Osmel Ramirez Alvarez

It has been very rare for any leader in any country in the world to be in power for such a long period of time, like Raul Castro has had, to try and convert their projects into reality. It’s been over a decade if we add the two years of his interim government (2006-2008); and we still haven’t even seen the tip of the “progress iceberg” in the never-ending ocean of Cuban poverty.

Of course I’m afraid. I took it from my people who are used to fearing the aggressive system and with due reason. Luckily, this fear doesn’t paralyze me and my desire, my civility and my sense of honor to be useful to my country, in the sense that Marti once pointed out.

The need for change in Cuba is widely accepted by everyone. The Communists in power and their followers believe that this should just be a shift of tactics, a superficial revision so as to improve the same path. The opposition to this believes that it should be a more profound process, working towards democracy and a freer market.

Welcome peace; welcome unlimited trade; welcome Europe with your good intentions: I hope that your trade agreements won’t leave us completely alone in our fight for a better, more prosperous and democratic Cuba.

When we watch the country’s economic news on Cuban TV or read about it in Granma, we have the delightful impression that everything is going well. Tourism is booming, the Mariel mega-port is promising good business prospects; investments made in agriculture are already yielding fruit, etc.

Fidel passed away on a day that was, by chance, very close to the day that I had already planned to travel to Havana. Before leaving, I could sense the impact of such an important event in Mayari (in Cuba’s East) and now, almost instinctively, I can sense the same feeling in the capital city.

The Cuban government was highly critical of Obama’s moves to improve relations, considering them not going far enough. The sign reads: Normalization is not synonymous for blockading.

According to radical socialists, the course of our destiny is to insist on the same model and to make concessions to Capitalism but just as a temporary measure, which they will then be overcome once conditions are more favorable. According to extremist liberals, all we need is democracy, a multi-party system and liberal capitalism, because everything will be miraculously fixed with these magic ingredients. For moderates, there are many different options.

I recently watched a news report on the Buenos Dias (Good Morning) show on Cuban TV, that was as funny as it was unbelievable. A farmer from the Manjana neighborhood in Baracoa attributed the protection of his flimsy home against Hurricane Matthew to Che Guevara.