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"The most urgent need for Cuba today, beyond external threats, is to put an end to tyranny before it is too late, which will open the possibility of steering the country toward true independence, only achievable with the utmost democracy," expressed Cuban historian Ibrahim Hidalgo Paz.
The essayist, recipient of the National Prize for History and Social Sciences among other notable awards, published an analysis on the relevance of the Montecristi Manifesto, the political program of the Cuban War of 1895 against the Spanish colonial regime, in the context of the current tyranny on the Island.
In his article, published in CubaxCuba, Hidalgo Paz argued that authoritarian regimes share common traits throughout history and proposed that the ideas of José Martí, formulated in the 19th century, are applicable to the oppressive reality of the present day.
Based on that premise, he interpreted the document that the Cuban Apostle signed alongside General Máximo Gómez as a guide to understand and confront what he describes as current manifestations of totalitarianism.
While the ruling class in Cuba “continues to govern the country, subjugated by force and laid out like a carpet for its benefit, there will be no possible democracy, because for more than thirteen decades they have held positions by appointment, not by election, and have exercised it as ‘absolute command’,” noted the lead researcher, author of dozens of articles and books on the History of Cuba.
The author emphasized that the Montecristi Manifesto proposed the construction of a democratic republic based on unity, participation, and respect for citizens' rights, in contrast to any form of political imposition.
Hidalgo Paz also emphasized the importance of open debate and the exercise of freedom of thought, warning that excluding divergent opinions is a practice incompatible with a democratic project.
In his reflection, he pointed out that dismissing, repression, or imposing criteria does not eliminate ideas, but rather reinforces the positions of those who are the target of such practices.
A regime that "resorts to repression as its only means of staying in power," this is how the power of the Island was described. It was added that "the increase in its cruel and inhumane methods is becoming increasingly visible and, if not brought to an end, will lead to those adopted by historically known tyrannies in the Caribbean and in our country [...]: enforced disappearances, killings, lifeless bodies thrown onto the streets, ditches, and roads, as we sadly remember."
The historian further argued that the crisis the country is facing requires profound transformations aimed at ensuring political rights, citizen participation, and economic development, elements that, as he indicated, are part of the republican ideal defended by Martí. In this context, he emphasized the need for a national dialogue accompanied by measures such as the release of political prisoners and the elimination of repressive structures.
The text also addresses what it considers the recurrent use of external threats to justify the continuation of the current political system, plagued by "anti-democratic practices to keep the people excluded from all benefits" and to conceal the "murky dealings" of the "government bureaucracy."
Although he acknowledged the historical existence of tensions with the United States and the geopolitical interests of the American power previously denounced by Martí, he pointed out that such arguments have also been used to divert attention from internal issues and limit debate within the nation.
"When political and economic power is democratized, all the spiritual potential of the great majorities will be fully unleashed, and 'Cuba will be liberated once and for all from the irredeemable ineptitude and corruption of the government,' concluded Hidalgo Paz, citing Martí's thought."
The academic's reflections occur in a context of increasing public prominence of Cuban intellectuals and artists. The historian Alina Bárbara López Hernández, co-director of CubaxCuba, highlighted Hidalgo Paz's analysis and questioned academic sectors that criticize the classification of the Cuban political system as the dictatorship that it is and no longer even bother to disguise it.
Other public figures such as actors Luis Alberto García and Ulises Toirac, as well as writer Jorge Fernández Era, have systematically spoken out recently against the abuses of the Cuban government apparatus. Meanwhile, some, like , continue to show their support for the regime.
Amid the widespread crisis facing the country and the constant repression by the government's police apparatus, life on the Island has become increasingly difficult and has raised alarms about an extreme humanitarian situation.
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