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The life sentence imposed on the former Minister of Economy and Planning of Cuba Alejandro Gil Fernández has generated a wave of public questioning, such as that of the writer and humorist Jorge Fernández Era, who denounced the political, opaque, and manipulative nature of the judicial process conducted against the ousted leader.
Fernández Era recalled that back in December 2020, he directly warned Gil, whom he has known since they were both children, about the failure of the so-called Ordering, the institutional paralysis, and the passivity of the National Assembly in response to government decisions.
At that moment, he questioned how it was possible for a parliament "that claims to represent us" to be unable to exert the slightest pressure or oversight on policies that affected the entire population.
Now, after learning of the sentence, the writer claims that the ruling has little to do with the pursuit of justice and much to do with the government's need to create a "useful scapegoat" to cover up the economic collapse and the moral decay of the system.
"It has been the scapegoat that they use to cast a veil of 'legality' over the moral and ethical degradation caused by the irreversible crisis that the Island is suffering," he denounced on Facebook.
Era criticized the official silence during a year and a half of the process, and then, "in a maneuver of distraction and manipulation" by the regime, aligned the prosecution's accusation with the turmoil caused by Hurricane Melissa, and a month later, announced the verdict amidst the energy crisis.
The life sentence, announced by the Supreme Court, accuses Gil of espionage, corruption, bribery, forgery of public documents, influence peddling, tax evasion, and other crimes related to the handling of classified information.
But for Fernández Era, the official rhetoric is fraught with deliberately designed gaps to avoid the government's accountability.
In his post, he directly questions the allegations: What personal benefits did Gil obtain? Which foreign companies are involved? Which public officials did he bribe? Why weren't they prosecuted as well?
It also highlights the contradiction between portraying the former minister as a "lone supervillain" and the fact that no oversight body—including the Comptroller's Office—detected any irregularities for years.
The intellectual describes the official claim that Gil "deceived the country's leadership" as "laughable," and even recalled a public congratulation from Miguel Díaz-Canel himself regarding the minister's supposed dedication.
In their view, this type of formulation aims to protect the state leadership by depicting Gil as an all-powerful infiltrator, while the rest of the political structure is exempt from any responsibility.
"If it was proven in court that he made classified official information 'available to enemy services,' isn't this an opportunity to expose how the neighbor to the north operates? What prevents providing details to the public, the main victim of the former minister's excesses?" asks Era.
"Ten million Cubans could testify in a truly fair trial where the entire Government would be in the dock, but the vast judicial and police apparatus only acts when those in power give the orders," he added.
In conclusion, the comedian asserts that the Cuban state is "corrupt by DNA" since 1959, as it does not hold itself accountable to the citizens, and that the "useless" National Assembly "prostitutes itself in a continuous act of vassalage."
"We live poorly (...) in a country designed for leaders, in their 'consecration,' to shape things as they please and thrash about like drowning people to stay at the top. So that power can perpetuate itself without chains," he asserted.
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