In December 2014, Raúl Castro and Obama surprised everyone with the news that relations between both countries would begin to normalize.
14ymedio, Yunior García Aguilera, Madrid, May 24, 2024 — The last decade in Cuba is, perhaps, the one that has seen the most changes in half a century. However, we have the feeling that everything remains the same, or even worse. This reminds us of Lampedusa’s famous novel, The Leopard. In it, Tancredi’s character says to his uncle a phrase that has been repeated countless times: “If we want everything to remain as it is, we need everything to change.”
In December 2014, Raúl Castro and Obama surprised everyone with the news that relations between both countries would begin to normalize. The opposition to the island’s regime saw this event in two different ways. For some, the decision of the US Government was a betrayal of a historical exile, who had fought for years against the dictatorship. For others, it was the most intelligent and effective way to influence, killing me softly style, the fall of Castro-communism. However, for the majority of ordinary people within Cuba, this meant nothing more than a relief from the hardships suffered daily. It seemed like a moment of hope.
In 2015, internet access for the population was expanded. This tiny detail would mark a “domino effect” that would have a decisive influence on the perception of Cubans about the world and their own reality. The horse lost its blinders.
In March 2016, Air Force One landed at José Martí International Airport in Havana. Nine months later, Raúl Castro announced on television the death of his brother. It seemed that yes, changes were finally happening and that the end of an era would be inevitable.
But the year 2017 constituted a turning point. Obama eliminated the “wet foot/dry foot” policy before leaving the White House
But the year 2017 constituted a turning point. Obama eliminated the “wet foot/dry foot” policy before leaving the White House and his successor threatened to return to treating Cuba as what it was: a dictatorship. In June of that year, Trump was applauded in Miami for promising a tough line against the one-party regime. And in August, the scandal of the sonic attacks against the US Embassy on the Island broke out.
In 2018, the nomenclatura debuted the face of Díaz-Canel as “president,” although Raúl Castro would clarify that he was actually hired by him, after failing with 11 other test tubes of officials. The bad luck of the appointee would be marked by several tragic events, such as the crash of a commercial plane with 112 deaths. And to his misfortune would be added the accumulation of endemic problems of the system, as well as the ineptitude of a new cabinet that began his management with a disastrous decree: 349.
The following year, a new Constitution was approved that was more “catty” than the Lampedusa novel. The civil service went on Twitter calling half of the Cubans “bastards” and Díaz-Canel’s lack of ashé [‘power’ in Yoruba] was confirmed by a devastating and unusual tornado. In contrast, the capacity of civil society to articulate itself increased its scale of influence. The crisis, meanwhile, showed its worst face, although the designated test tube insisted on calling it “circumstantial,” with the implications of “temporary.”
In 2020, the pandemic and masks arrived, but also the resistance of a generation of young artists against censorship. Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and the San Isidro Movement began to receive solidarity within the guild, despite all attempts to discredit them. The apotheosis occurred on November 27, when hundreds of artists stood in front of the Ministry of Culture with demands not only in the field of culture, but also in terms of citizen freedoms.
And 2021 arrived. The deadliest year in all of national history. The crude mortality rate on the Island was the highest on the continent
And 2021 arrived. The deadliest year in all of national history. The crude mortality rate on the Island was the highest on the continent, although the regime reported minimal numbers of deaths from Covid-19 and boasted of having five vaccines. The pressure cooker burst on 11 July, a date that would be engraved in national history, leaving another 26th of the same month in a corner of the calendar.
The last three years are much fresher in the memory of those who read me. The regime managed to survive the outbreak by applying the worst techniques of repression and social control. They locked up and sentenced hundreds, while they drove many more out of the country. Since then they have dedicated themselves to keeping us divided and clashing.
As in Lampedusa’s novel, the Revolution is a dead dog. And although some insist on keeping it stuffed, it will be inevitable that it will end up thrown out of the window, like the dog Bendicó [Blessed] in The Leopard, towards the garbage dump of History.
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