Search results for: CDR Committee

Committees for the Defense of the Revolution and Citizen Participation / Cubanet, Martha Beatriz Roque

Cubanet, Martha Beatriz Roque, Havana, 2 April 2015 — Whenever the topic of democracy and the Cuban regime comes up, the top leaders say that this is the most democratic country in the world. The latest version is that “‘democracy’ is subject to interpretation, and every country understands it in its own way.” This also … Continue reading “Committees for the Defense of the Revolution and Citizen Participation / Cubanet, Martha Beatriz Roque”

CDR: Symbol of Snitching / Julio Cesar Alvarez

HAVANA, Cuba, September, www.cubanet.org – In the same way that a blind woman with scales is an allegory of justice and a skeleton with a scythe is the allegory of death, the image that identifies the CDR should be the allegory of betrayal. The creation of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution in … Continue reading “CDR: Symbol of Snitching / Julio Cesar Alvarez”

CDR: The Number of Spies is Not Rationed / Tania Diaz Castro

HAVANA, Cuba, July, www.cubanet.org. Cubans know that Fidel Castro’s government, since its inception, violated citizens’ right to privacy of. On September 28, 1960 he founded the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR), an organization with fascist roots, whose program is “Everyone spies on each other.” I know — because I worked as a … Continue reading “CDR: The Number of Spies is Not Rationed / Tania Diaz Castro”

Why Not Just Dissolve the CDR? / Regina Coyula

Comments on the recent speech by General-President Raul Castro can be heard in a pharmacy line as well as in an almendrón.* People in general are pleased that the country’s top leadership is finally acknowledging the presence of the invasive social weed that until now seems to have been growing unnoticed. Cubans, with our ability to adapt … Continue reading “Why Not Just Dissolve the CDR? / Regina Coyula”

Havana neighborhoods reject the Cuban government by not celebrating the 52nd anniversary of the CDRs / Anddy Sierra Alvarez

More than half of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) of Havana did not celebrate their 52nd anniversary of September 27-28.  This celebration was marked at 90% only in the central and eastern zones of the country. September 27 was celebrated in anticipation of the September 28 day of the 52nd anniversary of the … Continue reading “Havana neighborhoods reject the Cuban government by not celebrating the 52nd anniversary of the CDRs / Anddy Sierra Alvarez”

Where are the CDR Revolutionaries? / Miriam Celaya

As has been the trend in recent years, the once nurtured and animated Committee for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) “fiestas” on September 27, have been added to the list of Revolutionary anniversaries on the way to extinction. Just by chance, for personal reasons, I was crossing the city last Thursday and could observe … Continue reading “Where are the CDR Revolutionaries? / Miriam Celaya”

CDR: Citizen Representation or Political Control? / Yoani Sanchez

The stew was cooked on firewood collected by some neighbors, the flags hung in the middle of  the block and the shouts of Viva! went on past midnight. A ritual repeated with more or less enthusiasm every September 27 throughout the Island. The eve of the 52nd anniversary of the founding of the Committees for … Continue reading “CDR: Citizen Representation or Political Control? / Yoani Sanchez”

CDR, Castro’s Popular Weapon / Iván García

On September 28, 1960, while homemade bombs and firecrackers were being detonated by his political opponents, an angry Fidel Castro created the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR). From the balcony of the north wing of the Presidential Palace, the guerrilla commander, recently returned from a tour of New York, argued the need … Continue reading “CDR, Castro’s Popular Weapon / Iván García”

An Old Castro Weapon Still in Operation / Ivan Garcia

Renato’s family emigrated to the United States on October 3 but that did not stop them from having some weak communal soup, drinking cheap rum and dancing the timba on a block of Reparto Sevillano south of Havana on the night of the 27th, the eve of the anniversary of the Committees for the Defense … Continue reading “An Old Castro Weapon Still in Operation / Ivan Garcia”

“This Isn’t Havana, but Send the Military To Pick Up the Trash,” Residents in Holguín, Cuba

From several provinces, they demand that a mobilization like that in the capital be called. 14ymedio, Miguel García, Holguín, October 6, 2025 — This weekend’s garbage collection “offensive” in Havana is having an unwelcome effect on the authorities. Residents in several provinces are clamoring for a similar mobilization to clear their streets of the mountains … Continue reading ““This Isn’t Havana, but Send the Military To Pick Up the Trash,” Residents in Holguín, Cuba”

If You Need Blood in Cuba, You Will Probably Have To Buy It

While donations are at a minimum, people increasingly offer in exchange for money, food, or even a high-end cell phone. 14ymedio, Madrid, 23 June 2025 — With a population estimated at 404,037, the health authorities of Sancti Spíritus estimate that 12,000 blood donations are needed throughout the year. However, in 2024 they were just 7,252, … Continue reading “If You Need Blood in Cuba, You Will Probably Have To Buy It”

I’m Leaving, I’m Leaving Cuba, I’m Going Away

I had lost the interest and passion that had taken me out of my province and placed me among the top ranks of Medicine. 14ymedio, Liz Ashelle Díaz Gómez, June 2, 2025 — I live in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico, in a town that is two hours from Mexico City. It’s small and colorful, … Continue reading “I’m Leaving, I’m Leaving Cuba, I’m Going Away”

“In Cuban Hospitals, if You Don’t Donate Blood They Won’t Operate on You”

14ymedio, Miguel García, Holguin, 16 April 2025 — On the shoulders of the Cuban patient lies not only the responsibility to get syringes and drugs before surgery. Now, more and more often, carrying a blood donation is a prerequisite for undergoing an operation. In Holguín, those who do not have someone who, for friendship or … Continue reading ““In Cuban Hospitals, if You Don’t Donate Blood They Won’t Operate on You””

To Rob Warehouses Criminals in Cuba Take Advantage of the Indolence of the Guards

14ymedio, Madrid, 16 April 2025 — The televised war on crime offered its second part yesterday on State TV’s Round Table program. The authorities were very satisfied to have detected a multitude of illegalities, theft of electrical power and transportation of merchandise “mainly related to the trafficking of food, medicines, weapons, fuel, cash and other … Continue reading “To Rob Warehouses Criminals in Cuba Take Advantage of the Indolence of the Guards”