Carolina Barrero, executive director of Citizenship and Freedom, described in an interview from Berlin the Cuba she envisions: a prosperous nation with united families, fertile land, well-preserved architecture, and a pluralistic democracy where politicians are held accountable by the citizens.
The starting point of his vision is the family, which he defines as "the number one victim of Castroism."
"I know it very well because I was born into a family divided by immigration. I was raised by my grandparents as a child, my parents left," said Barrero, who was forced into exile in February 2022 directly from the Villa Marista prison to Madrid.
Her dreamed Cuba is, above all, a place where no one has to leave out of necessity or fear.
"I dream of a Cuba filled with united families, prosperous families, families that, if they want to travel, can do so to explore the world... But they shouldn't have to leave, escaping from a dictatorship that persecutes them or from a place where there are no hopes or opportunities," he stated.
Barrero also evokes the cultural and architectural Cuba that his grandfather described to him: the Cuba of the twenties, thirties, forties, and fifties.
"I wish for a Cuba that retains its magic, its charm, its glamour as it once was. The Cuba my grandfather used to tell me about," he said, urging that cities like Havana, Santiago, Cienfuegos, and Camagüey preserve their identity instead of becoming homogeneous.
He recalled that Cuba was the country with the most movie theaters in the world and emphasized its tradition of theaters and literature.
In economic matters, the activist demands a sector that begins to produce again.
He reported that Fidel Castro destroyed the fruit trees of the so-called La Habana cordón to plant Caturra coffee, ending the production of tropical fruits, and contrasted the current situation with that of 1959, when Cuba had more than one head of cattle for every 1.4 people and exported milk to Canada.
Barrero also denounced the ecological disaster in Moa caused by the nickel mining of the Canadian company Sherritt International, operated in partnership with the Cuban state.
"Moa is a place... when you look at the pictures of the map where Moa is located, it's a dead black land, the color has changed. And all of that has been done by the Canadians with impunity," he stated, highlighting the high cancer rates among the local population.
He demanded that companies like Sherritt and Meliá be held accountable and pay compensation, reminding that the joint ventures with the regime paid Cuban workers only between 10% and 15% of their actual wages.
In the political sphere, Barrero advocates for a plural parliament that is explicitly not bipartisan.
"It is very important to me that it be plural, not bipartisan. Where there is health, where there is no polarization, where there is a democratic culture, where there is respect for political disagreement," he declared.
He did not rule out participating in that parliament, although he clarified that he could also "be doing something else."
He emphasized that "a seat in parliament is not power" and that parliamentarians are there to address the issues of water, electricity, and the prosperity of the citizens, who are the ones that "hold the real power."
At the end of the interview, Barrero announced personal news: this fall she will begin her doctorate at University of Miami, which will lead her to spend more time in that city while still maintaining her presence in Europe.
"Wherever she needs to be, a transhumant to dismantle the regime's lies, that’s where she will be. Carolina Barrero has been and will be there," she concluded.
Filed under: