The Cuban economist and activist Manuel Milanés stated emphatically in an interview with Tania Costa that there is no such thing as a good communist: "To be a communist, you have to be a bad person."
Milanés listed the traits that, in his opinion, define a communist. "He is an atheist, he is envious, he is a thief, he is violent..."
The activist, who identifies as Catholic, nuanced his stance from a faith perspective. "No matter how Catholic I am, I don’t see anything good in a communist. You were a communist, you confessed your sins, because I have sinned quite a bit myself. So of course, we have mercy and we accept you. But as long as you remain a communist, for me, that is not good."
Milanés also addressed the debate on what to do with communists in a potential transition process in Cuba, and noted that he believes that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, when discussing technocrats, was referring, in recent statements, to those communists who "cannot make decisions today."
Regarding how that transition period would be, Milanés was straightforward. "It will not be a democratic period. It will be governed by presidential decrees, by resolutions. It will not be like a congress."
According to their analysis, there would be a legal framework and a minimum period before entering the electoral campaign. "There will be a minimum legal framework for one year and six months, for two years, and then elections will be called."
After those elections, he explained, the parties would be established, citizens would express their projects, vote, and a congress would be formed. The constituent assembly would come later. "That is not the day after. That is the year after or two years later."
Milanés identified three possible scenarios for whoever establishes that order of transition. "Either it will be imposed by the negotiated tyranny with the United States, or it will be put in place by the United States without negotiating with anyone, or it will be set by the group of Cubans who manage to defeat communism."
President of the Council for Anti-Communist War, Milanés is one of the most active voices of the Cuban exile community in South Florida regarding the necessary conditions for political change on the Island.
In August 2024, Milanés was shot in Collier County, Florida, after intervening in a domestic violence incident. His heart stopped three times, and he received 30 blood transfusions. In October of that same year, Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart honored him in the U.S. Congressional Record for his bravery.
It also includes a personal letter from President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump; a recognition from the county sheriff, and he has been honored as Town Hero of the city of Ave Maria in January 2026.
The interview with Tania Costa is part of a broader conversation in which Milanés also discusses the Cuban economic crisis and argues that the three priorities for a successful transition are absolute freedom, guaranteed private property, and effective citizen security.
Filed under: