A Smidgeon of Courage Would Be Enough

(Concerning the Communist Party Conference in Cuba)

Erasmo Calzadilla

HAVANA TIMES, Jan 29 — In 1976, the Cuban people (or what appeared to be the majority) committed the political blunder of passing a constitutional referendum conceding supreme power to a single party.

Article 5 of the “law of laws” states:  The Communist Party of Cuba, a follower of Marti’s ideas and of Marxism-Leninism, and the organized vanguard of the Cuban nation, is the highest leading force of society and of the state, which organizes and guides the common effort toward the goals of the construction of socialism and the progress toward a communist society.

Unfortunately the damage has already been done. The important thing now is to correct it so that (seeing if we can) the helm of the nation finally falls into the hands of the self-organized people.

Let’s say that in ‘76 we weren’t ready, that we needed a tutor – let’s just accept that ridiculous idea for one second.

Assuming this, let’s ask one question: What has the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) done over all of those years to promote the transfer of power to its rightful holders?

To the contrary, the top leaders of the PCC have taken every little chance to consolidate their own personal rule with weak institutions, a situation that threatens to sink us into chaos or allow us to fall under another iron fist (neoliberal? military?) once they’re no longer among the living .

Therefore, with regard to the Party Conference that’s currently being held, I invite any Cuban with any bit of self-esteem to think about how to rectify this nonsense, how to get rid of that burden that is crippling the civic and economic development of the nation and of course act accordingly.

For now, the notion of active peaceful resistance doesn’t seem like a bad idea.