Centrism in Cuba: An Old Trick Revealed (+ Photos)

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Centrism in Cuba: An Old Trick Revealed (+ Photos)
Fecha de publicación: 
28 June 2017
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CubaSi publishes the preface of the book “Centrism in Cuba: Another Twist towards Capitalism” that will be launched today via Facebook Live.

As it reads the title, this book describes that political trend with increasingly prominence in the Cuban media environment, especially after the rapprochement between Cuba and the U.S.

President Barack Obama himself acknowledged that this old policy followed by Washington against Cuba for more than 50 years had failed.

If you follow recent events, you realize that traditional counter-revolution in Cuba, created and backed by successive U.S. administrations, had disappeared from the mass media until Trump brought them to life with his recent speech and thanks to major news agencies about Cuba.

Having Venezuela as their main target, major news agencies have dedicated to speak off “thawing” and Cuba as a tourist destination in recent months. Nonetheless, this new approach does not mean that Cuba faded away from the world news panorama. Instead, Cuba has taken a secondary role especially on the Internet where allegedly independent journalists are the target of their editorial, political interests.

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Elier Ramírez visit CubaSi.

The retrograde speech of the Anti-Cuban mafia in Miami has been replaced by the portray of the Cuban reality proposed by “reformists or super revolutionaries” who seem to have discovered the absolute truth of what is happening in Cuba and what the faith of island should be.

After reading their texts, you can sense that these “centrists” —by using different literary, academic, or pure reporting styles— target a wide range of public, especially the revolutionaries. They are “experts” in highlighting their “non-confrontation” editorial line: the model of a failed socialism, pointing out its shortage, emphasizing on the economic field by comparing ours with those of developed countries.

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Likewise, they now propose formulas to rethink socialism from new political and philosophical perspectives (multiparty system, constitutional and democratic reforms, electoral system, and the leading role of the Cuba’s Communist Party).

Likewise, centrists highlight the individual frustration before the political model as well as the inability to achieve his/her goals for the future, main cause of the migration in the country.

They criticize and attack the management of Cuban revolutionary institutions, especially those owned by the State, the government, and political organizations. They explicitly drift apart from government to trigger negative stereotypes on the intended public.

In line with Obama’s speech when he visited Havana, and having in common the private sector associated to an upper-middle class (according to their wealth), this sector owns a prosperous future and set them up to the State, which is represented as an obstacle to the personal growth of individuals inside the society (they grow “despite…” and not “thanks to” the State).

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Cuban intellectuals visit Cubasi on the ocassion of the book launching: Enrique Ubieta.

They equally intend to highlight the existence of marginal spaces so they can portray a heartbreaking view caused by the abandonment and the mismanagement of the State and its institutions.

They insist on recalling and manipulate, again and again, prejudice or revolutionary measures adopted and overcome throughout time, especially issues related to homophobe (UMAP) and the cultural policy (Grey five-year period). They champion professional sports and call for the approval of laws allowing natural people and legal entities to be separated from State policies.

No need to say that these “centrists” are the champions of the so-called Third Way. A Third Way as an old trick of the bourgeois social democracy to calm the consequences of the excesses of the free market.

Paradoxically, the Third Way demands a rise in the regulation by the State of the inequality, corruption, marginalization, and other ills in the Capitalism. Meanwhile, these “centrists” look for an augment in the power of the market for the small or large private enterprise as compensation of the State power and excessive inclusion of Socialism. In two words, more capitalism.

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Iroel Sanchez in Cubasi

But the “centrists” of the “Third Way” behave as inconsistently as an alleged impartiality in their publications. That press picks their information, which usually tackles negative elements. Talking about journalism, these “focused journalists and intellectuals” justify their “essential” informative mission with the “information gaps” of the revolutionary press. Actually, disoriented to the right, it is logical that they fill the agenda of the propaganda siege against the island. Therefore, they collaborate, consciously or not, with the oldest and most efficient of all Empire strategies: divide and rule.

It is hardly surprising that these “correspondents” attend to courses in countries like the U.S., Germany, or Netherlands; countries that seem to be worried about the information Cubans should receive. If the traditional counter-revolution —and some “centrists” as Raul Capote revealed in his article— was entertained by the USIS in Havana with dinners and meetings, the “centrists” are now having dinner in embassies that had never been worried about Cuba before. If there is an international delegation visit, there go the “centrists” to perform the welcoming ceremony and received a tap on their shoulders. Thus, these people pose as private political intermediaries.

Without apparent cause, some “centrists” reacted badly to Trump’s speech last June 16th. Two days after the speech, an AP press release noted: “When former U.S. President Barack Obama announced the restoration of the Cuba-U.S. relations in 2014, hundreds of people were encouraged to undertake press projects, private business like restaurants and guesthouses.”

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Javier Gómez, accompanied by Giusette León, Journalist of Cubasi

Trump, by the way, championed —like Obama did— the help to the private sector (the “independent” media belong to this sector) despite his confrontation speech. And like centrists, he opposed State and Armed Forces from the people, as if they were antagonists.

This anthology of texts under the tile “Centrism in Cuba: Another twist towards Capitalism” deals with it and much more. This is a collection of 19 news articles published in blogs or Cuban media that we believe paramount to describe how the centrist option is being intended to create a mindset in the people. We also try to unmask the “new” trick with which they pretend to cause confusion among revolutionary readers.

As ebook, “Centrism in Cuba: Another Twist towards Capitalism” is a book on the making. Thus, this is a first look to the subject that may increase the number of pages or being printed or better; serve as a source for an audiovisual work.

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Diaz / CubaSi Translation Staff

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