Lis Cuesta reappeared as a protocol figure representing the Cuban regime, this time to welcome Mónica Geingos, former First Lady of Namibia, who made a courtesy visit to Havana to strengthen ties on issues of health, education, and gender equality.
Dressed in an eye-catching printed suit and escorted by the Secretary General of the Federation of Cuban Women, Teresa Amarelle Boué, Cuesta led the welcome for Geingos at the headquarters of the official organization, once again taking on the role of First Lady, despite having publicly stated that this position "does not exist in Cuba" and considers it a patriarchal structure.
The gesture did not go unnoticed. While Namibia's official press highlighted the "shared commitment" between Cuba and the African nation, Cuesta's image as the diplomatic host sparked renewed criticism regarding her ambiguous presence in the Cuban public sphere.
Despite denying being the First Lady in recent interviews, her presence at state events and international tours has been constant since the arrival of Díaz-Canel to power in 2018.
Insluco, en mayo de 2022, durante la visita oficial del expresidente mexicano Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2018-2024), el propio Díaz-Canel interrupted the protocol to correct the presenter Froilán Arencibia en vivo por televisión nacional:
"Neither in Mexico nor in Cuba do we have First Ladies. They are the wives who work in their jobs, and on the side, they make their appearances with us...”, said the Cuban leader, generating applause and highlighting the discomfort of the official communicator. Despite this clarification, Cuesta has continued to informally assume that role, as evidenced by this recent diplomatic visit.
For her part, Mónica Geingos, a lawyer, entrepreneur, and academic with a respected track record on the African continent, took the opportunity during her visit to express gratitude for the support she received following the death of her husband, the former Namibian president Hage Geingob. Currently the rector of a university center in Rwanda, Geingos has been acknowledged for her work in governance, economic development, and gender equality.
The contrast between the two women is striking. While Geingos built a strong and independent professional career before, during, and after her time in the presidency alongside Geingob, Cuesta has faced significant criticism for occupying public spaces without a clear official role, in addition to being involved in controversial episodes on social media.
Just remember when, amid the energy crisis of 2022, he tweeted that he had his “heart in scrubbing mode”, or when he referred to Díaz-Canel as “the dictator of my heart”, generating a wave of outrage and memes.
This is compounded by the increasing public scrutiny surrounding his son, Manuel Anido Cuesta, who has accompanied Díaz-Canel on official trips, and whose relationship with actress Ana de Armas has further fueled suspicions of nepotism and privilege amid widespread discontent on the island.
Although Cuesta insists that there is no need to “stay behind closed doors”, the truth is that her presence at diplomatic activities like this contradicts her own discourse and fuels the perception of a Cuban political elite that operates under its own rules, while the majority of Cubans face daily hardships.
The meeting with Geingos served, at the very least, to reveal another layer of Cuban political theater: one in which, despite the denial of titles, roles are performed with all the pomp that the official narrative aims to reject.
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