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“Where he casts his eye, he places the bullet,” could be said of the Cuban comedian Ulises Toirac, except in this case, they wouldn't be real bullets, not even blank ones, but projectiles of thought and courage that the Cuban regime fears so much.
"I don't want an AKM, I want the effective country that will lead me to defend it," Toirac stated in a recent post on FB, in which he indirectly criticized the official discourse on armed defense of the nation and demanded real living conditions and civic participation as a foundation for exercising sovereignty.
The beloved actor, remembered by generations of Cubans for comedic characters such as Chivichana from “¿Jura decir la verdad?” or Matute from Sabadazo, pointed out that sovereignty lies with the citizens, but they “interpret it to the extent that they feel the nation as THEIR nation.”
His statement starkly contrasts with the warlike rhetoric that has gained visibility in recent days, especially following the moment when the singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez "demanded" an AKM rifle in case "the American soldiers come ashore" in Cuba, and the minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR), in the presence of President Díaz-Canel, handed him the requested weapon.
For Ulises Toirac, however, "ideals, all abstract concepts, translate into bread, clothing, shelter. Into dignity," because "the ideal carries with it freedoms [...], it brings health and well-being."
Although he defended national independence and the sovereign character of Cuba, the humorist questioned the consistency between those ideals and the reality of the country. He expressed that the chain of political decisions and the way power is exercised indefinitely while opposing opinions are suppressed have drained the practical content from the principles that are claimed to be defended.
In this regard, he emphasized that sovereignty can only be upheld if citizens feel like active participants in the national destiny and have a real capacity for involvement.
Toirac suggested that the relationship between the individual and the nation should be bidirectional, rooted both in the pride of belonging and in the recognition of the citizen by the country.
The recent and highly publicized presentation, during an official event, of the AKM rifle to Silvio Rodríguez has sparked intense debates on social media, ranging from mockery and scorn that view it as a ridiculous act to strong supporters who defend it as a "symbol" of Cuban resistance and official ideology.
Toirac's post also generated numerous reactions. Several users agreed that sovereignty should be reflected in real well-being and opportunities, while others questioned the identification between state and nation or, in alignment with the actor, denounced the lack of citizen participation in political decisions.
There were also comments supporting the priority of addressing external threats over internal issues.
Toirac's criteria complement his recent and systematic interventions in which he has criticized the economic management of the government and the exclusion of the people in key political processes, such as the Cuba-U.S. dialogues. Similarly, he has emphasized that the current crisis cannot be addressed solely through ideological slogans, but rather through concrete transformations that impact the lives of citizens.
To the same Armed Revolutionary Forces that hurried to deliver an AKM rifle to Silvio, earlier Toirac jokingly recommended that they use the large piles of trash on the streets of the country to produce the electricity that is needed. Will they ever take him up on that suggestion?
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