Category: Translator: Lucie McCallum

Lessons from Argentina and Venezuela for Building Democracy in Cuba

With María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition now has a leadership legitimized by the participation of the political parties and their voters (EFE).

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Julio Aleaga Pesant, Manzanillo, 29 October 2023 — Last Sunday, October 22, was a noteworthy page in Latin American politics from which the Cuban democratic opposition can learn. Firstly, the fact that Javier Milei was not elected in the first round of Argentine presidential elections, and secondly that María Corina Machado (MCM) was elected in the primaries for the Venezuelan democratic opposition, are points to consider.

What happened to Milei? In the pre-presidential elections last August, known as Paso, he came in first place. There was such a state of euphoria that he himself boasted that on his birthday he would be elected as President of the Argentine Republic. But he was ultimately relegated to a merited second place in the general election.

What happened was something unique to democracies with parties. Sergio Massa is the candidate of the ruling Peronist coalition, The Union for the Homeland (Unión por la Patria). Given that Massa is an ally of the convicted Christina Fernández de Kirchner, President Alberto Fernández and the continental leftist group el Grupo de Puebla hit the gas pedal of the political structure. Between Kirchner, Fernández, Massa and other “weeds”, they set the party’s electoral machinery in motion.

The Union for the Homeland flexed its muscles and beat the candidate of Liberty Advances (la Libertad Avanza) by 7 points. An organization that recently debuted and is full of euphoric citizens disenchanted  with the “caste”, but who still have much to learn when it comes to politics. continue reading

I do not rule out that the strategists and the money of the Puebla Group were poured into Buenos Aires for that result to occur

I do not rule out that the strategists and the money of the Puebla Group were poured into Buenos Aires for that result to occur, and also that they may color the next runoff election. Everything remains to be seen– in politics, two plus two may not be four.

And in Venezuela? There, they carried out the primary elections of the opposition in order to elect a leader and a team that would promote and set out an agenda that would remove the country from the pit in which it finds itself, based on concrete actions and public policies that would end the long Chavo-Maduro night. Is it the key to The Seven Thunders?  No! But it is an important step toward giving a voice to the Venezuelan citizens.

How did they do it? Well, in the only, and complex, way it can be done. The leaders of the political organizations (United Platform, or Plataforma Unitaria) agreed to hold elections (primaries) to elect the leader of the opposition before the presidential elections. The leaders convened their bases and enlisted them in an independent electoral commission (the National Primary Commission), made up of prestigious lawyers and representatives of the different organizations that participate.

In that process, fiercely bombarded by the caste of  Bolivar-invoking dictators, María Corina Machado, from Vente Venezuela, was elected. In this way, the opposition now has a leadership legitimized by the participation of political parties and their voters. Does it mean that they summited Mount Zion? Also no. Only that they began to travel their “road to Damascus.”

And when will we learn from others?

“The sorrows that mistreat me / are so many that they run over each other / And when to kill me they try / They crowd each other out and that’s why they haven’t killed me”, says Sindo Garay’s song, performed by the unforgettable Silvia Perez Cruz, as the voice of the Cuban democratic opposition in exile or “inxile”, but without a doubt in the center of its labyrinth.

And why don’t we get on with it?

Under the predatory communist regime’s conditions of cruel repression  against all, it is difficult to organize a leadership selection process within the island, like the one that has just been carried out in Venezuela. Especially when the most important opposition parties and organizations also disappeared from the Island in the last seven years under the blows of repression, exile, the old age of the founders, or the lack of interest of young people.

But does something prevent compatriots abroad from forming and accepting leadership, with goals and challenges, and that it be pro-tempore, asks Ernesto Gutiérrez Tamargo from Europe. And he focuses on the exile, for its “freedom of political action and international logistical maneuverability,” and because he has the opportunity to “tune in with the internal opposition on the Island to develop strategies.”

The foundation of these “primaries” that we dream of, he continues, is that “they must represent the essential pillars of building a Constitutional and Democratic State of Law with national proposals to confront the regime in international forums.”

Of course, to feed this proposal, the reluctance of so many “Taifa kingdoms” [petty political factions] must be overcome

Of course, to feed this proposal, the reluctance of so many “Taifa kingdoms” [petty political factions] and political parties without representativeness or leadership capacity must be overcome. But it would be a step. They have denied us the right to exist as a democratic political alternative: “The Pax Castro” classifies us as criminals in its Penal Code.

I agree with the Cuban lawyer, and I would only add that an opposition primary would be the opportunity to make the decision-making process transparent within the democratic opposition. Above all, with regards to the citizens and with the relevant consensus, it would have an effect upon the entire Cuban society, directly affecting the foundations of the regime. It would be a special time of identifying the forces at play and the existence of ideologies, which would begin to coexist for a common good, the homeland and a higher objective: building democracy.

The lessons of October 22 are found in both Argentina and Venezuela: in order to face our national challenges, we need strong and qualified leadership and structures, chosen by the citizens.

Translated by Lucie McCallum (University of Miami/Spanish 321)

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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.

Customs is Not at the Service of the Cuban Economy. Quite the Opposite

Customs Officer in the process of confiscating the belongings of Eliecer Avila. (Somos+)

14ymedio biggerElías Amor Bravo, Economist, 8 October 2023 — The richest areas of the planet are committed to free trade, the absence of tariffs and customs taxes. Competitiveness and tax collection are normally favored by this type of fiscal design. It so happens that in Cuba the communists go in the opposite direction, and thus, the regime boasts of the control exercised by customs management, considered as a “guarantee of safe trade”.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The growing threat of illicit activities such as smuggling, drug trafficking and terrorism, which the regime’s leaders use as arguments to defend the interference of the customs system in the functioning of the economy, does not correspond to the observation of reality. For example, in the European Union, where customs have been demolished for decades, nobody is thinking about smuggling, drugs or terrorism, with higher levels than in other areas of the planet. The argument of the Cuban authorities is not supported by reality, like many other communist ideological maxims inserted in the mechanisms of political control that the Castro regime possesses.

Instead of lightening the customs burden, Cuban communists have embarked on a process of attempting to perfect both customs processes and the application of tools that guarantee compliance with the responsibilities and functions of Customs, which, far from benefitting trade, employment, and economic activity, serves to impose control and surveillance upon economic actors that try to open spaces in the heavy bureaucratic structure of the economy.

Many Cubans were victims of those practices and were dispossessed of their scarce belongings through pillaging practices, orchestrated by the communist party with customs officers at their service to appropriate items that were later redistributed

Cubans know well what the Customs General of the Republic represents, as if, since the beginnings of the revolutionary process, it took a path of repression and sanctioning that accompanied those who were fleeing communist oppression until the last minute of searches carried out in continue reading

airports. Many Cubans were victims of those practices and were dispossessed of their scarce belongings through pillaging practices, orchestrated by the communist party with customs officers at their service to appropriate items that were later redistributed.

The confiscation practices of those revolutionary moments reached such dimensions that I remember that, during the Special Period, a compatriot that was visiting the island was able to verify that jewels that had belonged to his family were being auctioned off at hotels in the capital. It’s incredible how time sorts things out. So no one should find it surprising that Cubans view their Customs as nothing other than one more repressive instrument at the service of the regime’s state security.

For that reason, however much propaganda seeks to clean up this image, it is not an easy task. Customs is not seen as a public service that serves the citizens or as an instrument to collect indirect taxes in order to fulfill state customs policy for international traffic of transportation, goods and travelers. Nobody thinks of it that way– Customs is seen in a completely different light.

The regime wants customs management to serve the protection and security of the borders, but, in Cuba, this activity is carried out by practically the entire institutional and party organization, including the CDR’s (Committees in Defense of the Revolution) and popular organizations at the service of the regime, thus the practical sense of Customs is of no interest– it is redundant. It is just an agency that generates abundant employment, not well-paid of course, similar to many others that make up the budgeted sector, and not much more.

Another turn of the screw to further control and surveil economic actors, just the opposite of economic freedom and the opening of borders, which is what economic efficiency demands

The state press has included statements from Nelson Cordovés, head of Customs, who said that “all of the regulations related to the border are being reviewed in order to ensure security in trade, as well as transparency and agility in these processes”. It’s enough to make one tremble. Another turn of the screw to further control and surveil economic actors, just the opposite of economic freedom and the opening of borders, which is what economic efficiency demands.

The communists want Customs to be a guarantee of safe trade and that, in light of the “growing threat of illicit activities such as smuggling, drug trafficking and terrorism, customs processes must be improved and strategies must be applied to ensure compliance with the responsibilities and functions of Customs”. A reasoning that is based on an erroneous assumption and turns into a statement that generates more than a few doubts and uncertainties.

Specifically, the leaders intend to implement a series of measures in customs management.

The first is to improve the “confrontation” system by acting on “the selection and updating of risk profiles, the physical recognition model with the requirements and instructions for the execution of red channels, the employment of canine methods, and the utilization  of images and the interpretation of the x-ray screening of containers, in addition to achieving a consolidation of the Global Container Control Program”.

More control and bureaucracy in the “confrontation” that will lead many to stop their activities, diminishing the products and goods that enter the country through this route. The communists have offered data on inspections carried out in the last months and have entertained  themselves by enumerating the sanctions applied to “errors in the country of origin, of classification, in the invoice value, in the filling out of the Goods Declaration (Declaración de Mercancías or DM), the distribution of expenses; surplus merchandise not legalized  with customs; incorrect use or non-use of preferential agreements; and not concluding the processing of documents in the Single Customs Window (Ventanilla Única de la Aduana or VUA)”. Unbelievable.

Because if they were to follow protocol, at least 75% of the Customs staff would have to be cut

The second has to do with eliminating obstacles with an impact on customs clearance. Why only these and not all of them in general? Because if they were to follow protocol, at least 75% of the Customs staff would have to be cut. It’s important to remember that this entity extends its tentacles to actions related to the Ministry of Agriculture, and to the temporary admission of goods to be exhibited at fairs, exhibitions, and other similar events, which is usually given an opportunistic internal exit when the events in question are over. It also extends to foreign investment, focusing on aspects that influence the process of obtainment and certification by national regulatory bodies.

The third measure is related to the single window, whose new services that display the data and status of the Goods Declaration, settlement statement, error statement, summary of operations, time frames, and report on the information of the maritime and air manifests, among other options, allow a better use and presentation of documents of the declarant. The question is, how many actors would really benefit from this service, and above all, who? There would be surprises.

The fourth has to do with the increased inclusion of economic actors in the authorized economic operator program.

This is a certification granted by Customs to a company, in theory almost all state-owned companies dependent on the regime, which are part of the supply chain, and that comply with customs standards, in order to ensure the security of the foreign trade logistics chain.The entity is recognized as a safe and reliable operator in the supply chain for Cuba’s Foreign Trade, embedded in the changing dynamics of global trade and international standards. At the moment, the small and medium-sized enterprises or self-employed workers included in this certificate can be counted on one hand.

The fifth step involves making improvements in the management and procedures of customs revenue collection. Income has to be obtained by any means necessary because the state’s coffers are suffering from the weakness of the economy. Here, the communists are working to implement electronic payment through the Single Window, a further step in the process of hierarchical access to banking services imposed by the regime.

Customs, directed by the communist organization and under the ideological control of the regime, will do whatever it deems opportune, but we must say beforehand that none of this will benefit the functioning of the Cuban economy. Customs acts as a control and collection barrier that makes no sense and does not meet the efficiency requirements needed for an economy to prosper. With this type of Customs, the memory for many Cubans will continue to be the same as during the years of repression. It would be best to close it.

Translated by Lucie McCallum and Jesus Tunon as part of Spanish 321 (University of Miami)

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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.