The state portal Cubadebate launched a contest this Tuesday titled "The Values of Fidel," (and no, this is not a joke or a meme) in which it invites both Cubans and foreigners to enumerate "what human values distinguished the historical leader of the Cuban Revolution" and to send their responses in writing or video to an email address, in anticipation of the centenary of Fidel Castro's birth on August 13.
The initiative, part of the propaganda campaign "The Century of Fidel" that the regime has been preparing since 2025, quickly turned into a backlash: instead of praise, the comments section of the Facebook profile for the portal was filled with irony, complaints, and criticism reflecting the despair of a population worn out by the crisis.
The contrast could not have been more striking. While the state media called for the celebration of the dictator's "values," Cubans responded with the reality they face every day.
“Who lives with the value of one hour of electricity a day? Who can buy a bag of milk for more than 5 thousand pesos? A liter of oil for over 4 thousand? What is the value of the water that isn’t available? What values are they talking about? Ideology doesn't put food on the table,” wrote Yailis Mon.
Others opted for sharper sarcasm. Odelin Rodriguez pointed out: "The values of Fidel are extremely high. In fact, the magazine Forbes estimated his worth at 900 million dollars, and I believe that figure was quite conservative."
Alejandro Armada listed what he believes are the true "values" of the dictator: "La Deseada, private estate; private island; several houses throughout Cuba; the fortune of the oldest son; the fortune of the middle son; the fortune of the youngest son; the fortune of the grandson; assets in Europe and Latin America. In summary, very good economic values".
Juan Carlos Borrego rescued a promise that today sounds ironic: on January 17, 2006, during the inauguration of the so-called "Energy Revolution" in Pinar del Río, Castro declared, "I will limit myself to saying that Pinar del Río will never again experience blackouts."
Two decades later, the island is experiencing one of the worst electrical crises in its history, with blackouts in several provinces exceeding 24 uninterrupted hours.
The comments also served as a real-time bulletin board for complaints. Joan Junior Lopez Rivera reported: “The A1202 circuit in La Lisa has been out for 72 hours.” Another user noted power outages since Thursday in block 4 of Cárdenas.
Nicolet Moya summarized the situation starkly: "I wish I could participate in the contest, but between blackouts, the price of oil, the fact that I can't perform at my job, that I haven't had water for days, and that I can't sleep well because of the heat and mosquitoes, honestly, my neurons aren't working."
Gerardo Mora was more direct: "The country is in chaos and total collapse, and look at these so-called journalists."
Ruly Romero Tellez summed up what many think: "The one who managed to place a political party above the Constitution of a country... Something unheard of. I limit myself to these lines."
According to the announcement by the state media, the responses deemed "best" will be published on August 13 on their website and broadcast in a special program of the Mesa Redonda. However, judging by the comments accumulated on Tuesday within a few hours, the selection will likely have little to do with what Cubans actually think.
Although it may seem incredible that the state portal Cubadebate promotes a contest of this nature, it is not the first time that this medium—supposedly committed to the people and their needs—has encouraged initiatives aimed at fostering the cult of personality around Castro.
In November, the portal launched a décimas contest in honor of Castro with the same outcome, and in December it invited downloads of books by the dictator, which received similarly critical feedback.
However, the ridiculousness is systemic. On Monday, the Communist Party published "Fidel is eternal" on social media and Cubans responded with a wave of sarcasm that is now repeating itself with the contest.
Related videos:
Filed under: