César Reynel Aguilera, author of "El Soviet Caribeño," made a significant distinction during a recent discussion on CiberCuba that he believes is essential for the future of the Cuban opposition. Political activism and engaging in politics are, in his own words, "two completely different things."
Reynel Aguilera participated alongside the political scientist Julio Shiling, director of Patria de Martí, and the writer Zoé Valdés, in a program hosted by Tania Costa that brought together 200 connected individuals for an uninterrupted debate lasting an hour and a half.
The central argument of Reynel Aguilera is that activism serves a legitimate and important role in an initial stage — he cited the Venezuelan María Corina Machado as an example of what this model can achieve — but there comes an inevitable turning point. "At a certain moment, the situation becomes so complex that all those opponents necessarily have to stop engaging in political activism and start doing politics."
To illustrate that leap with her own trajectory, writer Zoé Valdés recalled her electoral experience in Spain. “I have been involved in politics in Spain. I didn't reach 500,000 but I received about 387,000 votes with the Vox party for the Senate.” Valdés ran as a candidate for the Spanish Senate for Vox in the general elections on July 23, 2023, for the Madrid constituency.
The formula that encapsulates this transition, repeated as a conceptual axis of the conversation, is striking: "Doing politics is pragmatism and decency. There is no other," said César Reynel.
Zoé Valdés also refuted the much-publicized criticism that points to the fragmentation of the opposition, which is identified as one of the main obstacles to democratic change. However, she views it as part of the democratic norm, because the opposition is neither a monolithic block, nor do we want it to be. Opponents have their different ideologies, and that is legitimate, she emphasized.
The Trump Administration has imposed over 240 sanctions against the Cuban regime since January 2026, including measures against Miguel Díaz-Canel and his family circle. However, the participants in the discussion agree that external sanctions are not enough if the opposition does not make the qualitative leap that César Reynel describes.
Directly questioned by the writer, the scientist validated the thesis and added a warning for new exiles. "The two key words I repeat to everyone are decency and pragmatism. If you arrive in exile, do not attack those who have not attacked you."
Furthermore, he warned about the presence of influence agents infiltrated in the exile of South Florida, a risk he considers particularly grave for newly arrived opponents.
On his part, Shiling defended proposals for radical decommunization for Cuba, including the legal ban of the Communist Party, which places the debate on opposition strategy in a realm where the differences in approach are as deep as the underlying agreements.
Zoé Valdés summarized the imperative with her personal testimony: "You are doing activism, and one day you say: we need to take this step, and you take it, and it has to be taken."
The writer will have the opportunity to present these ideas to the audience in Miami on July 25 at 2:00 p.m., when she presents her book "Cuba, and now freedom" at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library in Hialeah, with free admission and moderation by journalist Andrés Reynaldo.
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