The Cuban playwright and activist Yunior García Aguilera published a column this Saturday in 14ymedio in which he warns that internal fragmentation and mutual attacks within Cuban ranks are one of the main obstacles to the arrival of democracy on the island.
In the text titled «Everyone Against Everyone» and framed within his column «Cuba and the Night», García writes from Madrid that "there are days when you open Cuban social networks and have the impression that democracy is about to arrive, but it can't because we are all too busy attacking each other. The regime watches the spectacle with delight."
The activist, exiled in the Spanish capital since November 2021 after the repression that followed the call for the Civic March for Change on November 15th, points out that the discrediting work no longer requires effort from the official apparatus: "Now, part of the dirty work is done for free, from Miami, Madrid, Havana, or any corner with wifi. The official ciberclarias hardly have to push. We ourselves provide the fuel for the discredit."
To support his argument, García draws on a historical parallel: the great heroes of the Cuban independence movement—Céspedes, Martí, Maceo, and Gómez—were also targets of defamation and friendly fire from their own comrades.
Carlos Manuel de Céspedes was ousted as president of the Republic in Arms in 1873 by his own comrades, who intercepted his correspondence, and he died in isolation in San Lorenzo. García imagines that scrutiny in the digital age: “Céspedes likely would not have survived a week against the algorithm.”
Regarding Máximo Gómez, the distrust did not come solely from the Spanish enemy but also from the independence fighters themselves. Martí broke with him in 1884 for fear of a military dictatorship, and in 1899 the Assembly of Cerro removed him from command of the Liberation Army. "Thirty years fighting for Cuba and he still had to overcome the ultimate test: to prove that he was sufficiently Cuban," García writes.
A José Martí, the columnist states, would have fared even worse. The veteran Enrique Collazo was at the center of a controversy where the Apostle faced accusations of cowardice and living off others. Furthermore, regarding his relationship with Carmen Miyares, "rumors circulated, and even today there is discussion about the possible paternity of María Mantilla. We write verses to the marble Martí. To the living Martí, we would probably have asked for a DNA test," he reflects.
The case of Antonio Maceo illustrates the most toxic dimension of friendly fire: his own comrades accused him both of favoring the black members of the troop and of conspiring to impose a "black dictatorship" in the future republic. The current algorithm, García notes, "wouldn't even have to invent the racist angle: it would have been served on a platter by his own fellow partisans."
The playwright clarifies that his argument does not intend to shield anyone from criticism: "Democracy needs criticism. What it doesn't need is our habit of turning every disagreement into an accusation of treason, every mistake into evidence of infiltration, and every personal flaw into a sufficient cause to politically execute someone."
In his space "Cuba and the Night," García has developed valuable reflections over the past months. In July, he dismantled the supposed achievements of the regime, describing the Cuban dystopia as a mechanism to "turn hope into resignation, resistance into misery, and continuity into sinking." And in April, he urged for the reconstruction of the republic on civil, pluralistic, and legal foundations.
The playwright concludes this recent work with an image that encapsulates the entire thesis: "We demand that the next leader have the courage of Maceo, the intelligence of Martí, the selflessness of Céspedes, and the military talent of Gómez, but without the character of any of the four. We are not waiting for a leader. We are waiting for a statue. And while it arrives, we occupy ourselves by executing the living."
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