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The Catholic priest Alberto Reyes Pías made a new and strong reflection on the situation in Cuba, in which he openly questions the Government's response to the recent popular protests.
In a post shared on Facebook, Reyes points out that, alongside repression, institutional indifference has become one of the most persistent mechanisms of power to address social discontent.
The Camagüey parish priest, known for his critical stance, asserts that one of the regime's methods in response to any manifestation of dissent is to ignore it.
In the face of the accumulating problems: the rise of viruses, the health crisis, the collapse of the education system, inflation... the Government seems to be staring into the void, and if it responds, it resorts to evasive answers and slogans.
Father Reyes focuses his reflection on how the authorities have responded to the recent popular protests in various parts of the country.
It denounces that the protests have been officially downplayed, reduced to a mere annoyance caused by "a few individuals" due to the blackouts, and stripped of their true political and social significance.
"And to conclude the official evasive speech, the perfect note: 'We are working to provide the answers that the people deserve.' In other words, go back home, endure, hold on, don’t complain, because the situation isn’t really that bad, and besides, we will resolve everything very soon," he criticized sarcastically.
For this priest, reality cannot be nullified by decrees or speeches. And the Cuban reality is clear: the people want a change.
In concluding his reflection, he issues a direct warning: ignoring the people is neither a sustainable nor a good, just, or safe solution. The voice of the people remains, and history shows that silencing it does not eliminate the problem; it only worsens it.
Next, CiberCuba fully reproduces the text of Priest Alberto Reyes:
"I have been thinking... (140) by Alberto Reyes Pías"
I have been thinking about 'ignoring' as a response
Each social movement adopts its own style for confronting the various situations it encounters. Since the onset of the 'Revolution,' two mechanisms have been consistently implemented over the years: ignoring and repressing.
We are already very familiar with repression. It is activated suddenly in response to any situation that threatens the stability of the system.
The other mechanism is non-response. Public alarms are raised in light of the increase in viruses and the deaths they are causing; there are no medications, no ambulance services, and no doctors in many parts of the island; there are no teachers to educate our children, and the imbalance between salaries and the cost of living continues to grow uncontrollably... but when we look to the Government for an answer, it feels as if we encounter a tableau of smiling faces gazing into the void, and when they deign to speak to us, it seems they look at us with curiosity and say things like: 'Haven't you realized that the blame for everything lies with the blockade?', 'Don't you still trust that the Revolution will resolve everything?', 'Why the laziness when what we need to do here is resist and endure like true men and women?'.
The latest chapter has been the recent popular protests, protests that have occurred in various parts of the country and continue to multiply.
However, it turns out that these demonstrations 'cannot be classified as protests,' but rather as a 'momentary and very specific expression of discomfort led by a few people annoyed by 'just' 17 hours without power.'
Moreover, it seems that no one has noticed that the vast majority of the people who took to the streets were not protesting against the current situation, but were individuals who went out 'to support the Revolution' rather than to question the energy situation or the country's overall state. And those who protested are nothing more than lazy individuals with 'little culture of resistance.'
And to conclude the official evasive speech, the perfect note: 'We are working to provide the answers that the people deserve.' In other words, go back to your homes, endure, hang in there, don’t complain, because the situation isn't really that terrible and, moreover, we will resolve everything very soon.
No reference to the intense police presence, no allusion to the fact that we have been building that 'better future' for more than 60 years, that idyllic, happy, and prosperous country that never arrives, while the generations waiting for it die and pass on the same misery to their children, not a hint of acknowledgment of the responsibility of those in power for plunging this island deeper into nothingness.
But let us not forget that reality is not something we generate by decree. Reality is what it is, and reality speaks. And reality says that this people has been asking for change for years, this people has been taking to the streets for years to demand their right to freedom, for years expressing their discontent in countless ways.
This community has made it very clear what it wants, while systematically being ignored, and although this mechanism may have worked until now, I warn that it is not good, it is not good to ignore the voice of the people, concludes the post.
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