The comedian Ulises Toirac reacted on social media to the announcement made by the activist Amelia Calzadilla regarding the creation of the Cuban Orthodox Liberal Party, with a comment in which he addressed both the reactions that opposition figures generate and the significance of the emergence of new projects.
Calzadilla announced on Monday the founding of the party on her social media, explaining that it was precisely the harassment from the regime that led her to take this step. "I learned the hard way that Castroist propaganda does not spare the honest; it was their constant threats, discrediting, defamation, and harassment that pushed me to become an activist and opposition member," wrote the activist, who has been based in Madrid since November 2023.
Toirac, one of the most followed voices in Cuba, acknowledged in his post that Calzadilla's initiative addresses a real need in the opposition landscape: "the establishment of a platform with a program."
At the same time, he warned that "the future may be cloudier than London with the fog at its peak," a way of acknowledging the immense difficulties any opposition political project faces against the dictatorship.
The comedian also spoke about the avalanche of criticism that any opposing figure who gains visibility usually receives, comparing it to the "electric shock assemblies" at Cuban workplaces: "It creates a mess and a commotion worthy of a movie," he wrote, in an ironic metaphor about organized collective harassment.
The closing of the text was a direct jab at the regime: “What’s absurd is that ‘the revolution prepared her so well’,” sarcastically referring to the fact that it was Castro's own harassment that shaped Calzadilla as an opposition figure and now, as the founder of a party.
Toirac's position is particularly significant given that his usual stance is to remain neutral and not align with any side. “Neither with the Indians nor with the cowboys… I'm with the Cubans”, he stated in February of this year. That he has publicly come out to support Calzadilla's project this time, albeit with reservations, is not a minor gesture.
The immediate context also matters: just days before, Toirac reported physical surveillance and coordinated attacks by State Security due to his social media posts, and he has been summoned by that agency previously.
The Cuban Orthodox Liberal Party defines itself as a Liberal Center-Right party, with the slogan "Justice, Dignity, and Prosperity," grounded in the humanist ideals of Martí and free market policies. Calzadilla, who lived 32 years in Cuba before going into exile, is a member of the Council for Democratic Transition in Cuba and the program coordinator for the organization Citizenship and Freedom.
In the weeks leading up to the founding of the party, Calzadilla had intensified her international activism: she visited the European Parliament to demand sanctions against the regime and the suspension of the agreement between the European Union and Cuba, met with María Corina Machado along with other Cuban activists, and proposed a "surgical operation" for Cuba similar to the capture of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela.
Calzadilla concluded his announcement with a promise that encapsulates his project: "I will return to Cuba to invest all that I have and am the day I am free."
Filed under: