matter of chemistry?

66% Of Municipal Delegates Belong To The PCC And UJC / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar

Ballot in Elections of the Municipal Assemblies of People's Power (Photo: Yoani Sanchez) — Ballot in Elections of the Municipal Assemblies of People’s Power (Photo: Yoani Sanchez)

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, 4 June 2105 — 66% of the delegates to the Municipal Assemblies of People’s Power are members of the Communist Party (PCC) or the Union of Communist Youth (UJC), a fact that reveals the overrepresentation of the political membership of both organizations, which together do not total 18% Cuban electorate.

This Thursday the National Electoral Commission released the official data on the 12,589 delegates to the Municipal Assemblies of People’s Power elected in as many constituencies across the country. Of those, 8,249 belong to one of the two aforementioned organizations. A note published in the newspaper Granma included the names of the chairmen and deputy chairmen of the 167 Municipal Assemblies. continue reading

Young people make up 15.37% and notably among them is the presence of 21 people aged between 16 and 18. At the other end of the generational spectrum are 1,420 delegates aged 61 years or more. As a linguistic anecdote it is worth noting the abundance of names like Yanelki, Yadelki, Yudorkis, Yoenkis, Yasmany among the delegates, so common among those born in the ‘70s and ‘80s.

According to official information 34.99% are women, while 58.9% are white, 24.51% are mixed-race and 15.89% are black.

Regarding employment status, 5,159 district delegates hold some responsibility as leaders in the business area, political organizations, social social organizations or other levels of government, some 41% of the total.

Next in numerical proportion are those who work in production activities and services, with 4,036 members, representing 32.06%. To continue, there are 825 delegates engaged in national security issues, members of the army, the Interior Ministry and other defense-related activities, which constitute 6.55%.

The diversity that occurs in both the Cuban Parliament and these municipal bodies, is representative of the social spectrum of the nation from the standpoint of gender, race, age and occupation. Political diversity, on the other hand, is an unresolved issue.

Warm Washcloths / Reinaldo Escobar

Arresto-Cuba-Ernesto-Mastrascusa-EFE_CYMIMA20150224_0006_17 — Arrest of dissidents in Cuba (Ernesto Mastrascusa EFE)

Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 1 June 2015 – Once again the general-president, giving the impression that he invites criticism, steps on the brakes. He recognizes that it is important that everyone bring their opinions, but qualifies that it must be done “in the appropriate place, the opportune moment, and in the correct ways.”

That he has repeated it this Friday at the most recent Council of Ministers does not matter. That idea has been crushed in Parliament, the Party Congress, and at every opportunity that presents itself, while he warns in passing that he speaks of constructive criticism.

Everything indicates that by constructive criticism Raul Castro understands that which points out errors but does not discuss the theoretical basis that underlies his program, or better yet, the criticism that paves the way chosen by the criticized. continue reading

Under this logic, Karl Marx’s “Capital” is not constructive criticism, nor would be — saving the insurmountable differences –“History Will Absolve Me,” authored by his brother. However, both texts propose or suggest solutions to identified problems, which is the indispensable condition for a critical observation to merit the adjective ‘constructive.’

A critical allusion qualifies as destructive when it rages against those who do bad things, without giving them the opportunity to improve anything because they are considered unable to rectify it or have the deliberate intention to carry out evil deeds. Something very distinct from undertaking noble deeds in the incorrect way. To quote that memorable epithet that so many politicians deserve: “He did good and he did bad. The good he did badly, the bad he did well.”

When Castro mentions “the appropriate place” surely he is referring to Party meetings, directors’ councils, accountability assemblies or the pages of the newspaper Granma, where a team of censors decides what can be published.

Raul Castro understands constructive criticism to be that which points out errors but does not discuss the theoretical basis that underlies his program

They have not classified as appropriate places Fifth Avenue in Miramar, where every Sunday the Ladies and White parade and are repressed, nor the streets of Santiago de Cuba, where activists from the Patriotic Union of Cuba carry their signs of protest, much less the Plaza of the Revolution, where the artist Tanis Bruguera tried to lend a microphone to all who wanted to say something, or Central Park where the graffiti artist El Sexto wanted to drop off two tattooed pigs.

The opportune moment must be when, from the powers-that-be, a special permit is issued, as happened with those democratization assemblies in the ‘70s and in the preliminaries of the 4^th Party Congress in 1994, or more recently when the population was authorized to offer opinions on the 6^th Party Congress Guidelines.

The correct way is easy to imagine, initiating the action with due reverence. If we’re talking about racism, the harsh conditions of agricultural work or the mistreatment of women, we have to start by recalling everything the Revolution has done for the benefit of the injured. And if it’s about criticizing the deficiencies in education and healthcare, it is obligatory to preface it by stating that these are the jewels in the crown, free and available to all.

With critiques like these praise is not necessary.

Rebellion in Platanal / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 28 May 2015 – Just a mention of the name Santa Isabel de las Lajas, a town in the province of Cienfuegos, recalls one of the greatest of all Cuban musicians, Benny Moré, the “Barbarian of Rhythm.” Dancing and fun, joy and youth.

But on the night of May 16 the El Platanal de Bartolo discoteque, in the little homeland of the greatest sonero, was the scene of a minor quarrel of which no one now wants to remember the origin. “Drunkenness,” said a waiter. The point is that someone with sufficient authority decided to end the day on the stroke of midnight, an hour earlier than usual. Hundreds of young people gathered there protested against the measure with all the energy of their age and, in addition, with every right. continue reading

From El Platanal they went toward Marti Park, one of the many in the major towns that serve as a point of rendezvous and conquests. When the police patrol passed through the area in their Chinese-made jeep Number 553, tempers were still running high, so always ready to repress anything that looks like a protest, the uniformed officers warned the boys they were making the rounds and on their return they didn’t want to see anyone there.

Those who had gone out without their IDs, those with something to lose or something to hide, went to their homes, but some 60 preferred to stay… and the patrol car returned. In retaliation for what they interpreted as unspeakable disobedience, they imposed a fine on every person, but there were three who did not accept the outrage and were threatened by one of the police officers with his regulation pistol.

Neither Yoexis Llorente, nor Oscar Luis Santana, nor Miguel Armenteros felt intimidated. They took off their shirts as a sign of protest and told the cops, “Shoot here, in my chest.” Brute force prevailed – on this case the force of arms – and the three were handcuffed and taken to the police station. It’s been 12 days, they still haven’t been formally charged in court, and they remain detained. It’s been said they will be charged with resistance and contempt.

The apparent abyss that separates popular discontent from the political opposition can be leaped in a minute and for unforeseen reasons

Jorge Luis Oliver, an activist in the Reflection Movement in Santa Isabel de las Lajas, said that Miguel Armenteros’s mother told the town’s Communist Party Secretary that she would turn in her Party membership card if her son, recently demobilized from military service, was legally affected by any measure, and that she and the mothers of the other two would take the matter wherever necessary. Including to the “Human Rights people.”

Among the topics discussed at the Tenth Congress of the Young Communist League, there was one identified as “Cultural consumption and recreational options.” Except in some of the provincial capitals, the only thing left for young people in the small towns is walking in the park and drinking alcohol.

There will be no uprising in Lajas, nor any uncontrolled social explosion because a discotheque closed an hour earlier than planned; but the apparent abyss that separates popular discontent from the political opposition can be leaped in a minute and for unforeseen reasons. And no one wants to be the “the fundamental clay” of any experiment in social engineering. At any moment El Platanal de Bartolo, that mythical site of Cuban enjoyment, could be registered as a center of conspiracy.

So Many Lists Having Nothing to Do With Obama / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar

Raúl Castro with Barack Obama at a press conference during the Summit of the Americas.

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 27 April 2015 — A few days back, a commentator on Cuban state television found it “interesting” that Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinan, speaking on behalf of her party, said there would be no opposition in the U.S. Congress to removing Cuba from the list of state sponsors of terror.

This time, the Cuban-American Congresswoman was not disparaged as a “wild wolf,” as the official media christened her back in the days of the campaign for the return of the little boy rafter Elián González to Cuba. If everything goes according to plan, on May 30^th, after the 45 days required for the U.S. Congress to ratify the President’s recommendation, Cuba’s name will be erased from the list. continue reading

According to an explanation given by Miguel Díaz-Canel, Cuba’s vice-president, in an interview on April 19^th, the significance of Cuba no longer appearing on the list is that from then on the country will be able to qualify for bank loans, as well as undertake other financial activities hitherto denied to it.

Still, will this signal an end to the commercial problems that cripple our imports and trade with the rest of the world?

The removal of Cuba from this list does not automatically mean that it definitely will be included among the countries taken seriously into account when it comes to negotiations, investments, partnerships, and qualifying for loans. Additionally, it does not mean that Cuba would immediately join the ranks of nations attractive to investors and international financial entities. Cuba’s name appears on other negative assessments from which it would be very difficult to erase its name in the short or medium-term.

In the repertoire of nations representing a high risk for investors, Cuba sadly occupies a distinguished spot. It is listed together with countries where it is least recommended to do business. Whether or not Cuba remains on these lists does not depend on Obama’s goodwill. It depends on Cuba complying with specific requirements established by financial entities whose assessments are universally accepted.

Additionally, among countries that tend not to pay their bills, Cuba has earned a notorious standing after decades of not meeting its financial obligations and owing large sums of money to member states of The Paris Club as well as to several others. At the end of the 1980’s, Cuba led the Latin American movement in support of not repaying foreign debts, thus endearing it to the worldwide left, but also earning the country a very negative reputation among those who invest or lend their money.

Cuba’s bad reputation regarding private property has also landed it on several other lists that frighten businesspeople and discourage foreign firms. This is due especially to the official Cuban discourse, which for over half a century has shown contempt towards private ownership of the means of production.

The memories of the massive confiscation of companies, newspapers, sugar mills, and small businesses are still very fresh in the sharp minds of businessmen who do not want to risk their investments, as happened during the Revolutionary Offensive of 1968.*

Additionally, how can Cuba be removed from the list of countries that do not allow independent trade unions, nor freedom of association and expression? Would it be possible, as if by magic, for Cuba to be removed from the list of countries that do not duly protect property owners nor shield them ideological whims without a real reform of its penal code?

Seeing we are no longer on the list of sponsors of terrorism, the Cuban government now seems to be hoping that investments and loans offers will be forthcoming overnight. No matter how paradoxical it may sound, these illusions rest on the government’s presumption that those who may be interested in doing business with the Island are cynics lacking any corporate ethics.

The Cuban authorities will then welcome unscrupulous sweatshops owners, the most heartless of loan sharks, and others who exploit workers who do not have the right to protest and cannot find a decent place to call home.

On what list will Cuba end up then?

*Translators note: In a speech delivered on March 13, 1968, Fidel Castro launched a “revolutionary offensive that would do away with the urban petite bourgeoisie.” By the end of the year the government had confiscated 55,636 small businesses (mostly family-owned and with no more than two employees, ranging from grocery stores to shoe shining stalls) that had survived the first waves of confiscations of the early years of the régime. This move marked the end of private enterprise in Cuba.

Translated by José Badué

May 20, That Hole in Our Memory / Reinaldo Escobar

On 20 May 1902, Cuba gained its independence from the United States of America

Desde Aqui, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 20 May 2015 — Yesterday I invited my granddaughters to get ice cream. To boast of her knowledge, the oldest, who is in the third grade, said to me: “Today marks the 120th anniversary of the death in combat of José Martí, our National Hero.” She said it with the same pride in wisdom with which one day, many years ago, I alerted my parents to the fact that the earth was round.

“And tomorrow, May 20, what will we celebrate?” I asked her, imitating the emphasis of schoolteacher. Almost arrogantly she responded, “On May 20 nothing happened.”

As she was born in the 21^st Century I invited her to look for the significance of the date on a phone app containing Wikipedia, which she could consult without an Internet connection. Surprise! The text there reads: “1902: Cuba achieves independence from the United States of America.” continue reading

But the newspaper Granma wasn’t having it: In the top right corner of the last page, where anniversaries often appear under the heading “Today in History,” it said: “1902: The neocolonial republic was installed in Cuba.”

I can foresee that in the future, that bright morning of the first day of the year will not be remembered as the end of a dictatorship, but as the beginning of another

The protagonists of History are not to blame for how the future interprets their acts. For example, the massacred aboriginals who inhabited our beautiful island never could have suspected the enthusiasm with which Cubans would celebrate the 500^th anniversary of the Spanish colonial settlements. The people of Bayamo who watched their properties burn could never have imagined the degree of voluntary unanimity today attributed to the glorious fire of 1869. No one could have convinced those who lost a son, a father, a brother in the bloody events of 26 July 1953, that that date would be a national holiday.

On May 20, 1902 dozens of countries around the world publicly recognized the advent of Cuba as an independent nation. The joy was massive, sincere and overwhelming. And I do not say unrepeatable because 56 years later there was a first of January on which Cubans never thought that a tyrannical regime would be installed in Cuba.

I can foresee that in the future, that bright morning of the first day of the year will not be remembered as the end of a dictatorship, but as the beginning of another. Nor that when my great-grandchildren are asked what happened on that date, they will respond “nothing happened that day.”

What will happen in Cuba? / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar

The new generations will also have to define what will happen in Cuba. (Franck Vervial / Flickr)

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana 16 May 2015 – On the back of a copy of the I Ching were examples of questions about which one might consult this Chinese. Should I marry X? Is this the time to take a trip to Y? What will happen in Cuba? The readers of this copy from 43 years ago have had time to find out for themselves who they ended up sharing their lives with, or where they went on vacation. The situation for those of us who asked the ominous book about the fate of the Island has been very different.

The question written on that cover has continued to haunt me, as it has so many other Cubans. From restless foreigners who tried to practice their Spanish and ended up wanting to know the nation’s destiny, to foreign journalists, Cubanologists of all stripes, academics from various disciplines, politicians and career diplomats, coming from whatever part of the world. At one point or another our conversation always slid into the question: What is going to happen in this country? continue reading

After 17 December 2014, the question picked up steam. Hypotheses about possible scenarios are leaving behind the options of eternal immobility, foreign invasion and social explosion. At the same time, gaining credibility if the assumption that the driving force for change will come from above, in a more or less controlled form and with the critical approval of former foreign enemies. But anyone could predict that. What is lacking is the details.

Hypotheses about possible scenarios are leaving behind the options of eternal immobility, foreign invasion and social explosion

All indications are that on 24 February 2018, Cuba will unveil a president elected under the rules of the new Electoral Law. The characteristics of the person who holds this responsibility will be determined in line with the democratic character of the new regulations. If the current practice of a nominating committee that draws up a list of candidates or deputies is maintained, if it continues to be prohibited for candidates to present their programs, and if the current method in which the National Assembly appoints the president of the Council of State is prolonged, then the presidential chair will be filled by someone designated by those in power.

“The Cuban people must get their voice back to begin the transition” / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Rosa Maria Paya

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 17 May 2012 — In the summer of 2012, Rosa María Payá had just started out in the political arena. She moved among the young people who animated the Varela Project, El Camino del Pueblo (The Path of the People) and the Heredia Project, initiated by the Christian Liberation Movement founded by her father, the dissident Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas. Now 26 years old, she has two missions that consume most of her time. The first, is demanding an independent investigation into the death of her father, for the government to explain an “accident” which she believes was an attack. The second is leading the project Cuba Decides, which promotes a referendum on a proposal to hold free elections in the country.

Escobar: Your departure from Cuba came less than two years ago. How do you see the situation in the country upon your return?

Payá: We left Cuba under political persecution. The persecution against my father and my family before the attack, that ended his and Harold Cepero’s lives, continued after they died and became increasingly intense. They chased my brother when he was driving my dad’s car and did so in cars that have the same make as those that were chasing my father and that finally rammed [the car he was traveling in] on 22 July 2012. In addition, they did it with uniformed people, so that everyone — not only my family but also the local people — was aware of it. continue reading

We had always been persecuted, but this time they were doing it in an ostentatious way. There were also death threats over the phone, they began to spread slanders and defamations about us, they published those articles of the penal code which according to them would provide a reason to imprison us, accusing us of defamation. The situation became untenable and we decided to leave the country for the United States. Our experience was very dramatic. They ultimately killed my father and Harold and the danger was very great.

“These definitions of final departure, of living forever in one country or another, belong to the language of totalitarianism.”

This is my country and I will never stop living in Cuba. The center of my return has been to honor the memory of my father and to visit his grave. I would also like to get to Chambas in Ciego de Avila where the remains of Harold Cepero rest. If I do not do it now I will do it another time. With this I put on the table that there be an independent investigation into the death of my father, an issue that has been taken up by the Cuban democratic movement and political and intellectual personalities worldwide.

Escobar. You are now visiting Cuba. Do you have plans to return, even to stay more permanently?

Payá. Where I am visiting is the United States. I interrupted this visit to come to my own country. These definitions of final departure, of living forever in one country or another, belong to the language of totalitarianism. The Cuban government still keeps intact the power to decide whose departure is permanent and who is not allowed to return.

There are many people who cannot enter and others who cannot leave and I’m not just talking about opponents, such as the Group of 75; I’m talking about professionals who “for issues of the public interest” cannot travel, perhaps, and as one example, a doctor because he is the only neurologist in Holguin. Freedom of movement that gives the right to enter and leave the country is not guaranteed. The times I leave Cuba, the times I decide to be outside of Cuba and the government’s repression with respect to limiting my freedom of movement are situations that are real.

Escobar. During your stay in the United States you have had the opportunity to talk to many people, and even with part of the US delegation participating in the talks with the Cuban government. Have you talked to them about your demand for an independent investigation into the deaths of Oswaldo and Harold?

Payá. The Government of the United States, from the United States Congress itself, has publicly called for this independent investigation to be carried out. More recently, on the occasions that I have met with Mrs. Roberta Jacobson and at the White House with Mr. Ricardo Zuniga, I have had the opportunity to bring it up. Because if this had been previously a request to the American government, now that they are talking with the Cuban government it should also be one of the issues discussed. I have understood that the matter has been talked about, but so far I don’t know what the response of the Cuban government has been.

My father denounced “the fraud change,” this process of scrubbing its image started by the Cuban government in the face of the international community

Escobar. There is a lot of debate about whether the government’s reforms are going to lead to a transition and also a lot of debate about the validity of the conversations that were announced on 17 December. What is your opinion on all this?

Payá. My father denounced and exposed what he called “the fraud change,” referring to this process of reforms and the scrubbing of its image started by the Cuban government in the face of the international community. But without recognizing the rights of Cubans, without actually, for Cubans, substantially changing things. In fact they have barely changed except maybe for the fact that there are more paladares (private restaurants).

The wellbeing of Cubans is still not a priority and of course they continue to violate our fundamental rights. There has been an effort to change the image at the international level that has borne fruit. We are experiencing a process where it seems that the international community is very interested in including the Cuban State in the family of world nations. We have seen it with the Organization of American States, in the negotiations promoted by Obama and in the process of negotiations with the European Union.

It seems very good to us that Cuba is included, but Cuba is not the Cuban Government. The citizens remain excluded precisely because they lack a tool to participate, because they do not enjoy basic human rights.

Escobar. Cuba Decides, this project that you are now promoting, could that be this tool?

Payá. The National Assembly of People’s Power never responded to the request of thousands of Cubans presented in the Varela Project. There we asked for a referendum. Cuba Decides is a project that in some way gives the appropriate continuity to that demand, that doesn’t come from any political party nor from any organization of civil society, but from the citizenry. It is a demand that is not based in any political color, it has no partisan position.

Escobar. So Cuba Decides is not a project of the Christian Liberation Movement?

Payá. All the opposition political parties and all civil society organizations are invited to take up the campaign. I repeat: it is not from a political platform because it has no political color. We are specifically demanding that they ask Cubans if, after 67 years in which there have not been free and multi-party elections, they want a process of free, fair and multi-party elections, recognition of different political parties and access to the media. Do they want this process of free, multi-party and fair elections, yes or no?

“We demand that Cubans be asked if they want free, fair and multi-party elections, yes or no”

Escobar. Are you counting on the backing of the Christian Liberation Movement to carry out the project Cuba Decides?

Payá. My opinion is yes, but the project has no owner. If tomorrow someone goes out into the street saying “I Am Cuba Decides,” he is Cuba Decides. Anyone is Cuba Decides. The point is that we have invited many organizations to participate, we have not left anyone out, but we have not based it within any one [person or organization].

Escobar. Recently, the Government announced that it intends to adopt a new electoral law that would be in effect for the elections of 2018. Among various actors in Cuban civil society, especially in the context of the Cuban Civil Society Open Forum, there has emerged the initiative to maintain a storm of ideas so that each one adds to what we think should be in new electoral law. How do you see this initiative?

Payá. This initiative seems very good to me and I believe it complements what Cuba Decides is asking for. In fact, the Varela Project includes elements of an electoral law that is very specific on what changes there have to be in the current law to have minimally democratic and free elections. A representative part of the Cuban citizenry has already demanded those changes. It is interesting and opportune that this exercise is being done from within civil society. The Varela Project is one proposal, and there have been others, demonstrating that there is the capacity and diversity to design the country we Cubans want.

Escobar. Do you feel yourself to be a leader for the future?

Payá. The Cuban Government cannot claim to represent Cubans because it has not been democratically elected by its people. Nor have we as the opposition been elected. I do think that the opposition and civil society represent the vanguard of citizenship, but I do not want to speak for Cubans because Cubans never elected me. I have a proposal: that Cubans have a voice. I love the exercises that are being done and the proposals that are being presented. The Cuban people must get their voice back, not to begin democracy but to begin the transition. Cuba Decides is one citizen initiative and we invite everyone to participate, joining with us to demand that Cubans have the right to decide.

This would be the trigger to get to a stage in which the proposals of the Cuban Civil Society Open Forum can be presented and face the citizenry. Cuba Decides is not intended to replace other projects, nor presented as the only way. It is one step among others.

Human rights in Nicaragua have deteriorated considerably since 2008″ / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Brussels, 9 May 2015 — Wendy Flores Acevedo, a young lawyer with the Nicaraguan Human Rights Center (CENIDH), spoke with 14ymedio in Brussels about the loss of legal guarantees in recent years in her country, under the government of Daniel Ortega.

Escobar. What is the situation today with human rights in Nicaragua?

Flores. Human rights in Nicaragua have deteriorated considerably since 2008, one year after Daniel Ortega was reelected, because they have lost the value they had. They are not given due respect by the officials and above all non-governmental organizations who devote themselves to this work have been excluded, accused of being mercenaries in the service of imperialism. On top of that, we lack access to information.

The CENIDH made at least two annual visits to the eight prisons in the country, and in addition when we receive complaints about serious violations, we were able to visit the complainant, and physically see the individual in an interview. Since 2008, this is no longer possible. We aren’t even allowed to enter the prisons.

Escobar. Has the government withdrawn your legitimacy? continue reading

Flores. We still have legitimacy, in the sense that citizens continue to trust us, they continue to send us complaints, and that is what legitimizes us as an organization in defense of human rights. Despite the difficulties, we investigate cases. Often, the lack of information, refusal of access, is a confirmation of the alleged facts.

“A military doctor was denounced and sentenced just for commenting that it seemed we were back in the 80’s”

Escobar. How are political prisoners currently registered?

Flores. We don’t have it now but we did have it. For example, a military doctor who was sentenced last December just for commenting that it seems like we were in the 80s again, in a “Red Christmas,” because it was stained with the blood of the peasants. He made statement was made on the sidewalk outside his home when he was on vacation. This lieutenant was accused of the crime of “against military decorum.” His comment was heard by one person, who denounced him. Thanks to the pressure they gave him a sentence of only three months, but it still was a political case, because it violated his right to freedom of expression.

Escobar. And what was this military man referring to when he spoke of the blood of the peasants?

Flores. He was referring to the repression suffered by several peasants at the hands of the national police for protesting against the canal they are planning to build in Nicaragua. Those demonstrations lasted one week and on 24 December ended with violence by the authorities.

Escobar. And what is the conflict with the canal?

Flores. The main problem is perhaps the lack of information people have about the consequences of having a canal. Informing them has not been possible because, among other reasons, there are no studies of the economic feasibility or the environmental impact. At a recent hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the State affirmed they were terminating these studies, but the problem is the law has already been approved and a concession agreement is already signed through which a Chinese concession acquires the rights to 107 square miles of the nation’s land. In this agreement it specifies that neither the Constitution nor the laws of the country will apply to this area in the case of future conflicts.

Escobar. What about the majority of Nicaraguans, are they happy or unhappy with this project?

Flores. There is a lot of discontent. Indigenous peoples have not been consulted and it is an obligation of the State to do so. Farmers have not been consulted, nor have they been given any information about the process of land expropriation, or if there will be compensation. This is ancestral land with and this has generated all kinds of protests.

Escobar. Is a referendum or something similar not provided for as a part of the public consultation?

Flores. Many have raised this issue, but the government does not mention this possibility. There have been deputies who have questioned the project and have supported the peasantry. Private business is silent, because it is assumed that there will be many economic interests at stake. The same goes for politicians who are businesspeople.

Escobar. Do you suspect that there is some corruption behind this plan?

Flores. It is assumed that behind the canal there could be money laundering or corruption, and this assumption rests on the lack of transparency about the financial resources to be employed. In fact, the Chinese company that has the concession does not have the money to carry out this project, which is immense.

What there is now doesn’t fit into any definition of philosophy or of what we once knew as “Sandanistism,” as an orientation of the political Left.

Escobar. So ultimately does all this seem a little “too good to be true”?

Flores. That’s part of the hypothesis: that the canal scheme is a strategy to carry out the expropriations and ultimately what they will end up creating will be tourist centers. But it could be a canal, or something else, the fact is that by law they have established the occupation of a strip of territory that will divide Nicaragua into a North and South and that has been approved due to the lack of independence on the part of the judicial system. We are not seeing the canal, nor the resources, nor the viability, nor the increase in demand for labor. The only thing we are facing is the imminent threat of expropriations.

Escobar. But a work of this magnitude would necessarily create a high demand for labor.

Flores. They say about 50,000 Chinese will come to the country, considering that they have done similar projects in other countries.

Escobar. How is it in Nicaragua today with regards to women’s rights?

Flores. We have suffered a legal setback since political parties decided to pass a law that completely criminalizes abortion, including therapeutic abortion or abortions for pregnancies that occur as the result of rape. We had an article in the law establishing the exception to guarantee the health of the woman. That article was repealed in November 2006. In 2008, with the new government of Daniel Ortega, a new penal code which repealed all criminal regulations were formulated, but in this new code did not set any exceptions to the ban on abortion, and even established language on “injuries due to giving birth” which eliminate every consideration regarding the risk of childbirth. The United Nations has made recommendations for allowing termination of pregnancy in case of congenital malformations or in the case of rape, but to date the Supreme Court has not made a judgment on the appeals filed.

Escobar. Are what we are seeing in Nicaragua is still “Sandinistism” or is it something else now?

Flores. What there is now doesn’t fit into any definition of philosophy or of what we once knew as “Sandanistism,” as an orientation of the political Left. Today all this is contradicted by the practices of the government, with the living conditions enjoyed by the senior political leaders, who bow are businessmen with great economic resources whose priorities have nothing at all to do with situation of human rights and protecting the disadvantaged.

Escobar. And will they continue in power?

Flores. Yes, probably for a long time. They have full control of the economy, the army, the media and parliament.

Anticipated News of Another May Day / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar

Celebration of May 1st in Cuba. (FLICKR/CC)

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 30 April 2015 — Like all ritual ceremony, the parade for International Workers Day involves previous preparation and specific purposes. Along with 26^th of July events and the Triumph of the Revolution’s anniversaries, May 1^st has always stood out as the celebration that mobilizes the most people in Cuba.

In some of these parades around a million participants have been recorded. Depending on the directions coming from the top of the hierarchy, they are sometimes organized under neutral mottos, such as “To defend the homeland”; in others the motto can be more specific, such as “Against the imperialist embargo” or, like last year’s motto, “For the return of the Five Heroes.” The 2015 parade’s main motto is “United for the construction of socialism” and official chroniclers claim that it will be massive, compact, strong, unforgettable and other similar adjectives. continue reading

In the capital, starting at midnight on the night of April 30, the main avenues surrounding the Plaza of the Revolution will be blocked to traffic along with a parking ban. If rain does not play us a trick, from early morning on May 1 the march will deploy in 18 groups which will begin gathering at previously planned staging points. At the front, there will be 50,000 public health workers, headed by members of the Medical Brigade that confronted the Ebola epidemic of in Africa.

The selection of this group to represent the vanguard of the vanguard has different connotations. Perhaps the most significant is related to the new winds blowing in the relations between Cuba and the United States as of December 17. Sheathed in their protective suits, physicians and Cuban nurses worked side by side with American specialists and many times carried out their work under the direction of and with the resources of the United States.

This time the State Security will have to be attentive to any extremist who shows up with insults against Obama or extemporaneous fundamentalisms

They’ll need an eagle eye to detect any anti-imperialist messages in the placards held high. This time the State Security operation, which traditionally deploys close to the platform to detect any provocations “from the enemy,” will have to be attentive to any extremist who shows up with insults against Obama or extemporaneous fundamentalisms.

Like every year, visitors from half the world will gather to contemplate the magnificent spectacle. More than 1,800 representatives of nearly 200 organizations from 68 countries have already confirmed their participation. Of these, 285 are American. The majority are trade union members, but groups of solidarity and social movements will also be present. Many of them will also be present on Saturday, May 2, at a scheduled meeting on international solidarity to chart the new course that they will need to focus on, now that there are no longer imprisoned heroes, that Cuba will no longer be on the list of countries who collaborate with terrorism, and that the embargo seems to have its days numbered.

Workers, soldiers, students, athletes will wave their flags so that the present continues to resemble the past

The pattern of the parade, the model to follow, is directed from the Plaza of the Revolution in Havana. Each province organizes its own events, but with little room for improvisation. So in each provincial square the parade will start with public health workers in a number that will total around 300,000 across the country, including those who work in the Antivector Brigades (brigades that fight for the elimination of the Aedes Aegiptis mosquito responsible for Dengue Fever), known as “the grays,” reinforced with the presence of young recruits from the Military Service, which in the ranks of the Youth Labor Army are devoted to detecting and eliminating sources of mosquitoes and who receive a white Public Health logo T-shirt that they wear in proletarian march.

The choreographers in charge of this colossal dance have determined that the last marching group at the parade will be the young people. Workers, soldiers, students, athletes, intoxicated by hormones and adrenaline, will wave their flags and march singing or dancing. With the same ecstasy in which some cultures victims went to the altar of sacrifice, they will be swearing eternal loyalty to elderly leaders, they will be ratifying their commitment to socialism and to the Cuban Communist Party Guidelines, and they will be offering up their future so that the present continues to resemble the past.

Shortly afterwards an army of sweepers will eliminate the trash.

Translated by Alberto

Demographic Enigma / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar

The projected number of young Cubans in 2015 seems to have been mistaken. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 23 April 2015 — The National Electoral Commission recently informed us that 63,441 young people had turned 16 since the previous elections in 2012, which gave them the right to vote on Sunday. However, demographic estimates made in 2006 by the government projected that by 2015, the country would have 275,389 young people aged 17 to 18 years. Where are the 211,948 missing young people?

According to the calculations of the Center for Population Studies, in 2015 Cuba has 138,866 18-year-olds, and 136,523 17-year-olds, totaling 275,389 young people in this age group. That Projected population for Cuba for the period between 2007 and 2015 was published nine years ago. continue reading

Logically, this includes not only those who turned 16 before the municipal elections on 19 April 2015, but also those who were born in 1998 and 1997 who turned, or will turn 17 or 18 in any month in 2015, because none of them had reached age 16 in September 2012 when the last elections were held.

Similarly we also have to add those who were born after September 1996, but who were not old enough to vote in the last election. If we just consider those born in 1997 and 1998, who had not previously been able to exercise the right to vote, the figure of those eligible to vote should be around 275,385 mentioned above. Missing, or having disappeared from the lists, are nothing more nor less than 211,948 young people.

Is it a colossal miscalculation on the part of the National Bureau of Statistics? Perhaps the electoral authorities, who work in coordination with the Identity Card offices, didn’t find these guys, or put them in the wrong account? Or is this number of missing made up of those who have left the country or are in prison?

Most likely we will never know what has happened to these “lost” youth.

Reappearing by Phone / Reinaldo Escobar

Reinaldo Escobar, 17 April 2015 — Fidel Castro made another public appearance, this time speaking by phone Randy Perdomo Garcia, president of the Federation of University Students (FEU) at the University of Havana. The meeting took place in the meeting hall of the University of Oriente in Santiago de Cuba and was witnessed by young Havanans that make up the so-called Detachment of the 70th anniversary of Fidel’s admission to the University of Havana.

The group of students used their vacation week in April to take a tour of different places, especially those related to Fidel Castro personally. They visited his birthplace in Biran, the Moncada Barracks, the balcony where he proclaimed the triumph of the Revolution, Pico Turquino and other historic sites, as defined in the official chronicle as, “Where the commander left a mark of gratitude to patriots who preceded him.”

With the slogan “Fidel In My Heart” on their sweatshirts, every time they finished visiting a museum, monument or plaza, they ended it by shouting “Viva Fidel!” over and over. The great surprise – perhaps as a prize for their loyalty – was receiving a phone call from the historic leader. From his end of the phone Randy Perdomo Garcia told him what they had been doing, while the former president asked if they had eaten well on the tour. National television used subtitles so that the audience could understand what the old man was saying.

A Tragedy in Several Acts / Reinaldo Escobar

Figure dedicated to Fe del Valle in the park of the same name in Havana. (14ymedio)

Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 14 April 2015 — Like every April 13, last Monday a group of Trade Union workers met with the task of carrying a bouquet of flowers to a marble statue. It is a figure dedicated to Fe del Valle in the Havana park of the same name and located at the central corner of Galiano and San Rafael. The site usually supplies the absence of public toilets in the area and the sculpture has both hands mutilated.

In this space was one of the most exclusive Havana stores, El Encanto, with branches in Varadero, Havana and Santiago de Cuba. Founded in the early twentieth century by Solis, Entrialgo and Company, S.A. was one of the first properties nationalized after the revolutionary process. continue reading

The park is named in honor of the employee who died around this time, trying to rescue goods store in the middle of a raging fire that left the building completely destroyed and which also injured 18 people. Material losses were valued at $20 million. Another shop worker named Carlos González Vidal, known for his opposition to the Revolution and identified as an active member of People’s Recovery Movement, was convicted of sabotage and subsequently shot.

Fe del Valle Ramos, affectionately known as Lula, was born in Remedios on August 1, 1917 and worked at the store from the ‘50s and served as department head. She was a member of the Federation of Cuban Women and in the militia. Eyewitnesses say that she was on duty that night and, although she was found safe when the firefighters arrived, she returned to save funds that had been collected for a daycare center for the children of store employees. Her burned body was found days after the fire amid the rubble.

Nowhere around the sculpture can be found the sculptor’s name. The woman represented there looks more like a kolkhoz from Socialist Realism times than a Cuban woman working a department store. The neighbors didn’t record the date on which her hands were torn off and no one even suggests the motives — political, personal or religious — that led to the vandalism.

In 2016 a celebration will be held for what specialists call a “closed anniversary” – ending in a zero or five. The commemoration of 55 years will be an opportunity to restore the statue, but it will probably follow the passions that were behind each of the acts of this tragedy: the confiscation, the revenge, the sacrifice, the desecration…

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