All headlines on the Communist Party of Cuba’s 8th Parliament declare a possible “leadership change.” But even if anyone wants to believe it, everything about it is a scam.
Scams start with language:
It’s not a party. The Communist Party of Cuba is not an organization of individuals that organizes to win elections like other political parties. In fact, they have never run for election. All other political parties are banned on the island. The Constitution puts party members on the nation and society forever. The party, whose members claim to be 10 percent of Cuba’s population, has no real say in the nomination of their leaders. The party director is not even like the late Soviet Politburo. It was created solely to serve the will of Fidel and Raul Castro.
The President of Cuba is not the President. Miguel Diaz-Canel was not elected by the public to enforce and enforce the law. Rather, he was appointed by Raul Castro to the face of a government civilian and had no real power to make important decisions.
It wasn’t Congress. This month, the Communist Party’s Eighth Parliament was the place where the expected changes in command took place, not a convention where members gathered to elect leaders and adopt a particular platform. Rather, a “meeting” was a meeting in which all decisions were pre-determined. Attendees were there just to accept what was ordered. The rest of the Cuban citizens have been completely excluded from the “superior control” decision-making process imposed on Cuban society.
Finally, it’s not a change. As declared in the headline, a change in leadership only changes the president’s nameplate. The real power lies in the Castro family, moving on to the next generation, including Raul’s former son-in-law, Luis Lopez Cajehas, Raul’s son, Alejandro Castro Espin, and to some extent overseeing several chiefs. I am. A strong military business conglomerate that manages Cuban intelligence. They are trying to turn civilians into a military-run nation in Cuba.
Some even speculate that Diaz Cannell will be Gorbachev in Cuba. But it’s naive, and even more so than Nicolas Maduro could have been a reformer after Hugo Chavez. Over the past few years, political crackdowns have increased and new legislation has penalized freedom of expression and entrepreneurship. For example, the 2019 Telecommunications Decree penalizes social media posts condemning the administration’s injustice. The new constitution, imposed a few months ago, establishes “the right to fight through armed combat against what is intended” to change the rules of the one-party communist regime.
At the same time, there were few moments when the Castro dictatorship was very vulnerable. Decades of financial failure have created a serious humanitarian crisis. Venezuela’s oil loss, pandemic, tourism revenue loss, and currency reform have plunged the country into food shortages and despair. In addition, the administration has implemented inflation-causing foreign currency exchange to maintain all hard currencies entering the island, making survival difficult for many Cuban families.
They know that there will be no positive change from those in power, let alone the party convention. Only people can save people. In March alone, there were over 180 protests on the streets of Cuba. The administration’s reply was more oppression and more violence. In the words of OAS General Secretary Luis Almagro, “The dictatorship of Havana applies state terrorism to its citizens.”
On April 15, thousands of Cubans lit candles, carried mobile phones and flashlights in non-violent protests at party conventions.The· Luz de Alarma —Warning lights — Protests promoted by the Cuban decision initiative illuminated the neighborhood to claim that the leader of the Communist Party could not decide the future of the country for the people.
Democratic change in Cuba begins only when basic human rights are guaranteed and there is a real possibility for citizens to participate.
Now that Fidel has left and Raul has retreated, he and his heirs behind the entire masquerade of the Communist Party Congress are relocating the Titanic deckchairs. No matter how weak the dictatorship is, it does more than voluntarily give way to the transition to democratization. Need to push. As recent history has shown, citizens cannot stand alone against criminal groups that hold totalitarian power. We also need the support of the international community.
The United States needs to be careful not to ease pressure on the Cuban administration when it can have consequences. The Biden administration, the European Union, and the entire free world support our demand to take the opportunity to stand by the Cuban people and determine our legitimate rights and our future.
Rosa Maria Payá is the daughter of the late Cuban dissident Oswald Paya..