Related videos:
The official Cuban journalist Pedro Jorge Velázquez, known on social media as El Necio, celebrated International Workers' Day by posting from Moscow a "poem" on Facebook, in which he promises that the former dictator Fidel Castro will not die this year, which marks a century since his birth. He accompanied the post with a profile photo of himself in front of the bronze statue of the dictator in the Russian capital.
The text, published this Friday with the flags of Russia and Cuba as a header, is a lyrical "dialogue" between the spokesperson and the leader. In it, the Necio states: "We will not let you die in the year of your centenary. No matter what threats come your way. There is a global memory that does not forget you and a people in the streets ready to give everything for their independence."
And he adds: "This world today is simply proving that you were never wrong. You had everything clear. We must return to you to understand what our duty is at this moment. I wish they knew back there, on our little island, all that is said about you everywhere and how much they miss you, Commander."
Velázquez was in Moscow after participating in the Sovintern Forum, the inaugural foundational forum of the International Socialist Network, held from April 25 to 27 at the House of Trade Unions in the Russian capital with over 300 delegates from 70 countries.
During his stay, the propagandist stated in an interview with Sputnik Mundo that in Cuba there is "a lot of admiration for Putin and the Russian people," attributed to the shipment of Russian oil that briefly alleviated power outages in Havana between April 20 and April 25.
The irony of the postcard is hard to ignore: the regime's main digital propagandist pays homage to a deceased dictator from the comforts of Moscow, while in Cuba workers marched this Friday under war slogans and endured power outages lasting more than 20 hours a day amid a projected GDP contraction of 7.2% for 2026.
The central event of May 1st was moved from the Plaza de la Revolución to the Anti-Imperialist Tribune, in front of the United States Embassy, justified by "austerity," while Raúl Castro declared that the regime was "ready for the charge with machetes".
The publication of El Necio soon unleashed a flood of comments that dismantled its revolutionary ode. "He was an extraordinary magician; he turned the best country in Latin America into a poor island with millions of its children in exile. He washed the minds of millions, preaching humility, unity, and hard work. While his word was law, he lived lavishly in his feudal domain," wrote an internet user.
Another user pointed out the most obvious contradiction with sarcasm: "Why is it that behind every great defender of communism, there's a constant traveler to capitalism? It's like saying you don't eat sugar but are addicted to chocolate." The question that resonated the most was straightforward: "Who pays for this horse's trips?"
There were those who provided perspective on the celebrated legacy: "Correction: he has already died, and in reality, he only served to live like a millionaire king while the rest of the citizens lived in misery." Another was blunt: "He was the best at deceiving everyone."
An internet user went further: "You don't stop to think about why they have to convince everyone that they are good, that they are fair, that they have support. It's the same need that con artists have to sell something they are not, and by repeating it so much, they start to believe it themselves and justify it. One must be very despicable to justify or support a system that hands out batons to groups to repress their own brothers who only demand to live with dignity."
Velázquez, who was subjected to U.S. visa restrictions in February for alleged involvement in harassment campaigns against diplomats, described the measure at that time as a "political retaliation" and claimed that he never intended to visit that country. The statue in front of which he posed was unveiled in November 2022 by Vladimir Putin and Miguel Díaz-Canel as a symbol of the alliance between the two dictatorships, and the centenary of Castro — on August 13, 2026 — already has El Necio revving up from Moscow, very patriotic, but far from the blackouts.
Filed under: