Academic: "Anyone who supports the cause, whether inside or outside, Cuban or foreign, is useful and necessary."

The historian and Doctor of Historical Sciences Ivette García González, a former full professor at the University of Havana, published this Sunday on her Facebook profile an analysis of the Cuban democratic struggle in which she calls on the opposing sectors to abandon ideological labels and prioritize the articulation of a common cause for democracy and human rights.

The text, titled "What Defines Us? What Do We Support? The Anti or the Pro?", stems from a concern that the academic deems urgent: "At this point, in light of Cuba's pressing issues, it worries me that we become consumed by being 'ANTI' left/right/communist, etc."

García González argues that defining oneself mainly by what is rejected—rather than by what is proposed—is a politically weak and strategically dangerous position for the Cuban democratic movement. In his view: "We are not in a position to choose allies. Anyone who supports the cause, whether inside or outside, Cuban or foreign, is useful and necessary, even if tomorrow they become an adversary."

His diagnosis begins with a reflection on the divisive effect of these labels: "The anti-debate is confusing, but especially the left vs. right debate divides us, pits us against each other, and distracts us. NOTE: Loss for us and an advantage for the dictatorship."

The academic illustrates the trap of the "anti" language with an example that points to the regime itself: "Many dictatorships, like the Cuban one, claim to be 'anti-imperialist,' but they support Russian imperialism and thus attract anyone who confronts the USA, which is their real objective."

To support his thesis, García González draws on his own experience leading Cuba en Familia, an organization founded in late 2021, focused on the freedom of political prisoners and the support of their families and activists. He recounts that in mid-2024, the organization was on the verge of disappearing, and at that critical moment, only two Cuban women remained to sustain it: "Exciting news!: one is well-known as right-wing and the other as left-wing. And we carry on!"

It also describes how a civic project in favor of political prisoners was rejected by a jury because, according to this leftist jury, "it's evident that it comes from the right": "It was civic and for political prisoners, but for that majority leftist jury, opposing the Cuban government means being on the right. Such is the extent of the contamination and confusion."

García González's call is not to ignore ideological differences, but to subordinate them to the priority of the moment. He proposes four questions that, in his view, should guide the debate: what it means today to be left or right; whether the central problem of Cuba is ideological or related to democracy and human rights; whether being anti-communist necessarily equates to being pro-democracy; and what the real priority of the democratic struggle on the Island is.

This analysis is part of a series of reflections that the academic has published throughout 2026. In August, she argued that the crisis alone does not bring about political change, and in September she suggested that protests must be transformed into an organized strategy. The text from this Sunday takes that line to a level of tactical unity.

The context surrounding these reflections is one of ongoing aggravation. Prisoners Defenders recorded 1,339 political prisoners in Cuba at the end of August 2026 — a new historical record. The Cuban Conflict Observatory documented 1,415 protests, denunciations, and critical expressions just in July 2026, the highest monthly figure recorded by the organization. Among these, 72 were in-person protests.

The Cuban economy has experienced several years of contraction and CEPAL projects a GDP contraction of 10.3% for 2026, the worst decline anticipated for the Americas.