Translating Cuba

Arrest in March 2003. Image from america.infobae.com

At present, despite the continued omnipresence of the political police–which hinders the proper performance of our work, systematically violates our rights and freedoms, and harasses us and threatens us with many years of jail–alternative civil society is strengthened numerically and deontologically and labors for certain potential destinations definitely better for our country.

Those brave peaceful fighters of the 2003 Black Spring were already released and some of them remain in the country. They were 75, but there are many more stories of errors and horrors of the government to discourage the opposition movement in Cuba.

However, this movement has grown from 2003 and it is an intellectual and moral power that denounces the arbitrariness of the powerful and proposes politically democratizing alternatives to the systemic immobility modus operandi of the totalitarian regime.

I hope to God that there will not be a repeat of a repressive sequence of arrests like that of 2003, which makes the necessary reconciliation between Cubans more difficult and prevents my country from permanently joining the world’s democratic nations.

21 March 2013

It would have pleased me greatly to be able to join my friend Guillermo Gortazar in the presentation of his book, “Cuba: Freedom Road,” which I recommend you read. Sadly, I sent my apologies to all attendees, especially to Esperanza Aguirre, Berta Soler and to Mr. Gortazar. Our interview with Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, whom I thank for having us, was delayed and prevented us from being on time for the launch.

Guillermo is the president of the Cuban Hispanic Foundation, whose goal is the freedom of and the return of their rights to the Cuban people. This is also the commitment of the Christian Liberation Movement and the Path of the People initiative, which is the proposal of almost all of the opposition inside and outside Cuba. This Path is the answer to the Fraud Change intended to maintain the power and privileges of a group of people without the recognition of fundamental freedoms.

Economic reforms that do not give autonomy to the citizens, nor come accompanied by recognition of civil and political rights of the people, do not guarantee or facilitate a democratic transition. We are not talking about the recognition of private enterprise, but at concessions that the government offers to a few privileged people and that they use to show international public opinion an image of openings that is not real. It’s worth mentioning that at the same time we are seeing an increase in repression against pro-democracy activists on the island.

First people must be free, and then decisions can be made about what to do with the economy. On respect for the law and the practice of human rights guarantees that in all sectors of society we will have the opportunity to participate in and construct the real transition that leads to democracy. It is a task for Cubans themselves to discern and define the future of our country and to seek the prosperity of our nation.

My father, the founding sponsor of the Spanish-Cuban Foundation, taught us that neither the state nor the market can be above the decisions of the people and the rights of citizens. For the sovereignty of these decisions and respect for these rights my father and Harold Cepero gave their lives and it is for these objectives that the Cuban democracy movement continues to work.

22 March 2013

Since Friday, March 15, the body of the elected president of Venezuela, Rafael Chávez Frías, has rested at the Montaña Barracks in the city of Caracas. His state funeral lasted for ten days during which time his followers, admirers and representatives from all over the planet came to pay their respects and show their solidarity.

The ones not at rest are his successors, who seem concerned about the possible outcome from upcoming presidential elections in April. Without Chávez it is unlikely that chavismo can survive. For the designated candidate, Nicolás Maduro, to win, he will have to overcome the challenge of governing a country plagued by violence and social insecurity, and threatened by a serious economic crisis.

For us Cubans the path the next Venezuelan government takes will undoubtedly have an effect on the period of political transition lying dormant in the heart of the nation. Cuba must not continue to be the anti-democratic exception among the peoples of the Americas. Being named to the presidency of CELAC* should have motivated Cuban authorities to adopt pluralism and to recognize political alternatives in Cuba. We trust that the current rulers of the island have at least taken note of the electoral practices of the late Hugo Chávez. May he rest in peace.

*Translator’s note: Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States).

21 March 2013

Latin America remains in the news these days. A bishop from Argentina was elected pontiff. The new pope took the name Francis. For the first time in history a Latin American will be St. Peter’s successor at the Vatican.

In Cuba the authorities officially recognized March 29 of this year as Good Friday. The text of Resolution no. 12/2013 from the Ministry of Labor and Social Security stipulates how administrators are to compensate workers who take the day off.

What is interesting about this bit of news is that the official press neither explains nor offers any details as to why the highest branches of government and the state decided to declare this day a holiday. The inertia of state-run journalism is an expression of fear, looking the other way when it suits them. Or could it be a display of due obedience?

21 March 2013

By Jeovany Jimenez Vega

With the attempted coup of April 2002, the Venezuelan oligarchy tried to remove from power and/or murder Commander Hugo Chavez, leader of the nascent Bolivarian Revolution. There were moments of intense drama: the uncertainty of the early hours of his ouster and then the tsunami of people, the fiery waves that came down from the hills to restore their elected president to Miraflores Palace, a display of pure courage. That was an impressive and spontaneous reaction; since then the world was certain that something was brewing in Venezuela, something more important than simple ascent of a leader: this was a people with real aspirations, who performed an incredibly brave act of atonement for their true leader.

Parallel events, like the Llaguno Bridge Massacre, widely manipulated by the pro-coup media — “snipers who smashed the skulls of Venezuelans on both sides so as not to arouse suspicions when it came time to accuse the Chavistas,” they reported — and others like the siege of the Cuban embassy, the violent closure ot the official TV channel, and the precipitous recognition by various nations of the “transition government” that lasted no longer than an ice cube in the sun, largely defined Latin American during the following decade and are now Histroy, like it or not by the detractors of Hugo Chavez.

I have never visited Venezuela, so I can not offer an opinion with complete certainty about a reality that I never experienced. Many of my references have come to me from Cuban doctors, nurses or technicians who served there during different stages and I who told me  about an excessive social violence, “the painful legacy of past decades,” with youth organized crime, with trigger-happy almost-kids perpetrating crimes in cold blood; they tell me of constant political tensions, the rising scarcities of life, and the opportunistic showing its face on both sides of the conflict.

If there is anything I am aware of, it’s that for the government of Hugo Chávez nothing was exactly easy. But I’m convinced that “I could be wrong about all that,” that in the Venezuelan case the scarcities referred to are greatly speculative, driven by wealthy opponents, because I can’t understand how this could be in such a rich country, with the largest recognized oil reserves in the world.

But one cannot ignore the fact that this oligarchy still retains enough economic power to sabotage, should it decide to do so, precisely because the Government of Hugo Chavez “in addition to its socialist project, but different from the Cuban experience,” respected private property in Venezuela, giving the State control over the most strategic sectors.

Recently we Cubans watched how Maduro delivered his first speech as President, “in which he immediately called elections” under the same roof with known pro-capitalists opponents who listened with respect and were treated with respect, and, through Telesur, the station that could be called the Chavista “official” TV, we watched Capriles deliever his clumsy speech quite naturally before this and other media of the press; a lesson in tolerance we need to learn.

With regards to the elections of this coming April 14, I have few doubts. With hisspeech to the country, Capriles simply dug his own grave. The opposition leader gave a masterclass in political stupidity, in how to incisively attack not only the institutions, but the human sensibility of people still in deep mourning, with a tirade that left a bad taste in the face of elections too close to allow times to make amends.

I am convinced that this slip will cost Capriles tens or hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of votes. I predict that this election, with the emotional component in his favor, will be won by Maduro by a margin greater than the last one won by Chavez.

To his credit, the commander left a legacy of millions of literate, owners of new homes, through missions like Robinson, Barrio Adentro, Habitat and Great Housing Mission, among others who completed a total of 21 and who sought, above all, to humanize the life of ordinary Venezuelans.

Commander Chavez died after a long battle during which he never lied to his people about his health. With Honorary Doctorates from 10 universities, the “José Martí” International Award of UNESCO, and he earned dozens of international awards, honors and medals, he died convinced of the justness of his struggle, that neoliberal capitalism is guilty of the serious problems in Latin America, of the great hoax and lying to the third world by global institutions like the IMF and the World Bank. He died believing that Bolivar gave us a saving proposal two centuries ago, and therefore embraced that dream until his last breath.

The media of humanity honored him, including the UN General Assembly, the OAS and virtually all regional bodies. Fifty heads of state and government, as well as hundreds of world personalities attended his funeral and left an undeniable mark on the new dynamics of North-South relations. All this convinces me that Hugo Chavez will not belong to us but to history, and maybe not today but tomorrow, History will issue the final verdict.

1 March 2013

Now, as the 2013 Art Deco Congress is being held in our country, and invitees and delegates attend its conferences, an average of three residential structures a day collapse in the capital.

The influence of Art Deco, which dates to the 1920s and 1930s, was strongly felt throughout the world in the decorative arts, painting, fashion, sculpture, cinema and graphic design.

The most emblematic architectural example in our country is the Bacardi Building, constructed from 1930 to 1938. The Cuban architects Esteban Rodríguez Castell, Rafael Fenández Ruenes and José Menéndez oversaw its design and execution. It is considered by many to be their masterpiece and fortunately remains in a very good state of preservation.

Examples and remnants of this movement proliferate throughout the city. Among them in the López Serrano Building – a beautiful example of this style, a structure of elegance and a striking design – which has been plundered and abused as a result of neglect and apathy on the part of government officials. It is at risk of being lost if urgent measures are not taken to address these issues. Other examples include the América, Fausto and Arenal cinemas, all in peril as well.

In health care this architectural style finds expression in the América Arias infant and maternity hospital by the architects Govantes and Cabarrocas. A beautiful example of Art Deco, this building has also been abused and it too is in danger of being lost. There is also the Pedro Borras children’s hospital, which has been closed for more than two decades due to structural problems, no doubt caused by nearby explosions during the construction fever of 1980s when tunnels were being built all throughout the city as part of the “War of All the People” campaign. At the time of its construction this facility was the largest example of this architectural style, larger even than similar examples in the city of Chicago.

In terms of military buildings the Moncada Barracks in the city of Santiago de Cuba is in a very good state of preservation indeed.

During a wonderful presentation called “The Havana of Today and Tomorrow” yesterday afternoon in the House of Green Tiles in Miramar, the architect Miguel Coyula employed the term art-kitsch-tecture (one he coined himself) to refer to monstrosities produced by people with resources but without the slightest amount of taste who have managed to build new homes or remodel those they already own. In other words, something horrendous.

One of the issues that most caught the attention of those present was the extremely high proportion, close to 90%, of owners of homes, but not of the buildings, leading to the term “no man’s land.” The building has no owner, therefore mo maintenance or services. Every resident solves their own problems however they can, and this further accelerates the deterioration of the building. In addition, there is the increasingly rampant individualism. “To own does not mean to maintain” the speaker said. The owner of an apartment whose salary is 300 Cuban pesos a month, cannot invest 45% of that to buy a gallon of paint.

Another of the most important reasons for the deterioration of the city, according to Coyula, is the aging of the population. The emigration of young and well-educated people, as well as the migration to the capital of residents of other provinces who, for the most part, are not well-educated and who come mostly for economic reasons and settling wherever they can regardless of the conditions, has significantly increased the number of slum neighborhoods and favelas.

This is the current landscape of a greatly overpopulated city; what will be its future?

17 March 2013

It is unprecedented. For the first time in Catholicism’s more than two thousand year history, we have a pope from the Americas. The news did not go unnoticed in Havana, although the faithful did not gather euphorically at the doors to the cathedral, located in the  historic heart of the city.

Ricardo, a 43-year-old attorney and moderate Catholic, has other priorities. Within 72 hours he will become a Cuban emigrant. Yet another one. A few days ago he posted a hand-written sign on the balcony of his apartment announcing the sale of his furniture, a 32-inch plasma TV and a Sony Lenovo laptop. With the proceeds he hopes to buy a plane ticket to Costa Rica.

Surprised by the news, Ricardo thinks the challenges facing the new pontiff go beyond those of the Catholic faith. “Benedict XVI left behind a host of unresolved problems – from corruption within the Vatican itself to the troubling issue of pedophilia. I am happy that for the first time we will have a pope who is South American and Jesuit.”

Without access to the internet or cable TV, Ana Luisa, a 37-year-old primary school teacher, learned that the Argentine cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was the new pope while watching the eight o’clock TV newscast.

“I go to mass often. I was at the ceremonies in the Plaza of the Revolution during John Paul II’s visit and last year during Benedict XVI’s. I hope Pope Francis visits Cuba too. Cardinal Jaime Ortega’s participation on these occasions has been criticized. They accuse him of not being deeply involved in political issues and they might have a point.  But a priest’s job is to be a messenger of faith, not a politician,” says Ana.

In front of Iglesia de Paula, in Havana’s Sevillano district, a priest shares biographical details about the recently elected Holy Father with two neighborhood housewives. One of them notes the coincidence of Bergoglio having been born on December 17, a date charged with religious significance in Cuba.

On the eve of December 17 thousands of devout Catholics, santeros, paleros, animists and buyers of promises often walk a kilometer or more through a narrow, dark street and gather at El Rincón to venerate St. Lazarus.

It is a massive pilgrimage which people attend of their own free will. Since the Castro brothers came to power 54 years ago, official media outlets have never published a route or called upon people to venerate Lazarus, the patron saint of Cuba’s beggars.

The dissident community greeted the news of the selection of an Argentine pope coolly. Rolando, a human rights activist, recalls how in March 2012 Benedict XVI offended some by failing to meet with a single dissident or anyone from the Ladies in White.

It is not the best of times for relations between the opposition and the nation’s Catholic church. But there is no getting around the fact that Cardinal Ortega, at the request of military regime and in conjunction with Spanish ambassador Miguel Ángel Moratinos, played a decisive role in freeing almost one hundred political prisoners in 2010.

Although the majority felt compelled to flee to Spain, the jailed dissidents and their family members gave high marks to the role played by the church. A church which at a distance seems more comfortable talking to the government than to the opposition.

Cuba is by no means a country with a high percentage of Catholics. But in the last 25 years the number of people attending mass has multiplied. There is another reality – the proverbial religious syncretism. Afro-Cuban religious sects are not in agreement with Vatican policies which they consider discriminatory.

“Neither of the two popes who have visited the island have wanted to meet with practitioners of Afro-Cuban religions. In a country where the number of people who practice Santería or other versions of indigenous religions is significant, I feel it is counterproductive on the part of the church not to enter into dialogue,” says a Babalawo priest from Havana.

Nevertheless, nearly all those interviewed approved of Bergoglio’s selection. “America, and Latin America in particular, is the region of the world with the greatest number of Catholics, almost 480 million. It is a good signal that the conclave in Rome took us into consideration,” says Gloria, a practicing Catholic.

Bergoglio the Argentine will have to display his diplomatic skills, patience and wisdom in a continent that is a political stew. The Castros with presumably try to keep a pope born in Buenos Aires on their side and to get him to overlook the lack of democracy and freedom in the country.

Christians who have only one meal a day and who breakfast on coffee without milk hope that the new pope might be the voice of the dispossessed. “He didn’t pick the name Francis just because he liked it. It was allusion to Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of the poor,” explains Ignacio, a retiree who, in spite of poor nutrition and material scarcity, has never wavered in his religious devotion.

These are trying times. To play the devil’s advocate, trying to banish vice and corruption within the Holy See will be a complex task. As God’s representative on earth people throughout the world will be asking him to get involved in their problems and to try to resolve them. Both Catholics and non-Catholics in Cuba believe the pope might be able to fulfill their expectations.

Neither the pope nor the church has the know-how to fill the void left by the economic disaster created by Fidel Castro, which has now been aggravated by the death of Hugo Chavez and the question mark hanging over our future. That is not its purpose. But if it could facilitate a dialogue among Cubans with different ideas and persuasions, this could begin to set a historic precedent,” says Ricardo, the attorney who in 72 hours will be flying to Costa Rica.

Perhaps the bar has been set too high for Francis, but we all believe we have the right to ask more of him than masses and prayers.

Iván García

16 March 2013