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The Ministry of the Interior (MININT) enthusiastically announced the holding of another Vocational Training Festival this Wednesday at the Mártires de Girón Polytechnic in Playa, Havana, with the promise that children and young people "will be able to learn about our specialties."
According to a publication by MININT on its Facebook profile, this event will allow adolescents and young people to explore "study options and professional development," which is nothing more than a façade for the government's true intent: to recruit new enforcers to keep the machinery of social control in Cuba intact.
The official notice urges Cuban families to take their children to meet the "Brave Souls" of MININT, although in reality this initiative aims to attract, from an early age, those who could become the ones responsible for monitoring the population in the future.
According to the statement, this initiative will allow for "enjoying exhibitions of media and techniques, skill demonstrations, book sales from the Capitán San Luis Publishing House, contests, and participation games."
The event, presented by the authorities as educational and recreational, comes amid a deep social and economic crisis on the island, where hundreds of people remain in prison for expressing their political views.
The indoctrination and political propaganda of the Cuban regime operate on various fronts and levels, reaching from educational institutions to youth military recruitment.
One of the most recent examples is the National Bastion of the Federation of Secondary Education Students (FEEM), promoted by the Ministry of Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR).
This event seeks to instill in adolescents the doctrine of the "War of All the People," presenting military training as an educational activity. According to the official version, young people will "learn about the missions of the FAR and the operation of military units," which reinforces the regime's militaristic narrative and perpetuates the fear of external enemies as justification for internal control.
The political-ideological work is also strengthened in the university setting. In a national workshop with leaders from the 40 universities in the country, the regime prioritized ideological training over critical thinking and scientific research.
Topics such as confronting the "imperialist enemy," the struggle against "cultural colonization," and the control of discourse on social media were addressed. This demonstrates how the state machinery seeks to ensure the loyalty of students in a context where access to independent information poses a threat to the official narrative.
The indoctrination is not limited to higher education. At more basic levels, the regime has intensified political propaganda in school textbooks, ensuring that children receive an ideologically charged education from an early age. These materials include the glorification of figures such as Fidel Castro, Ernesto Guevara, and Miguel Díaz-Canel, as well as a narrative that portrays the Communist Party as the sole guarantor of the country’s future.
On the other hand, religion has not been exempt from this strategy. In a Christian church in Havana, a captain from the Revolutionary Armed Forces gave talks to children about military life, normalizing the presence of the army in spaces that have traditionally been separated from state politics. This case highlights how the regime takes advantage of any institution with direct access to citizens to reinforce its ideological control.
These examples reflect that the propaganda and indoctrination of the Cuban regime are not isolated efforts, but rather a systematic strategy to ensure control over future generations, using education, militarization, and even religion as key tools to perpetuate its dominance.
Frequently Asked Questions about Indoctrination and Militarization in Cuba
What is the Vocational Training Festival organized by MININT in Cuba?
The Vocational Training Festival organized by the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) in Cuba is an event that presents itself as an opportunity for young people to explore study and professional development options. However, the true intention of the event is to recruit future regime guards, thereby reinforcing social control on the island. These types of events are part of a broader strategy of indoctrination and political propaganda aimed at the new generations.
How does childhood indoctrination manifest in Cuba?
Child indoctrination in Cuba manifests through various activities aimed at instilling the regime's ideology from an early age. Examples include military events in schools and activities in churches, where military life is normalized among children. These efforts are part of a systematic strategy to ensure loyalty to the regime and perpetuate its ideological control over future generations.
What role do religious institutions play in indoctrination in Cuba?
In Cuba, some religious institutions have been used as platforms for regime indoctrination. Churches, for example, have allowed military activities in their facilities, such as instruction to children about military life by officers of the Revolutionary Armed Forces. This represents a concerning alliance between the State and certain religious entities to promote the regime's ideals among the youth.
What reactions have been generated by militarization and indoctrination on social media?
The militarization and indoctrination in Cuba have sparked reactions of rejection on social media. Users have criticized the alliance between churches and the regime, and have questioned the practices that contradict religious values by promoting military ideology among children. The criticisms also focus on the lack of ethics in using supposedly apolitical spaces for state propaganda.
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