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Frei Betto returns to the scene in Havana. This time, from the Museum of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR), he urged Cubans to "look at Fidel's example of resistance" amid the new tensions with the United States following the latest executive order signed by President Donald Trump.
According to a report broadcasted by Canal Caribe, the Brazilian theologian participated in a meeting with grassroots leaders of the CDR, where the book “Premoniciones de Fidel” was presented, published by the La Gráfica en la Comunidad project. He praised the "prophetic capacity" of the late Cuban leader and his ability to foresee political situations, describing him as a unique strategist with a global perspective.
In what he described as "a difficult moment," Betto urged people not to dwell on whether Fidel was alive, but rather on his "example of resilience, hope, and utopia." He also took aim at Trump, whom he defined as "the great threat to the world," and asserted that Cuba is not alone, as he mentioned there are international solidarity campaigns with the island, including Brazil.
It is not the first time that the Dominican friar, who has been close to the Cuban establishment for decades, has made controversial statements directed at the people of the island. In 2019, in an article published in the newspaper Granma, he stated that those leaving Cuba are “contaminated by the propaganda of capitalist consumerism”, suggesting that those who emigrate do so seduced by the “El Dorado” to the north of the Río Grande. In that text, he also asserted that there has “never been a popular demonstration” against the Government on the island.
His words contrast with the massive exodus of recent years, regarded as the largest in the country's recent history, and with the social protests that have shaped national life since 2021.
In 2022, during an intervention on the Mesa Redonda, he advised Cubans to fry potato peels as a snack, amidst a severe food crisis. Two years later, he returned to the same program to invite the population to plant even in the windows of their homes and mobilize the CDR to cultivate any available space, evoking the practices of the so-called “Special Period.”
While millions of Cubans face prolonged blackouts, chronic food shortages, and inadequate wages, Betto's call to cling to Fidel's legacy and to "resistance" raises questions once again about the disconnection between the official discourse and everyday reality.
For many inside and outside the island, resistance is no longer an epic slogan, but a forced routine marked by survival. And the example they see today is not that of historical speeches, but of family members packing their bags, crossing borders, and seeking in other countries what they cannot find at home.
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