Haroldo Dilla

In an authoritarian system with increasing doses of market freedoms, a system which, at the same time, begins to put aside its commitments to ensure the widespread wellbeing of the population, information cannot be handled as it was administered under the former system of centralized planning.

At first glance, President Raul Castro’s address to the Cuban Parliament, where he announced a crusade against “the culture of social indiscipline that has taken root in our society”, is simply impertinent and rather cynical. Being poorly fed is serious enough without having to bear the additional insult of being labeled “uncouth”.

Recently, Cuban-born political analyst Carlos Alberto Montaner published an article titled Education and Cynicism. The article aims to discredit Chile’s student movement and its calls for the de-commercialization of education, not by analyzing the political coordinates of the phenomenon (something which would have proven immensely interesting), but from a moralistic and dogmatically neo-liberal perspective.

There is at least one similarity between the way in which the fortresses of old organized their defensive structures and the manner in which some contemporary political regimes, like the one in Cuba, protect themselves.

For Cuba, this could mean a qualitative leap forward, not only economically, but politically as well. Such a commercial route could become an incentive for the gradual normalization of relations between Cuba and the United States.

One can get a sense of the direction that things are moving in Cuba by looking at how a number of intellectuals on the island have begun to flirt with the idea of a “loyal opposition.” But a loyal opposition does not limit itself to softening the sting of power’s ill-conceived policies.

The recent international tours of several prominent Cuban dissidents have been meticulously documented by the world’s media. I think this has been very positive. It allowed these individuals to come into contact with an entire sector of Cuban society which does not reside on the island.

All elites cultivate their own distinction on the basis of their history and power. When Cuba’s Sierra Maestra rebels took power, they began to construct theirs. This emerging elite sets itself apart from its predecessor through its luxurious lifestyle.

The news surrounding the Cuban Film Industry Institute (ICAIC) is an indication of the changes that Cuba’s political system is experiencing, of how the State’s absolute hold on culture begins to weaken and new, autonomous spaces with a lot to say to society begin to emerge.

When someone holding a Cuban passport goes through an airport, they draw the undivided attention of its immigration officers, for he/she is seen, not as a run-of-the-mill traveler, but as a potential illegal immigrant. Likewise, Cuban consulates abroad are seldom equipped to offer services to help nationals.