Tag: Cuban government

Cuban Priest Voices Harsh Criticism of Cuban Regime 

A Cuban Roman Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Camaguey, Alberto Reyes,  said in a visit to the U.S. that Cuba is experiencing one of the hardest times in recent years. “It would seem, and it is my hope, that this is a terminal moment, because it is very difficult (…) Civil society in Cuba feels very vulnerable and defenseless . Every time the Cuban people have tried to do something –we already know that July 11 marked a before and after–the repression has been total, the punishments have been exemplary.” [1]

“People are afraid, and the government is afraid, because the government knows that it has lost the heart of the people. . . . ” This is a moment of pure and simple dictatorship . It is a moment in which, clearly, there is a government that is subjugating a people who do not want it.”

“The current atmosphere on the island is one of seeking an answer to ‘how am I going to leave’ the country . With the humanitarian parole, he added, the churches in Cuba “have emptied, especially of young people.”

“The government’s only interest is to stay in power. The people must find a way to survive, and if they protest and rise up, [the government] will repress them, control them and give them a little gift, a little food, to calm them down, and in this way we will put out the fires that appear.”

The non-state sector empower[s] Cubans, as they offer them means and possibilities that the Government does not provide, but the new economic measures have caused the closure of many of these small and medium-sized companies.”

There is the “institutionalized lie in Cuba. They lie to you by looking you in the eye. They lie to you on television,” as with promises of a quick improvement in the electricity service.

“Freedom is a matter of choice. Everything in this life has a price. Speaking has a price, keeping quiet has a price, demonstrating has a price (…), confronting the government has a price; playing the government’s game has a price.”

“To think that if instead of hiding or masking the truth of what we are experiencing, we decide to be clear and speak openly, we will generate an environment of civic honesty, we will prevent the impunity of those who lie, and we will all be better off. To think that if we do not give complicit answers, if we do not attend the demonstrations of revolutionary reaffirmation, nor the combative marches, nor all the meetings of predetermined responses and, on the contrary, we decide to stay at home, defying the threats from school or the workplace, we will be manifesting our will from silence, and we will all be better off.”

The priest called on people to teach their children “to express themselves from the truth of what they feel and to defend everything that is good, noble and just” in order to create “generations capable of cleaning up decades of duplicity and falsehood.“

“To think that if you belong to the judicial system and are able to defend the innocent and not condemn those who are prosecuted for exercising their rights, you will be helping to clean up the justice system and restore the rule of law that protects the common citizen, including yourself, and we will all be better off. To think that if you have a private business and it goes well, and even at the risk of ‘getting into trouble’ you take the side of the poor who claim their rights, and you do not turn a blind eye to injustice and lies, you will be helping to build a society capable of protecting itself and protecting you, and we will all be better off,” he added.

He also called on members of the military to “protect citizens who demand their rights” and not to lend themselves “to repressing those who demand change and freedom.”

“Thinking that change does not come by itself, nor can it be left to simple time, but that it happens when we help each other, and together we build our dream, the dream of a country of freedom, justice, truth and prosperity that allows everyone to be better off,” he concluded.

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[1] Father Alberto Reyes on what Cuba is experiencing: a ‘pure and hard dictatorship,’ Diario de Cuba. (Sept.23, 2024).

 

 

Another Indictment of the Cuban Economy

Cuba Siglo 21 has published a new dossier by economist Emilio Morales that provides a statistical x-ray of the collapse of the regime’s system on the island. [1]

“The Cuban economy is in a critical phase due to the drastic fall of more than 50% of its main sources of income: export of medical services, remittances and tourism. This financial collapse has accelerated the countdown of the governance regime.”

  • “The export of medical services, the country’s main source of income, has suffered a 78.12% dropsince its peak in 2013, when it reached 10.42 billion dollars.”
  • “Remittances, the second largest source of income, have also declined significantly. In 2023, remittances totaled $1,972.56 million, a drop of 3.31% compared to 2022 and 46.93% compared to 2019, before the pandemic. Morales attributes the decline to mass emigration that began after the crackdown on protests on July 11, 2021, which ‘has not only reduced remittances but has also resulted in a significant flight of human capital.’”
  • “Tourism, one of Cuba’s most promising industries, has failed to recover post-pandemic. Morales recalls that in 2023 Cuba received 2,436,979 tourists, a figure comparable to that of 2009, well below the expected levels. The economist points out that ‘the situation is aggravated by the decrease in Cuban tourists living abroad, a key segment for the Cuban tourism economy.’”
  • “The regime’s commitment to attracting Russian tourists has not compensated for the loss of European tourism, affected by the Cuban government’s support for Russia in the war against Ukraine. The arrival of tourists from the five main European issuers (Italy, France, Germany, Spain and England) has decreased by 67.45% in the last five years.”
  • “The Cuban regime has proven incapable of implementing effective mechanisms to transform the economy and overcome the current multi-systemic crisis. The fall of the three main sources of income by more than 50% reflects the total dysfunctionality of the governance regime.”

“Even the regime’s allied governments are not willing to carry out a large-scale economic rescue. The governance models of Russia, China or Vietnam have not been adopted, and the power elite in Cuba continues to resist any change.”

“Mass emigration has decapitalized the country financially and in terms of human resources, and the metamorphosis of Castroism into a mafia state, with GAESA as the center of true power, has led to the destruction of industries and the loss of political capital.”

“The Cuban Communist Party (PCC) has no retraining pool, with many members who no longer believe in the party or its ideology.”

“The economic crisis has had devastating effects on all sectors of society.There is an alarming shortage of teachers, health personnel , workers in the sugar industry, tourism and the energy system. Even the justice system is affected, with the Supreme Court of Justice operating at only 69% of its capacity.”

“With the celebration of the 71st anniversary of the attack on the Moncada barracks, Cuba finds itself in a deep humanitarian crisis, with 89% of the population living in poverty and 1.79 million citizens having left the country in recent years.”

Morales concludes, “the Cuban system has collapsed. The Cuban state is dysfunctional and bankrupt. The Cuban government is mediocre and lacks leadership. The Cuban power elite is impervious to criticism. Without some kind of radical transformation to prevent or postpone it, the final collapse, by one route or another, is inevitable.”[2]

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[1] 71 years after July 26: ‘The Cuban Economy has collapsed,’ Diario  de Cuba (July 25, 2024).  Cuba Siglo 21 is “a nongovernmental think tank based in Madrid, Spain that serves the forces that promote change in Cuba towards an open, democratic and prosperous society supported by the rule of law and a free market. ” (About Cuba Siglo 21.)

[2] See also ‘Distortion’ of employment in Cuba: army of inspectors, thousands less farmers, teachers and doctors, Diario de Cuba (July 25, 2024); The regime is forced to stop falsifying data on Cuba’s demographic crisis, Diario de Cuba (July 24, 2024); Industrial devastation in Cuba is worse than the agricultural catastrophe, Diario de Cuba (July 23, 2024).