I’ve always thought that “a cult of personality” is a way of stupefying a country’s citizens. Achievements are exaggerated, mistakes and repressive measures are hidden, civil servants are put on a pedestal…
Read MoreEven today, many Cubans still define themselves as fidelistas in spite of political stagnation which is representative of so many years in power and so many economic mistakes such as the sugar harvest in 1970, declining cattle and agricultural production, nationalizing small businesses, non-payment of outstanding external debt or instituting two currencies.
Read MoreI am glad that Rafael Rojas responded to my review of his book Fighting Over Fidel. Unfortunately, however, his reply practically ignored my main arguments and almost exclusively concerned itself with the least important points of my review.
Read MoreI woke up worried today because I want to take my family out for the day and get away from all of this a little but I don’t know how. They want to go to the beach but my bicycle can’t carry us all: we’re five in total.
Read MoreThe immediate reaction to the moral collapse evidenced by the Ortega government in Nicaragua is a growing political apathy among the population. Nevertheless, although it may seem contradictory, this represents a delusive preface to a phase of fluctuation already latent in the struggles of the masses.
Read MoreIf I had the opportunity to speak with someone between the Pope, Obama, the best soccer player or singer at the time, any other celebrity and Guillermo Farinas Hernandez, I would choose the latter without a second of doubt.
Read MoreEvery historian makes mistakes. Historian Samuel Farber makes very few and that’s why his books, such as The Origins of the Cuban Revolution (2006) are compulsory reading texts in contemporary historiography. However, I’m afraid I can’t say the same thing about Samuel Farber as a reviewer.
Read MoreIn politics, there are many kinds of extremists, but the most despicable are those who go looking to earn merit, applying the orders that come from above with the utmost rigor. It doesn’t matter what the cost is at the expense of the population as long as they are able to climb the ladder to a better position.
Read MoreI was born across Havana Bay in Regla, where I lived until I got married. Baptized “The Little Mountain” by the then president Fidel Castro, it was a beautiful, well-maintained and happy town.
Read MoreIt’s sad to see so much intelligence and talent tied to childlike servility. Or: how sad it is to see so much intelligence and talent diminished by a black and white lens! It’s one of the two…
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