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Lis Cuesta Peraza, wife of the Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel, reappeared this Friday on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) with a message that has been interpreted as yet another exercise in official propaganda.
Far from sending words of encouragement wrapped in human warmth or a gesture of solidarity with the victims of Hurricane Melissa— which devastated several provinces in the eastern part of the country— the "not-first lady" of the Cuban regime took the opportunity to beat the drum of the so-called "revolution."
“There is no hurricane stronger than the will of this people. The East has once again demonstrated what we are: love, courage, and Revolution,” wrote Cuesta Peraza, accompanying her post with a tweet from the Palace highlighting her husband's empty words about the “feat of surviving the monstrous Hurricane Melissa, explainable only by the organization, unity, and will of all.”
The tweet from Dr. Cuesta Peraza, who defended her thesis with a Ballon Bleu de Cartier watch worth over 13,000 dollars, comes after several days of notable silence, while thousands of Cubans are facing material losses, destroyed homes, and prolonged power outages.
During that time, many internet users were asking on social media where Lis Cuesta, a native of Holguín, one of the areas hardest hit by the hurricane, was. Would she be with "her heart in wipe mode," or preparing an auction of her jewelry to help those affected?
Well, no, the organizer of exclusive events and luxury banquets chose to keep a low profile during the hurricane, remaining silent amid the howl of the winds, and reemerged days after the tragedy to chant her litany of "love, courage, and revolution."
As was to be expected, his message sparked a wave of criticism and mockery among Cuban internet users, who pointed out the triumphalist and hollow tone of a post that repeats the clichés of revolutionary propaganda while the country is enduring a humanitarian crisis.
"While Hurricane Melissa was passing, you disappeared until yesterday. Stop saying it’s love @liscuestacuba. You abandoned the Cuban people and there are still many left without support. Your revolution is crap. Shameless!" replied a user.
Meanwhile, the images circulating from the East show torn roofs, flooded towns, and families who have lost everything. In this context, Cuesta Peraza's words—more akin to the script of the state news than to the reality of the disaster—further reinforce the perception of a political elite disconnected from the daily lives of the Cuban people.
On the island, her figure has become a symbol of privilege and propaganda. Although the regime insists that Cuba has no "First Lady," Cuesta Peraza acts as one: she accompanies her husband on international tours, leads cultural events, and appears on social media to amplify the regime's messages.
After Melissa, her reappearance brought neither comfort nor concrete help, but rather another display of the triumphant rhetoric with which the decaying totalitarian power of the dictatorship attempts to mask the devastation the country is enduring.
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