Erasmo Calzadilla’s Diary

Some days ago, I watched a video showing an anti-government protest (and the subsequent public reprisal) staged by the Union Patriotica de Cuba (Cuban Patriotic Union, or UNPACU). I was positively impressed by the civility, intelligence and courage shown by the members of this organization.

Cubans without access to the Internet traffic information on USB flash drives. A video showing a protest staged by the Union Patriotica de Cuba (Cuban Patriotic Union, or UNPACU) – an organization of the opposition that is strong in the country’s east – reached me through one of these.

Every July, when the summer break starts, the city’s dump-sites fill up with notebooks thrown out by student’s who’ve finished the school year. They believe, and not without reason, that the notes they have jotted down in class are as good as garbage.

Now that I am devoid of an Internet connection, I take advantage of my free time to survey the neighborhood from my balcony. The most interesting elements in sight are afforded us by nature: the changing tonalities of the sea, the always-green tree canopies and the daily traffic of people.

History is one of the things I’m passionate about lately. I don’t mean the historical, historiographical or philosophical analysis of facts. I mean a rather odd obsession with jotting down dates in a kind of diary / chronology I’ve been keeping.

Since 2012 and following a consistent rise in incidence, cancer has been the chief cause of death in Cuba. The public officials responsible for divulging this news have assured us this doesn’t have to do with the spread of the condition but with a decrease in the incidence of the former main cause of death: heart conditions.

In my previous post, I exposed the lies and half-truths about the state of cancer in Cuba divulged by high government officials. These officials have made an effort to convey a false image of control over this condition, an image than can be refuted with the most elementary of statistics.

In 2012, cancer was reported to be among the main causes of death in Cuba, after several years of a less disquieting trend. It is frightening to think that one out of four Cubans currently die of this condition. The World Health Organization claims we are one of the most severely affected countries in Latin America.

Marino Murillo has always struck me as a contemptuous person. The arrogance with which he speaks before the legislature, the self-confidence with which he addresses the thorny issues, and his body language, place him somewhere between a domineering public official and a neighborhood butcher.