The Cuban activist Agustín Pi Martínez, one of the leading advocates of Convergencia Martiana, was involved in a confrontation with a representative of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) during an electoral debate held in Córdoba, challenging him publicly for endorsing the Cuban regime while claiming to defend freedom and justice.
The exchange was recorded in two videos published on Facebook by Convergencia Martiana, a civic platform of the Cuban exile community based in Córdoba that promotes democratic debate and documents human rights violations on the island. The first of the videos surpassed 147,000 views.
Pi Martínez, who also presented himself as the authorized spokesperson for the Venezuelan and Nicaraguan communities, took the floor from the audience to directly address Sebastián Pérez Gallardo, the provincial coordinator of Izquierda Unida in Córdoba and a member of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE): "We understand that the Communist Party of Spain throughout its history, and currently as well, does not condemn the Cuban regime. It neither accepts nor studies the fact that there are over 1,200 Cuban political prisoners incarcerated simply for ideological offenses."
The activist went further and pointed out the underlying contradiction: "Why are there political prisoners in Cuba? Why is there only one political party in Cuba, the Communist Party of Cuba, endorsed by the Constitution, and any attempt to support any other political movement is punished, both with imprisonment and documented torture?"
Pi Martínez also emphasized the paradox of the very scenario: "This democratic activity taking place here would be impossible to do in Cuba. The same goes for Venezuela and Nicaragua."
The response from the representative of the PCE was evasive. Instead of addressing the situation of political prisoners in Cuba, he referred to the democratic history of Spain and the sovereignty of nations: "No one, nobody is going to come here to give us lessons on what we have done in Spain. Because we brought Spanish democracy ourselves." He then added that his party rejects the idea that "any country may interfere in others by bombing and staging coups," without addressing the specific question at any point.
The confrontation escalated when an attendee attempted to physically remove Pi Martínez from the venue from behind, resulting in a scuffle. The activist presented to the audience images of police repression during the 11J and of Cuban political prisoners: María Cristina Garrido, Lisandra Góngora —a prisoner with five children—, Berta Soler, and Ana Sofía. "You are complicit with the Cuban dictatorship," Pi Martínez told the representative of the PCE, also pointing at the MEP Manuel Pineda with the same accusation.
Convergencia Martiana summarized the unanswered question as follows: “Why do you speak of freedoms, dignity, and justice, while you whitewash and justify a one-party regime that keeps more than 1,200 people imprisoned for political and ideological reasons?”
The incident occurs within a revealing political context: in March 2026, the Spanish left-wing parties —PSOE, Podemos, and their parliamentary partners— voted against a resolution in the Congress of Deputies that called for condemning the Cuban dictatorship and supporting the establishment of political parties on the island. The PCE, for its part, reiterated that same year its "unwavering commitment to the Cuban Revolution."
According to the organization Prisoners Defenders, Cuba currently has 1,372 political prisoners, including 40 minors, as updated on November 9, 2026. This makes Pi Martínez's question more than just an electoral challenge: it is a direct accusation against those in Europe who support a dictatorship while invoking the values that this same dictatorship crushes.
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