Cuba to Host Political Humor Event of Approved Artists
Cuba has been repeatedly criticized by NGOs such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch for limiting freedom of expression
HAVANA TIMES – The event, with the works of 46 artists from 22 countries, will be held from June 14 to 28, its organizers reported this Thursday at a press conference. The theme of this event will be the Fight against Neo-Fascism and will have political cartoonists from countries such as Mexico, Venezuela and France. The event, organized by the National Council of Plastic Arts and the Ministry of Culture, will feature graphic exhibitions, conversations, workshops and film screenings in cinemas in the capital.
According to the organizers, the biennial seeks to “explore in a playful way the impact of globalization and the phenomena associated with it, from a perspective of political humor.”
[As expected, satire or criticism of Cuban government policies or its leaders are off-bounds, both for foreign and local artists. Likewise, in recent years numerous Cuban artists are imprisoned or have been exiled for criticizing government censorship policies.]
Cuba has been repeatedly criticized by NGOs such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch for limiting freedom of expression in general and, in particular, limiting it on the internet (Decree 370) and on the part of its artists (Decree 349).
In May 2022, the Cuban Parliament also approved a new Criminal Code that, among other matters, includes sanctions of up to three years for those who insult senior public officials.
Cuba published, this Wednesday, in the Official Gazette its first Social Communication Law, which prohibits, among other things, the dissemination of information that can “destabilize the socialist state” both in the media and in “cyberspace.” Basically, any criticism can fall under that law.
EFE asked in the presentation of the biennial about the possibility of creating political satire of the Government or the leaders of the Communist Party of Cuba, as happens in other countries in the region.
In this regard, Aristides Hernandez, winner of the National Humor Award 2020 and part of the committee that selected the works exhibited at the event, said at the press conference that “there are always limits in humor,” regardless of “each of the spaces where it is expressed.”
“In Islamic countries it is impossible to paint a caricature against the prophet Muhammad, and in the case of Cuba there are limits in humor in relation to the historical figures of the Revolution. That type of satire does not appear in the media here or, in the case of Spain, with the kings,” he argued.
Translated by Regina Anavy for Translating Cuba.
The only answer that the Cuban regime can produce in response to the dire economic and social problems which beset their benighted country, is to increase levels of repression. Appointing the incompetent to positions of responsibility must not be criticized – or jail awaits.