Amelia Calzadilla, president of the Cuban Classic Liberal Party (PLCC), discussed in detail for the first time the controversy surrounding her departure from Citizenship and Freedom and the subsequent founding of her political organization, in an interview with Tania Costa for CiberCuba.
The trigger was a public comment from Carolina Barrero, president of Ciudadanía y Libertad, who stated last May that she and her team learned about Calzadilla's plans "through social media." Calzadilla did not avoid the topic, although he also did not wish to turn it into a point of confrontation.
"Look, I’m not going to deny it, because I don’t like to lie, that I didn’t like the response. And it doesn’t make sense for me to say otherwise," declared Calzadilla. However, he added that, out of respect for the time he worked alongside Barrero and the new organization he has founded, he prefers not to insist on the matter.
"Going forward, I would just like to demonstrate that there is no need for relevance, that it is not centered on me, that it does not revolve around me, but rather around the idea of being able to structure ourselves and find solutions that are horizontal," he pointed out.
Calzadilla insisted that the initiative to create the party was not solely his. As he explained, it all began after the meeting on February 18, 2026, in Madrid, where around 120 Cubans from the European exile met with Mike Hammer, head of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Cuba.
"This initiative isn't even entirely my own. People attribute it to me because I was the one who verbalized it," she stated. "After February, when we had the meeting with Mr. Mike Hammer here in Madrid, some of us understood that what we had achieved that day, the level of organization we had demonstrated, and the serious proposals we had brought to the table meant it was time to do something with that."
Regarding her role at the head of the PLCC, Calzadilla emphasized that her presidency is provisional. "Amelia will be the president until a primary election process is carried out within the party and it is confirmed that I am the president or another person is chosen, which is also possible. In other words, I reiterate, this does not revolve around me."
The activist also explained why she chose to found a political party rather than continue with a human rights organization. In her view, the latter are "single-issue" — primarily focused on political prisoners — while a political party "has a structure that allows them to work on multiple fronts at the same time."
"I believe in classical liberalism as the solution to our nation's problems," he stated, mentioning the economist Elías Amor as an intellectual reference and support in economic matters, describing his exchanges with him as "super intense" and enriching.
When asked about the flood of criticism she received after announcing the foundation of the party, Calzadilla distinguished between criticisms from "toxic and destructive" people —which she stated would exist in any context— and those who have not updated their perception of her. "They have not let go of the image of the desperate mother at home screaming for gas, for electricity, for water. And I have not abandoned that woman. That woman exists."
Calzadilla concluded his reflection by advocating for letting the results speak for themselves. "I also believe that the idea of creating a party in a country where political participation has been prohibited for so long was to break the ice. And like everything else when you break the ice, there is always confusion and confrontation in that context."
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