Cuban exile organizations presented on Monday in Miami the so-called "Liberation Agreement", a strategic alliance that, according to its promoters, aims to establish a concrete path towards the downfall of the current political system on the island and the establishment of a transitional government that will lead to free elections.
The document was signed by the coalitions Assembly of the Cuban Resistance (ARC) and Steps for Change, led by Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat and Rosa María Payá, respectively, along with other civic and opposition organizations both inside and outside of Cuba.
According to the organizers, this is "a historic alliance" that is not limited to denouncing the regime, but proposes a structured plan with defined phases and mechanisms for the liberation, stabilization, and democratization of the country.
One of the points of the Agreement summarizes the spirit of the document: “By joining our forces, we declare that every Cuban, wherever they are, is called to be the protagonist of their liberation.”
A plan in three phases
The Agreement consists of three main stages: Liberation; stabilization; and democratization.
The central objective is the end of the current political system and the reinstatement of the rule of law.
According to the submitted document, the plan includes "the dismantling of the criminal enterprise that is the Communist Party of Cuba, as well as the disassembly of all its mechanisms of repressive organizations."
During the event, Rosa María Payá stated:
"Today we promote the democratic alternative to the barbarism that rules our country. Today we know that the only solution to the crisis is the end of the dictatorship. And it is urgent, because the human suffering of our families, the human suffering of our people on the Island at this moment is brutal."
The opposition leader emphasized that the project is neither symbolic nor declarative
"There can be no stabilization under repression in Cuba. We do not have a wish list. We are promoting a comprehensive transition plan that encompasses every necessary aspect during a provisional period, including humanitarian, economic, and institutional elements, and which will continue to evolve and expand within the working committees that we will announce today."
What does the Agreement propose?
The document proposes the creation of a representative and plural provisional government, with a limited transition period, whose purpose would be:
-Address the humanitarian emergency.
-Restore institutions.
-Guaranteeing fundamental rights.
-Call for free, multi-party general elections monitored internationally.
Among the stated priorities are the immediate release of more than 1,000 political prisoners and the restoration of basic freedoms such as expression, press, association, and religion, as well as the right to engage in private activities and participate in public office without discrimination.
The three pillars of the program, according to the released text, are:
National reunification after decades of exile and forced separation.
-Prosperity and human flourishing, ensuring rights, dignity, and individual freedoms.
-Demilitarization and eradication of the political power of anti-democratic, communist, or totalitarian doctrines.
The agreement also promotes increased international and economic pressure on the regime and the end of impunity for alleged crimes against humanity.
Commissions for the transition
As the first operational step, the signatories announced the creation of working committees focused on key areas for a potential transition:
-Humanitarian Emergency.
-Security, Defense, and Public Order.
-Economic Recovery, Social Development, and Infrastructure.
-Health.
-Education.
-Legislative.
-Judicial.
-Exile and Reunification.
-Constitutional Commission.
These structures, according to the organizers, aim to establish the technical and institutional foundations for a potential period of stabilization.
Call for unity and international pressure
Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat, Secretary General of the ARC, made a direct call for mobilization.
“The time has come to conclude the crusade and for Cuba to be free once again so that Cubans can decide their future,” he said.
In his speech, he urged both the people within the Island and the international community:
"We call for a just and necessary uprising of the people of Cuba against that oppressive dictatorship. We call for international diplomatic pressure on that regime of shame. We urge all those, wherever they may be, who are Cuban and have blood-free hands, to step forward and support that people in their quest for freedom."
And he added: “We will move together towards that freedom along the most effective, most efficient paths to achieve it.”
In the final statement, the organizations asserted that the process aims to open a "new republican era" through free elections and the restoration of popular sovereignty.
More than a complaint: a path of transition
The Cuban American National Foundation (FNCA) highlighted on social media that the Agreement "seeks something greater than mere denunciation... it seeks transition."
According to that organization, the plan proposes strategic coordination, international legitimacy, and a clear path towards the release of political prisoners and the institutional reconstruction of the country.
The Liberation Agreement is presented as an attempt to unite the exile community and opposition sectors around a common roadmap.
It remains to be seen what real capacity this alliance will have to influence the political dynamics within the Island and on the international stage, in a context marked by economic crisis, increased emigration, and repression against dissent.
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