Dialogue / Miriam Celaya
Miriam Celaya, Translator: Unstated
(Article originally publishes in Diario de Cuba, 14 May 2022.)
I recently wrote an article published in this Journal, which, to my
satisfaction, has provoked several controversial comments. I say this is
satisfactory, because several decades of absence of public debate in
Cuban society, has contributed greatly to the lack of solutions to
problems that have multiplied to create a general stagnation. Thus, any
outbreak of discussions about events and proposals on the current
reality of the island can only encourage a climate of change or at least
spread the idea of its necessity.
It is for this reason that I return to the same subject, more with the
intention of addressing the emergence of a phenomenon that–whether some
readers like it or not–is happening, and which must be considered if we
want to objectively analyze the social present in Cuba and not incur the
pattern of exclusions and subdivisions
(revolutionaries/counterrevolutionaries, patriots/traitors,
Cubans/anti-Cubans, etc.) that have been so useful to the government.
All process of change is preceded by certain manifestations of thought,
apparently isolated, the majority of them spontaneous, that have the
virtue of unleashing events not always directly derived from the initial
action, but equally related to the social environment shared by diverse
groups and sectors with specific interests. So, for example, the
beginning of the alternative blogosphere–taking as the date the birth of
the blog "Generation Y" on the Desde Cuba website and with relative
rapidity extended within the Island–could be related to a phenomenon
that preceded it, the Intellectual Debate, although the former is not
exactly a consequence of the latter.
The truth is that both events, the Debate and the blogosphere, are part
of a social environment in common, a few months after the Proclamation
that "provisionally" passed power from one Castro to another, when a
strong expectation of change emerged and dominated general sentiment, a
mix of hope and uncertainty.
While the first phenomenon had an ephemeral character, the second has
been extended and strengthened in the last four years: the Debate,
however–that came to public attention as "The Email Skirmish"–was the
first visible manifestation of a wave of virtual debated that far
exceeded the initial topic of discussion (the presence on national
television of certain sinister censors of the culture), to the point of
seriously questioning the cultural politics of the Revolution and other
deeply-rooted aspects of the Cuban reality. Obviously, in February 2007
the authorities could not silence by way of a meeting–with entrance by
invitation-only and behind closed doors at the Casa de las Americas,
under the supervision of the Minister of Culture–the expression of the
growing dissatisfaction of many intellectuals, writers, artists and
other sectors of society. Since that time, independent of the incident
that provoked the beginning of the debates and the "official closure"
given to the process, nothing was the same: they had opened a Pandora's
box of public opinion, although, in the absence of other possible
scenarios, the debates had taken place on the virtual web.
barely two months after the smothering of the Debate, the alternative
blogosphere began. A quick look evidences several basic elements of this
phenomenon: its essential spontaneous and independent character; the
variety of its composition, be it in the themes of the blogs, in the
generational differences among the bloggers, and the individual
interests and styles; the rapidity of its growth and its ability to
multiply, maintain itself and evolve qualitatively despite the
proverbial limitations of connecting to the Internet in Cuba and the
harassment by the authorities. It is a heterogeneous and peculiar
phenomenon, differentiated from any previous civic manifestations, but
not divorced from them.
Meanwhile, in recent years, other virtual spaces have began to emerge,
which may not be as independent or spontaneous, but which are also
opinion sites. Perhaps, in turn, these spaces wouldn't have been
possible without the antecedent of the alternative blogosphere; in any
event, some of their creators have been expressly designated by the
ideologues of the system to confront the limited, but quietly growing
influence of some of these alternative blogs. That the authorities have
been forced to allow official or pseudo-official opinion spaces is quite
an achievement, whether their pretensions are to weaken the development
of civil society within Cuba, to impede the free flow of information and
debates, or simply to confuse permeable and indecisive sectors.
It's because of this that, even if they have reservations about the
appearance of "revolutionary dissidents" on the virtual Cuban spectrum,
that don't consider it prudent to slam the door on such offers. It
wouldn't be healthy to call for dialog and at the same time yield to
mistrust. It is clear that there will always be opportunists and
camouflaged agents, but those are the ones we should be capable of
identifying. We don't fall into the temptation of repeating the pattern
that we reject. These and other new spaces could offer the possibility
of building bridges and fomenting civic discussions among Cubans of
different trends of thought.
Although to many of us it may sound like heresy, it is likely that among
the new "revolutionary" critics are not only the usual dogmatic
characters, now disguised as reformists, but also young thinkers who
could well contribute to a national dialog and a transition based on
respect for differences and the inclusion of all social groups of the
most diverse interests. My proposal is, then, to accept the challenge:
to launch our ideas and aspirations; to engage in an inclusive,
transparent and open debate; to make visible our differences and to
offer arguments against slogans. After half a century of sterile
barricades, we have nothing to lose and much to gain.
May 20 2011
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