The Cuban actor Pedro Moreno participated in an event of the Partido Popular (PP) in Madrid to share his personal testimony about what it means to grow up and live under Cuban socialism, as part of the electoral campaign leading up to the Spanish general elections on November 29.
Moreno, born in Havana in 1980 and residing in Miami, introduced himself to the audience with a statement that summarized his life journey: "My name is Pedro Moreno, I am an actor, I am Cuban, I am the father of three children, and I am also an entrepreneur; I have a small construction company in Miami, Florida," as reported on X this Saturday by PP Comunidad de Madrid.
The actor was direct in stating the reason for his emigration: "I wouldn't have been able to achieve this if I hadn't had to leave my country. I had to leave my country because there are no opportunities in my homeland, they disappeared more than six decades ago due to socialism." He emphasized that this responsibility does not lie with capitalism, but with the model that governs Cuba: "It wasn't thanks to capitalism, it wasn't a product of capitalism as they have spread around the rest of the world; it was a product of socialism."
Moreno described daily life on the island as a setting of constant indoctrination. "We would wake up listening to: Cuba is free, Cuba is the first free territory in America, that's what the radio would say when you turned it on," he recalled. Regarding education, he was emphatic: "Education was doctrine; they teach you how to think, what to say, what not to say."
He said that the slogans that marked his childhood and youth left no room for interpretation: "Socialism or death were the words; there was no other option. Homeland or death, we will overcome."
The actor's testimony included specific episodes of repression that he experienced or witnessed. "An artist is pursued and imprisoned for expressing themselves freely. The father of a friend suddenly disappears for politically dissenting against the government," he stated.
He also denounced the gap between the regime's egalitarian rhetoric and reality: "They promise you social equality [...] they say they will take money from the entrepreneurs, from the rich, to distribute it among the poor. And you see that they start to enrich themselves over and over again, while the poor are left without opportunities."
Moreno arrived in the United States on a raft at the age of 20 and built a career spanning over two decades in Hispanic television, with roles in telenovelas from Telemundo and Televisa such as El rostro de Analía, Una familia con suerte, La Desalmada, and Me declaro culpable. During the pandemic, he diversified his activities and co-directs a construction company.
His intervention before the PP comes at a time when Spain is home to over 250,000 Cuban residents, many of whom arrived following the massive repression that followed the protests of July 11, 2021, when the Cuban regime imprisoned hundreds of protesters, artists, and activists.
The electoral program of the PP, presented days before the event, includes the commitment to condemn the dictatorships of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, support their democratic transition, and demand the release of political prisoners, as well as changes regarding residency, renewal of residence, and nationality that would directly affect that community.
Moreno concluded his speech by urging Spanish citizens to defend transparency and the right to peacefully remove leaders, and he warned: "If you don’t defend that, who do you think will be affected? Them? No, it's us, the workers, the entrepreneurs, the everyday people."
The actor did not carry national flags, but, as he explained, "the flag of Hispanic heritage because it represents us all," and he concluded with a triple shout: "Long live free Cuba, long live freedom, down with socialism, and long live Spain."
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