Fidel Castro's daughter, Alina Fernández, has once again spoken out strongly about the Cuban reality, this time in an interview granted to ABC News, in which she described the island's economic model as a failure due to what she referred to as "ideological madness" that has characterized the regime.
"I believe the Cuban economy never worked. It's a social experiment that never worked," stated Fernández, who has denounced the regime established by his father from exile for over 30 years.
The producer and director also insisted that the current situation is not new, but rather the consequence of a failed model since its inception.
"I would say that this is not something new. We've been like this for many, many years," he emphasized.
Fernández went further by describing the cause and the impact of the system on the population: "We have been living in misery for decades due to an ideological madness."
In his view, the regime has prioritized a barren political confrontation to the detriment of the citizens' well-being, which ultimately undermined any possibility of success.
"A ruler must attend to the needs of their people," they added.
In that regard, he believed that power in Cuba has lost its historical justification: “I think the regime lost the war against imperialism, which is the war against the United States. And I believe it makes sense to surrender and do what's best for the people.”
A country marked by decades of trauma
Fernández described the Cuban experience as a prolonged process of collective suffering that has impacted entire generations.
“Cubans have been the subject of a very strange social experiment,” he stated.
“It has been a very traumatic experience for five generations of Cubans,” he said, referring to the system's permanence for over six decades.
From their perspective, the population is ensnared in a power structure that restricts any real possibility of internal change.
"It's impossible to overthrow a regime like this just by protesting,” he stated; and added: “People are afraid, they are repressed. It's a very tough situation. People are suffering, and they have been suffering for years.”
The duality of being the daughter of power
Fernández's testimony is particularly significant due to her personal history. Raised in Havana without initially knowing that Fidel Castro was her father, her life was marked by a distant relationship influenced by power.
"I wasn't too surprised... he used to be a very late-night visitor at the house," she recalled about the moment she learned her father's identity.
The relationship was never close.
"I believe it depended on him. It was never determined by my needs or my emotions," she stated, insisting that "he was a busy person and would show up suddenly every two or three years."
He also confessed to having lived in constant fear.
In previous interviews, he acknowledged that he feared Castro's wrath, which profoundly shaped his life.
The flight and the exile
His departure from Cuba in 1993 was a turning point. Fernández escaped using a forged passport, which he described as a desperate attempt to break away from the system.
“I didn't have the courage to set out to sea on a raft with my daughter, but I did everything I could and managed to escape,” he explained.
His decision was influenced by the deterioration of living conditions on the island, particularly during the Special Period, which he has described as years of "total misery."
A message from the documentary
After years away from the media, Fernández now reappears in the documentary Revolution’s Daughter, which premieres at the Miami Film Festival and addresses both her story and that of other Cuban Americans.
The film, as he explained, aims to keep international attention focused on the situation on the island.
"We want to keep the topic of Cuba alive," he said.
"We are hoping for something to happen… it's a very confusing situation, hopeful and at the same time bittersweet," he added. "We have waited such a long time to see Cuba free."
Call for a regime change
Fernández's statements align with other recent interviews in which he has emphasized the urgent need for political change in Cuba.
“For me, the time has come for a regime change since the late 1980s,” he stated in a conversation with The Epoch Times. “When Fidel Castro died, we all thought his regime had come to an end… but it survived.”
From his personal experience, he has also highlighted the human impact of the system on Cuban society.
"One of the greatest tragedies of Cuba is that this madness divided families in the most dramatic way," he stated.
A country in waiting
In the midst of the current crisis, Fernández believes that internal change remains unlikely in the short term due to the control of power and repression.
However, it stresses that international attention can play an important role.
“It is good that at this moment the world is paying attention to what has been happening in Cuba for years,” he concluded.
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