Category: Yunior García Aguilera

Over a five-year period, dozens of these rallies were held, wasting the flow of oil that Hugo Chávez had given us. The last one took place on March 12, 2005, in Caimanera, thus concluding the cycle of a larger project: the Battle of Ideas. The emperor’s last act of madness worked like a temporary suppository. For five years the country had been entertained by demands for the return of a shipwrecked boy and the release of five would-be spies. From time to time Díaz-Canel tries to resurrect this ethos but, with no causes of his own, he has to inspire people by pretending to be Palestinian.

The majority of Cuba’s young people — those who left and those who stayed — are no longer interested in mass rallies. However, some have enthusiastically signed up for a new crusade: the Cultural Battle. Now the rhetoric is coming from the other end of the spectrum. Dozens of Cuban social media users spout paleo-conservative slogans with religious zeal. Some have become shepherds  — instructing their flocks in the theories of some Austrian economist — with the same effusiveness with which others previously indoctrinated us with Marxist ideas. New mirror-images of Otto and Hassan have emerged, trying to impose absolute truths, worshiping new commanders-in-chief, or shouting “we don’t want them, we don’t need them” at those who do not think like them.

New mirror-images of Otto and Hassan have emerged, trying to impose absolute truths

First of all, I consider the ideology of these Cubans to be as valid as that of anyone else. I also believe they have every right in the world to passionately defend it with arguments, to choose the leaders they prefer, to share beliefs as a group, to participate in whatever public discussion they desire and even to win out in the end. However, the alarm bells go off when democracy stops making sense for them, when they reject pluralism or when they try to present themselves as the only possible option in a future Cuba. We have suffered from authoritarian thinking for too long. The best antidote to decades of dictatorship would be a diversity of opinions, a search for consensus between opposing views, and political alternatives.

Believing that we are right and everyone else is wrong is as human as blushing. But killing the tyrant we carry within us is essential to overcoming this long totalitarian period and building something truly different. Nothing is more boring than a meeting between those who think the same way and share the same opinions. Nothing stagnates a country more than the imposition of a single doctrine. That most beautiful word, freedom, should not be limited to discussions about economic freedom. It has to also be about freedom of mind and body.

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It is known that Mella was arrested for some bombs that exploded at Havana’s Payret theater box office in September 1925.

It is known that Mella was arrested for some bombs that exploded at Havana’s Payret theater box office in September 1925. It is also known that the young man declared a hunger strike, holding out for 17 days, until suffering a heart attack. What the regime avoids saying out loud is that the Communist Party itself founded by Mella expelled him after his strike. The action was described as insubordination and “tactical opportunism.” They accused him of having ties to the bourgeoisie and “lacking feelings of solidarity.”

Disappointed, Mella did what almost all of his historical role models did before: he went into exile. But the Mexican communists would not receive him with just smiles and hugs either. There, too, Mella would show his rebellious side, generating a greater crisis among the ranks of the supporters of Trotsky or Stalin.

By that time there were already many people with an interest in his death. Beyond differences and political positions, there was something much more vulgar in the desire to annihilate him: envy. Mella had it all, he was tall, attractive, athletic, sensual, intelligent, charismatic, bold… and on top of that he had a legend. Juan Marinello would say that to know him was to believe in him. Both for his enemies and for his allies who aspired to achieve some measure of prominence, Mella was too burdensome an obstacle.

Anyone who is even remotely attentive to the “debates between revolutionaries” that swarm online knows that there is a heated controversy surrounding private businesses. Reformists defend the idea of ​​expanding this sector, taking the experiences in China and Vietnam as references. In contrast, those who have failed to benefit from a piece of the pie fanatically cling to the communist playbook. The latter camp grudgingly accepts MSMEs, for example, but only as temporary measures and under strict state control.

In the interview he gave to his friend Arleen Rodríguez in October 2023, Díaz-Canel defended himself against the criticism from that side, calling it “offensive.” He stated that these people “were generating distrust and discredit in the Revolution.” His irritation in his gestures and words revealed his tremendous internal anger. To close, making a handsome gesture, he questioned whether this group had what it takes to stay standing. Some of those mentioned, in private conversations, would later speak of ideological softness and go so far as to ask for his head.

Toledo Sande himself, in the article cited above, states: “We must not close our eyes to the evidence that corruption can go beyond the scope of mid-level officials. It can go so far beyond it that it is capable of getting close, not to the knees or shoulders of the nation, but to its head.” Who was Toledo Sande referring to? Obviously, he wasn’t talking about Gil anymore.

Some of those mentioned, in private conversations, would later speak of ideological softness and would go so far as to ask for his head.

Lis Cuesta, Cuba’s first lady (for international tours), or “wife who works at her job” (for domestic matters), recently posted on X a quote from Fidel Castro about difficult times. The now deceased leader had spoken of hesitant, confused, discouraged, cowardly, softened, traitors, deserters. The use of the plural was overwhelming. Cuesta finished off the quote with her own contribution and in capital letters: “In force for everyone.” It is curious that the wife of the nominal head of the State remains completely silent about the rumors of corruption that also circulate about her.

It is also very eloquent that the chancellor himself, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, succumbed to the temptation of sending messages between the lines. In his X account he posted: “It is clear that the greatest enemy of every revolution is division, that the best ally of the enemies of the people is divisionism.” This is how things are going in the palace.

The comments at the bottom of the post are even worse. In Granma , a user named Enrique Rodríguez suggests that “those worms (…) not be allowed to return to Cuba.” In Cubadebate, another reader named Rafa says that they can count on him for “total war, inside and outside the country,” and closes with a threat: “Don’t let a worm get in my way here in Spain.”

The article in question also mentions me in one of its paragraphs, describing me as “one of the most strident and violent Cuban dissidents.” It seems that, in the eyes of the regime, a simple white rose has more uranium and plutonium than weapons of mass destruction.

But, ultimately, who is Katu, the individual who puts his signature on the article? His real name is Israel Arconada Gómez, a Basque born in 1978. Although his communist parents encouraged him to study Economic Sciences, what fascinated the boy was politics, and he became at 16 a kind of “little Nicolás” of the ultra-left.  He was arrested in 1998 for his links with groups involved in vandalism and terrorist acts. So, at just 19 years of age, he managed to leave for Cuba. It was then, presumably, that Cuban intelligence began using him. The young man stopped using his real name, assuming Katu as an alias, and changing the “c” to a “k” in his last name.

In 2003 he was sent, obviously, to Venezuela. From there he became coordinator of the World Social Forum in Brazil. In 2009 he made the leap to Bolivia, where he became nationalized and held high positions as a whisperer to Evo Morales. But Israel or, rather, Katu, found enemies even within its own nationalist ranks. He then went to Mexico, seeking new sponsors, until he got as close as he could to the ear of López Obrador.

Several women, like the Mexican journalist Karina Velasco, reported having been victims of this character

His blatant interference in Mexican internal affairs generated the collection of more than 1,500 signatures to request his expulsion from the country. Furthermore, the Castro-Chavista operator was implicated in several scandals for believing himself unpunishable and showing his other side of: that of a sexual harasser. Several women, like the Mexican journalist Karina Velasco, reported having been victims of this character.

That is why I am not surprised that a misogynist like Katu Arkonada exudes so much hatred in his article, especially against Cuban women. Nor is it surprising to me that a guy with a record so close to the ETA members accuses me of being “violent.” Anyone even remotely informed about my activism would laugh at Katu’s ignorance or audacity. Furthermore, how dare a guy with such an interventionist history talk about interference?

We already know that Cuban intelligence dedicated itself to forming and planting “katus” everywhere. But what do they want with this insubstantial article? What does Katu demonstrate, beyond the fear in the eyes of a dying regime?

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The eight-foot tall sculpture has one hand in its pocket and the other pointing toward the Presidential Palace. Cuban wags used to joke that the message was, “What I have in here, I took from over there.” In the place where that monument once stood, people now worship at a ship whose name [‘Granma’] means “grandmother” in English, the vessel that brought over from Mexico the biggest thief in our history.

I am not asking the Vatican to beatify Zayas. But despite his flaws, the Havana native — a man who always carried a Spanish peseta in his coat pocket — had many good qualities

A lawyer, poet, journalist and great orator, Zayas was the first doctor to become president. He was probably the most learned of our heads of state. He also managed to reach that position without causing a war, which was no small feat. In the Republic’s formative years, the fight between political parties for a piece of the action was violent and ongoing.

The press at the time called these constant internal battles la brava (the threat). El Chino had been eclipsed by former president José Miguel Gómez (a.k.a The Shark) in the Liberal Party’s ranks for too long. Until his “four cats” party — he actually preferred the term Popular — finally managed to win the presidency. He had already beaten General Mario García Menocal in 1916 but the general went into “Maduro mode” and refused to admit defeat, launching the failed Chambelona Revolt.

It must be said that, as a delegate to Cuba’s constitutional convention of 1901, El Chino opposed the Platt Amendment and to leasing the U.S. land for a naval base in Guantanamo. It must also be said that, during his presidency, women earned the right to vote. And the Isle of Pines was returned to us. It should be noted that he legally recognized the the University Student Federation, empowering the students. It must be emphasized that he suppressed an insurrection by the Veterans and Patriots Movement without issuing an order against the people and without firing a shot. It must be remembered that his package of measures did work, getting the country out of a tremendous economic crisis, unlike certain later realignments, reform measures and appeals to national self-reliance. Cuba was the first country in the world to replenish its treasury after the First World War. And it was also the first to pay its war debt to the United States.

Getting back to where we started, what our history teachers neglected to mention was what later happened to each signatory of the famous Protest of the Thirteen. Fifty years later, Juan Marinello himself wrote in the magazine Bohemia, “How many, among the thirteen protestors remained aligned with the masses and national liberation. The first traitor was Lamar Schweyer. Mañach, Ichaso, Lizaso and Masó went over to the enemy camp, taking up arms against the Revolution. The others shrugged their shoulders and categorized their protest as a youthful dalliance.” How ironic history often is.

I am not asking the Vatican to beatify Zayas. But despite his flaws, the Havana native — a man who always carried a Spanish peseta in his coat pocket from his days in exile — had many good qualities.

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Why do exceptional cases, like members of the Filmmakers Assembly, run around in circles, ruminating on the same statements and making the same speeches?

So what’s going on? Why have Cuba’s cultural and academic unions not known how, not been able, or not wanted to effectively articulate ways to bring about change? Why do exceptional cases, like members of the Filmmakers Assembly, run around in circles — ruminating on the same statements and making the same speeches — like cattle heading inexorably to the slaughterhouse, never leaving the corral?

By the time Fidel Castro issued his ultimatum**, “Words to the Intellectuals,” State Security had already meticulously planned how to keep us subjugated. They would employ our own egos against us, our very enlightened banalities, our jealousies and envies, our desire to be in the spotlight, our ambiguities, our contradictory herd mentality. Their tactics and strategies ranged from flattery — designating sacred cows and golden calves — to public sacrifices which would serve as a lesson. We normalize the use of masks and the misuse of allegories.

It is so sad and so naive when an artist boasts of having defended himself against his inquisitors by saying, “That is not what my work says. You are just interpreting it that way.” It is so very painful to have to hide behind an alter-ego to say what we dare not say aloud  to ourselves.

It is so very painful to have to hide behind an alter-ego to say what we dare not to shout ourselves

When a state-supported intellectual asks to speak at a meeting, he first asks himself if it will be the right time and place to say what he thinks. He then starts his speech by clarifying that he (or she) is indeed a true revolutionary and that his criticisms are, of course, from within. In common parlance, this is referred to as putting on a patch before there is a hole. When the person in question finally finds the courage, he launches into a stern criticism of himself. Never against the disease, only against the symptoms.

Those with experience in this type of public venting know all too well that the the big shots really enjoy attacks like this, which are directed at low-ranking officials. It is the perfect opportunity to display power, demagoguery and populism. They will make a fool of the little guy even if his misstep is the result of an order from above or something endemic to the system.

This sacrifice — the fall from grace, the exile of one’s contemporaries — benefits the mediocre intellectual. It presents an opportunity to attain what had previously been out of reach. That is why almost all the country’s top prizes and awards ignore Cubans living overseas. Their colleagues on the island do not want the competition. They should have eliminated the National Prizes’ absurd categories long ago but the topic is never even mentioned at their conferences.

The Spanish word necedad, a term the regime’s defenders use to explain their actions, can mean stubbornness or obstinancy. But if you look it up in a dictionary, the first synonyms you find are simply stupidity, imbecility, idiocy and nonsense.

José Martí and Reinaldo Arenas would be disgusted by all these supposed intellectuals who believe themselves to be superior for knowing how to disguise their cowardice as intelligence.

Translator’s notes:
*Afro-Cuban insurgents who fought for Cuba’s independence from Spain in the 19th century.
**”Within the Revolution everything, outside the Revolution nothing.”

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Upon returning to Cuba, he quickly joined José Martí’s war efforts, rising to the rank of major general. He was one of nine Cuban generals who were invited to attend the handover ceremony after the war ended. He was also chief of the police in Havana during the first North American occupation as well as inspector general of public works. He stepped away from politics for a time, dedicating himself to managing the Chaparra power plant in Las Tunas. But the conservatives needed a leader like him.

Running for president as a conservative candidate, he lost to José Miguel Gómez but won against Alfredo Zayas in 1912. World War I turned out to be a boon for Cuba because it raised the price of sugar. During his time time in office, the country adopted a national currency. The Cuban peso was pegged to the U.S. dollar and backed by the silver standard. If Menocal knew the peso’s worth today, he would turn over in his grave.

When the Foreman tried to get reelected, it launched the Chambelona revolution. The catchy tune, with its conga rhythm, was inspired by an old Spanish song. There are those who say that it originated in Chambas, hence the name, but that has not been proven. It is also not clear who the original author was so there were no disputes over copyright issues. La Chambelona became a liberal anthem. José Miguel Gómez himself halted his march westward to dance to La Chambelona in the town of Majagua.

Perhaps all that dancing is what caused them to arrest him and his son, and take them to Havana. Menocal’s advisors wanted to humiliate him even more

Perhaps all that dancing is what caused them to arrest him and his son, and take them to Havana. Menocal’s advisors wanted to humiliate him even more. They wanted him to walk him handcuffed along the Paseo del Prado and the Malecón to the paddy wagon. But José Miguel Gómez, the Cuban president whom official historians want to strip of all virtue, said the following: “You forget that the man who is imprisoned is a general of independence. You forget that the man who is imprisoned is an insurgent who covered himself in glory during combat. You forget that that man who is imprisoned was my friend and my comrade-in-arms.”

Cubans have had other anthems in more recent times, from Nuestro Día Ya Viene Llegando (Our Day Is Now Coming) by Willy Chirino to Patria y Vida (Homeland and Life), which was sung in the streets during the mass protests on 11 July 2021. The regime has tried to emulate these songs with some musical clunkers composed by Raúl Torres, whom the muses have not only abandoned but who has gained hundreds of thousands of “dislikes” on YouTube.

Cuba’s current president Miguel Díaz-Canel, who isn’t a poet and who cannot pull verses out of thin air, might hum a few bars of La Chambelona while in the shower. Perhaps he even sings a few lines out of tune  to himself: “I am not to blame and I don’t blame here.”

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By the time the Battle of Jíbaro ended, he was a major general and its hero. After the signing of the Treaty of Paris, which officially ended the Spanish-American War, he was one of nine generals invited to attend the handover ceremony. He later accompanied General Calixto Garcia on his visit to Washington. He was a member of the constituent assembly which drafted the country’s first constitution in 1901. He was appointed governor of Las Villas by U.S. General John Brooke and was later elected to that post by popular vote. By then, he was clearly one of the country’s most important figures, someone said to be “presidential material.”

As governor, he proved to be an excellent manager, building roads, improving agriculture and livestock, and investing in education. But perhaps his most notable achievement was the enormous popularity he gained among Afro-Cubans after appointing several black and mixed-race Cubans to posts in his government. Back then, absolutely no one considered him a racist.

To vote at that time, one had to be at least 21-years old, have a net worth of 250 pesos and be able to read. Members of the Liberation Army did not have to meet the last two requirements. And given the fact that most members of that army were of African descent, the black vote became a matter of utmost importance.

José Miguel wanted to be president so, with elections approaching, he launched an insurrection against the incumbent, Tomás Estrada Palma. For his part, Estrada Palma sought American military help, which led to a three-year period of U.S. occupation. In 1908, Gómez defeated Mario García Menocal, with 60% of the vote, to become president. His Liberal Party gained an absolute majority in Cuba’s House of Representatives. Though he and his allies would control the Senate, they had to deal with a new party: the Independents of Color (PIC).

The Liberals split into two factions: the nationalists, headed by Vice-President Alfredo Zayas, and the republicans, led by José Miguel

The Liberals split into two factions: the nationalists, headed by Vice-President Alfredo Zayas, and the republicans, led by José Miguel. One anecdote illlustrates the level of animosity between the two men. As the story goes, during the victory banquet, cigars were being passed around. Around the cigars were paper bands were images of both men printed on them. Gomez took one with the image of his vice-president on it, lit it and, in a jocular tone, said, “As for Zayas, I am smoking him.” El Chino, as Zayas was known, was not a smoker, so he responded in kind by saying, “And as for José Miguel… I am putting him in my pocket.”

Then came 1912. The PIC had been banned two years earlier. The Morúa Amendment, sponsored by a mulatto patriot, outlawed parties made up of a single racial group. The decision may have been controversial but it was fair, and several black patriots supported it. However, both conservatives and annexationists began adding fuel to the fire, seeking the overthrow of the liberals and end the American occupation. Faced with the uprising of the independents of color, Gomez acted with a heavy hand, one that was too harsh. More than 3,000 Afro-Cubans were slaughtered. ​

No, José Miguel was not a mackerel. He was a shark. But there was more than one culprit in that massacre.

*Translator’s note: a reference to the late Eusebio Leal, official historian of Havana, whose office was responsible for the restoration of the city’s historic center.

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I will try to give the most honest view possible about someone who has just lost the little power he had left and whose life is definitely going downhill

The first time I exchanged words with Fernando was during a small reception that the ministry offered to Antón Arrufat. They told the playwright that he could bring some friends and I was among his guests. Suddenly, amidst rum and Soviet jokes, Abel Prieto made an unexpected confession: he was retiring from the position. So he told the younger ones: “Go out and smoke with Fernando, because he will be the next minister.” I remember that Fernando took out his tobacco, he paused and appeared as if he had already received the official appointment.

A short time later the news would come out, but nothing about Fernando being named. The new minister was a certain Rafael Bernal. He would only last two years in office, being dismissed after an art theft scandal. Once again, Fernando was left quietly in his chair. The appointee was then Julián González, and this time it would be Rojas himself who would be in charge of sawing the floor for his new boss. His appointment seemed inevitable, but… not even! Abel Prieto himself would be brought out of his sweet retirement to resume his position until 2018. By that year, Díaz-Canel was betting on a closer friend: Alpidio Alonso.

When in 2016, during a meeting of the Hermano Saíz Association (AHS), I asked Luis Torres Iríbar 15 uncomfortable questions , it would be Fernando Rojas’ turn to answer me. His answers must be recorded somewhere. Fernando lamented that we Cubans could travel without an exit permit, buy a cell phone or a computer, or buy and sell our own houses. For him, all those decisions were painful and must be temporary. From that moment on, I think he began to see me as an annoying intestinal pimple every time we met at those useless AHS or Uneac assemblies.

He even visited me at my house on a couple of occasions, concerned about the direction my Facebook posts were taking

However, I dare to speculate that, despite everything, Fernando appreciated me. It took it personally to try to keep me in the “uncomfortable artist” zone and not cross that invisible line where you are considered “incorrigibly counter-revolutionary.” He even visited me at my house a couple of times, concerned about the direction my Facebook posts were taking.

But November 27th arrived. That day, we both held a long and tense telephone negotiation, until the protesters were able to enter the ministry, well into the night. The false dialogue would be broken two months later, with a simple slap of the hand and an unjustifiable beating .

The last time we saw each other was at the Argos Teatro headquarters, after a performance of one of my plays. In the dressing room, I told him: “Before we start discussing our differences, tell me how your son is doing.” Fernando burst into tears for about ten minutes straight. Apparently, no one in his camp had asked him about the boy’s health after a domestic incident.

I’m delusional if I think he really appreciated me. He did not hesitate to go house to house of some colleagues to publish videos against me. He didn’t hesitate for a second to close my group and ban all my works. He applauded the lynching that my family suffered in the same house that he himself visited one day.

Fernando is already ancient history, but the worst of all is that those who replace him today are made of the same material.

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Estrada Palma’s presidency was austere, yes, but no one could call him corrupt. His motto — “more teachers than soldiers” — was consistent with his vocation and the needs of the country

The story goes that it was the people who ripped his statue off its pedestal back in the 1970s but ordinary people do not have cranes. Its destruction was not the result of a truly popular rejection but rather an order from powerful officials with a very clear purpose: to erase history. They say that one of Estrada Palma’s sons was staying at the Hotel Presidente Hotel at the time and witnessed this official act of iconoclasm. Perhaps his only revenge was seeing how his father’s shoes clung to the marble.

Years later, a group of pedestrians happened to walk past it without any idea what the monument represented. Some thought it was perhaps an homage to that poem about the rose slippers by Jose Martí. The stubborn bronze shoes remained there until 2020, when the Office of the City Historian finally decided to finish the job, remove them from public view and store them in their archives.

Tomasico* was was born, it is said, on July 9, 1835. He was the only child of Andrés Maria his wife Yaya. His father died when he was little and he developed a singular attachment to his mother. Perhaps because of that bond, he was unable to finish his studies in Seville. He returned to his hometown to be with her and to run La Punta, his family’s hacienda. He was named petty-lieutenant in Bayamo, an administrative position with about as much authority as its pleasant phonetics imply.

When war broke out, Tomás was sent to by the authorities to negotiate with the insurrectionists but ended up joining them. He managed to rise through their ranks, ultimately becoming president of the Republic in Arms. There were more losses than victories, however, and those defeats would leave their mark on him.

His dearly beloved mother died in the mountains of hunger after being captured by the Spanish and then released into the wilderness alone. He himself was captured near the end of the war by Cubans who sympathized with Spain. During his imprisonment in Morro Castle, no Cuban went to visit him. The colonial government spread the news that he had switched sides and he was unfairly assumed to be a traitor. To withstand the December cold, he had to rely on clothes given to him by Spanish soldiers.

Perhaps this is why he had little faith in Cubans’ ability to govern themselves. It was in the United States where rediscovered his love of teaching and where he found a degree of respect and dignity. He regained his belief in Cuba only because someone with the stature of Jose Martí rekindled that hope in him.

Estrada Palma’s presidency was austere, yes, but no one could call him corrupt. His motto — “more teachers than soldiers” — was consistent with his vocation and the needs of the country. Those who insist he favored annexation by the United States ignore his efforts to make sure the Isle of Pines remained part of Cuba and to reduce the number of American naval bases from five to just one.

He was not perfect by any means, but nor was he the rube nor the sellout portrayed in Cuban history classes. A country was being forged and, in such times, it is all too easy to get burned. Perhaps one of his most famous lines says it all: “We have a republic but it does not have citizens.

*Translator’s note: Spanish diminutive of Tomás.

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That is why the Cuban model is doomed to disappear, because its stubborn inbreeding, far from maintaining a supposed “ideological purity” that ensures power, is reproducing the same error code, with increasingly worse symptoms. From the Process of Rectification of Errors we moved to the Special Period, from the disastrous Battle of Ideas to an even worse Ordering Task, from an endless Coyuntura [roughly ‘temporary sitaution’] to an eternal Contingency, from a very poor Creative Resistance to the current (and ridiculous) War Economy.

Who knows what name they will give to this very long and incurable crisis in 2024. If Díaz-Canel was the smartest sperm generated by the Single Party, what can be expected from the most lagging gametes? There we have Alejandro Gil, perhaps the worst Minister of Economy on the planet, who does not blush when giving the same message of failure, year after year, without anyone thinking of doing him the favor of dismissing him.

There we have Gerardo Hernández Nordelo, the ill-fated former spy who today posts imbecilities from a position as useless as that of presiding over the most grotesque and impoverished mass organization of all those created by the regime to monitor us.

And things get worse if we look at the “new marabous” (they cannot be called “pines”). At least one limits oneself by launching very strong criticisms towards characters like Michel Torres Corona or Pedro Jorge Velázquez. It is not politically correct, in these times, to emphasize their disabilities. Although, in reality, theirs is more about political mountaineering and impudence.

The terrible thing is that all of us, even if we have escaped from the prison island, run the risk of reproducing its practices. The extreme polarization and algorithms of social networks lead us to consume ideas very similar to our own. And we can easily end up locked in circles that reproduce exclusive new thoughts.

Debate is almost an obsolete word. The ’cool’ thing is to say that so-and-so “swept the floor” with so-and-so, or vice versa

Debate is almost an obsolete word. The cool thing is to say that so-and-so “swept the floor” with so-and-so, or vice versa. This obsession with headlines related to the same domestic task shows a great lack of imagination, but it is the result of the intellectual laziness of our time. No one wants to get tangled up in the conflict of having to decide between two divergent opinions. The correct one, a priori, is whoever thinks like me, period.

So, if you can’t reason with another, insult him. If you run out of arguments, launch a smear. If you can’t see the curvature on the horizon, shout that the earth is flat! Most have never climbed so high and they may even applaud you.

I already know that pluralism is not fashionable. But perhaps, just perhaps, respecting the diversity of opinion is the only effective remedy to eradicate, once and for all, that ideological endogamy that we carry in our blood.

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The Teller Amendment, however, expressly prohibited eating the fruit. So what happened? Was it sudden reluctance? Fear of unfamiliar foods? In fact, not all Americans wanted this particular new star on their flag. Some were genuinely committed to our independence. Others rejected annexation because of the threat that Cuban sugar competition posed to their own businesses. And quite a few simply did it out of racism. At the time, Cuba had half a million people of African descent in a country with barely a million and a half inhabitants.

The first period of military occupation (1899-1902) has been widely studied by a broad range of historians. I personally recommend Viento Norte (North Wind) by Ignacio Uría — a sharp, intelligent, well-documented study that does not come with the embarassing Castro-Stalinist baggage that afflicts so many of our history books.

The fact is the Americans left. Years later, Cuban president Estrada Palma begged them to return. They came and left again. What was up with the fruit? This inconsistency in the American diet has confounded more than one Marxist historian. But as for the fruit, they really don’t seem to be too interested.

What John Quincy Adams never imagined was that the United States was not the only place where the apple — or, to be more tropical, mango or papaya — could fall. It took until 1959 for gravity to pull it towards Moscow. That rollercoaster of a fall was like a second Platt Amendment.

The rot in the fruit became so obvious that Fidel Castro began to see “worms” everywhere

The rot in the fruit became so obvious that Fidel Castro began to see “worms”* everywhere. He was convinced that only the Soviet cherubim could prevent the Yanks from going into full Adam-and-Eve mode on the little fruit. But the Cold War ended and the United States still showed no appetite, even though they had the opportunity to bite down hard. The balsero crisis in 1994 gave them the perfect excuse but they didn’t do it. Nor did they do it after widespread anti-government protests in July of 2021.

Some have theorized that there are those in Washington who prefer that the Cuban regime survives if for no other reason than to serve as a bad example. But one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch as we have seen in Venezuela, Nicaragua… The “defective sample” theory has been worse useless; it has been downright dangerous.

Regardless of how Washington or anyplace else sees us, we do know how important it is for us to be free. And if we have to do it on our own, we had better be realistic. Because freedom is not just about taking to the streets to celebrate and throw streamers. The country we will be inheriting is a pile of rubble.

There is much we can learn from that first transition, when the republic took its first steps. We have often looked to others such as the countries of Eastern Europe or post-Franco Spain for inspiration. But looking at ourselves can also shed a lot of light. And we must stop believing, once and for all, that we are a fruit.

*Translator’s note: “Gusanos” in Spanish, a term Castro often used in his speeches to disparage Cubans who opposed his regime.

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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

Many Spanish officials remained in their posts. Today, some Twitter users would be scandalized and call this a fake change

Initially, the provisional government retained the same administrative system as well as the civil and criminal codes. Many Spanish officials even held onto their positions. Today, some Twitter users would be scandalized by this and call it a fake change. But the truth is that, as the Americans saw it, not everyone who could wield a machete was ready for a desk job. Their priority was to get a shattered economy back on track and maintain as much stability as possible.

Naturally, the radical nationalists were furious. They had not shed their blood in the mountains only to end up being ordered around by someone with a Castilian accent. America’s Secretary of War at the time, Elihu Root, admitted to leading a stressful life, afraid of finding out that his troops had been forced to shoot the former Cuban insurgents.

It became necessary to integrate the war veterans into the new government. Among those chosen were men with illustrious names. Men who had been trained in the United States or Europe, who had patriotic credentials and their own fortunes and thus would not be tempted to use the public purse to enrich themselves. It could be said that they were a thousand times more competent than the current Cuban government, staffed as it is with useless cadres trained in demagoguery and double-talk. However, history was not be kind to those first Cuban officials. They have been mostly ignored or branded with broad labels that did not take into account the historical context.

The same thing will probably happen to those brave enough to take on administrative responsibilities when the time comes for Cuba to transition to a free society. Accepting government postions at that point will involve making more complex, controversial and perhaps thankless decisions. It will be like setting oneself on fire. Quite possibly none of those who decide to participate in this process will be go on to play a role in the future democracy.

And while all this is going on, what role will the broader public play in the transition? It is likely that crowds will take to the streets in euphoria. One can assume that many will attack the symbols of Castroism as happened after the fall of Machado and Batista. We can even imagine Patria y Vida being sung on the major boulevards at full volume. But then most will go back to hiding behind their cell phone screens, onlookers to the change.

Most of us are on airplane mode, waiting for someone to bring out the body as we scroll past the inanities of some government minister, reports on the Cuban first lady’s latest  international first-class jaunt with her son — the unofficial bodyguard— and the viral videos of Yarelis and her boyfriends.

What we call the public is often an abstraction, a dream from which we awaken from time to time if something, or someone, shakes the bed forcefully enough.

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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.