The grandiloquent proclamations of some defenders of the Cuban system and socialism often end up as fodder for mockery and memes on social media.
This time, a Cuban declared that he will never accept capitalism on the island and asserted that he would rather go hungry and endure "the worst deprivations" than give up his convictions.
Osnorides Barrientos Leliebre published a defense of Marxist-Leninist socialism and the legacy of Fidel Castro this Monday on Facebook, accompanied by a photograph in which he is holding two bunches of burro bananas.
"I will never accept capitalism in Cuba, and much less that cruel system in my poor and blockaded country," Barrientos stated, adding that the United States is "that common enemy of the peoples" as long as it maintains what he described as an imperialist policy.
In his post, he directly contrasted both political systems: "No to capitalism! Yes to Marxist-Leninist socialism!"
The Cuban took his defense of the current model on the island even further.
"I will never tolerate betrayal of my homeland or the legacy of the Commander in Chief!", he wrote before adding: "I would rather face hunger and the worst deprivations than endure exploitation, humiliation, and blackmail from the United States of America!".
The image with the bananas ended up becoming one of the most talked-about elements of the post and sparked numerous ironic responses.
«This has to be a joke,» reacted one person. «Come on, tell me you're being sarcastic,» wrote another.
Others directly focused their jokes on the photograph. "Where did you buy the bananas?" asked one user, while another commented, "That photo is the ultimate expression of the Cuban revolutionary."
There was also a question that contrasted the expressed rejection of capitalism with the use of currencies: «And what about the dollars, do you accept them or burn them?».
Among the visible comments, there were also messages of support. One user claimed that Cuba "continues to thrive despite the blockade," while another person expressed: "I stand with you, in the same trench".
The mockery continued with direct references to the bananas that appear in the photograph.
"Well, nothing, let's eat bananas", commented a user, while another wrote: "Good for you, boil the banana and have that for dinner."
"Also, eat bananas because there’s nothing else," someone else joked.
Another user summed up their reaction with a phrase: "A picture is worth a thousand words."
There were also those who directly questioned the solemnity of the message.
The best joke of the week, wrote a commenter, while another asked: "Really?".
Among the most sarcastic responses was also: "You eat bananas, I eat what I want, when I want".
The Cuban has turned his Facebook profile into a modern podium for defending the regime.
Three days earlier, Barrientos had publicly defended the continuity of the Cuban system in another Facebook post titled "Critique, Action, and Example."
On that occasion, he announced a celebration for the 66th anniversary of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) in his neighborhood and affirmed that those who participated would defend "independence, sovereignty, and socialism."
The Revolution brought dignity to all of us; it established schools, hospitals, sports, science, and culture throughout the Island; it sowed freedom and equality of rights," he wrote, before asserting that the "first duty" in the current circumstances was to fight for its continuity.
Habitually, the staunch defenses of the regime end up becoming a boomerang on social media, where speeches with strong ideological content have often triggered an avalanche of ironic reactions, criticisms, and mockery.
In January, the impassioned speech of a young Cuban military officer during the defense preparation campaign sparked a wave of mockery, with users even asking what he meant during his address.
Also that same month, the former spy Gerardo Hernández Nordelo defended the relevance of socialism by comparing China with the United States, a post that generated critical responses from users who questioned the comparison with the Chinese economic model.
In the middle of the year, Fidel Antonio Castro Smirnov, grandson of Fidel Castro, also received numerous criticisms and sarcastic comments after defending the Revolution during an event in Gijón, Spain, with a speech filled with metaphors about physics and socialism.
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