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The official organ of the Communist Party of Cuba, Granma, published a text this Monday that, at first glance, appears to be an informational release regarding the proliferation of the mosquito Aedes aegypti and the spread of arboviruses in the country.
But one only needs to read between the lines— or rather, between the silences— to understand that this is not a journalistic exercise aimed at informing, but rather a carefully crafted political message: to cushion the blow, preserve impunity, and shift the responsibility of the state onto the citizens.
The piece starts with a phrase that could have been a crack in the official discourse: “The responsibility is not solely that of the Health system, but requires an organized social mobilization to reduce infestation rates.”
The statement promises a reflection on institutional responsibility, but the promise lasts only as long as it takes to read.
The article, authored by the journalist Wennys Díaz Ballaga, never revisits that idea. There is no analysis of the mistakes made by the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP), nor of its structural failures, nor of the ineffectiveness of its health control campaigns.
The brief acknowledgment in the article's introduction of a “responsibility not exclusive to the Health system” evaporates into thin air, as if it were included merely to simulate self-criticism and defuse external criticism.
A propaganda operation
More than just informing, the text from Granma serves a political function: to shield the MINSAP, protect the minister José Ángel Portal Miranda —increasingly absent from public debate— and maintain the narrative that Cubans share responsibility for the disaster.
The technique is well-known: turning the victim into the guilty party. Instead of being held accountable or acknowledging shortcomings, the regime's media apparatus reproduces a manual of "shared responsibility" that, in practice, shares nothing at all.
According to this logic, the epidemic is not a result of a lack of planning, budget cuts, corruption, or institutional neglect, but rather the carelessness of families who do not clean their water tanks or who do not allow the fumigators to enter.
It is a rhetorical pattern that the regime has used for decades: evading accountability and reframing its own failures as supposed shortcomings of the people.
The "organized social mobilization" that Granma demands is not a civic call, but rather a command for obedience. The State absolves itself of responsibilities while demanding discipline and silence in exchange for survival.
The Invisible Minister and the Obedient Press
While millions of Cubans are asking where José Ángel Portal Miranda —the political head of the health system— is, the official press is acting as a smokescreen.
Not a mention of the minister. Not a reference to his absence. Not a word about his obligation to explain why the country is facing an unprecedented health crisis.
In any other context, the media would hold their authorities accountable. In Cuba, the media are the authorities. Granma does not investigate, it absolves; it does not scrutinize, it justifies.
The state press operates as a communication department of the Communist Party, dedicated not to informing but to protecting those who should be accountable to the public.
Strategy of Disengagement from Responsibility
The article from the official mouthpiece is a paradigmatic example of the propaganda mechanism the regime employs in times of crisis: partially acknowledging a problem only to then dilute it among a mass of diffuse culprits.
It is the old tactic of "we are all responsible," which actually means "no one in power is."
Thus, the MINSAP does not provide accountability, the minister does not appear, Miguel Díaz-Canel does not acknowledge the magnitude of the disaster, and the population —already worn out by shortages, hunger, and blackouts— ends up bearing the blame for a health emergency that they did not cause.
Between Silence and Coercion
What Granma calls "social mobilization" is, in essence, a strategy of control. It is not about participation, but obedience; not about shared responsibility, but imposition.
The text reminds us that fumigation is "mandatory" and that refusing it constitutes a crime. This warning, embedded in the article, reveals the true spirit of the message: the State does not engage in dialogue; it issues orders.
Transparency and accountability, mentioned in passing, are concepts foreign to the political practice of the regime. Instead, the official machinery prefers preventive propaganda: feigning concern to defuse criticism, instilling fear to ensure control.
Meanwhile, the epidemiological crisis is worsening and the Cuban people, once again, are left without answers. Because in present-day Cuba, when the State should provide explanations, it issues orders instead. And when it should take responsibility, it shifts the blame.
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