Church's Mediation Marks
Start of "New Time" for Cuba
Dalia Acosta interviews Cuban dissident
MANUEL CUESTA MORÚA
HAVANA (IPS) - One of Cuba's most
prominent moderate dissidents, historian
Manuel Cuesta Morúa, says the recent
talks between Catholic Church leaders
and the government of Raúl Castro mark
the start of a "new time" for the
country.
In this interview with IPS, Cuesta Morúa,
spokesman for the Arco Progresista, a
social democratic dissident movement,
discusses the significance of the
Church's mediation efforts, which led to
the relocation of six prisoners from
provincial jails to facilities closer to
their homes on Tuesday, Jun. 1.
The six form part of the original group
of 75 dissidents handed lengthy
sentences in 2003 on charges of treason
for conspiring with the United States to
destabilise the government, 53 of whom
are still in prison. (The others were
released on parole for health reasons.)
Observers say the relocation of the
prisoners could be a first step in a
process that could lead to the release
of at least the remaining imprisoned
dissidents who have health problems.
Cuba's dissident organisations are
illegal but tolerated to varying extents
by the government, which sees them as
small groups with no social base that
only exist due to logistical and
financial support from the United
States.
Q: Beyond the fact that talks between
the Catholic Church and the Cuban
government are a dialogue "among Cubans"
to address a problem that involves the
political opposition, how do you see
this development in terms of the recent
history of the country?
A: This is the start of a new time for
Cuba. Perhaps it is hard for us to see
the forest for the trees, as we are in
the midst of what is going on. But I
believe we are looking at a new forest,
one that all Cubans, through different
routes, are entering and rediscovering.
One of the essential things is to see
how solutions are found to old conflicts
in the big issue of tension between the
state and the citizens. What is emerging
now is a new context in the midst of
tension, but one that is richer when it
comes to imagining solutions with regard
to the future.
Cuba is moving into that new context
with a classic solution: the Catholic
Church mediating between the state and
the citizens -- a role that many
believed it would not be able to play
due to a variety of reasons, one of
which was that this type of government
and society did not tolerate any actor
other than the state to confront
problems.
And this new time is starting to "normalise"
the country and open up possibilities
for the state to reflect the complexity
of Cuban society. I'm not saying that
all of the consequences will be positive
and will satisfy everyone, but that new
paths are opening up and that a mediator
in the conflicts has appeared.
Q: In your view, what would a "normalised"
Cuba be like?
A: Cuba should "normalise" both in
international terms and internally. We
are gradually becoming a normal society
-- what is happening in terms of the
openness to sexual diversity is one
proof of that -- but this social "normalisation"
has not yet been reflected in the
structures and institutions of the
state.
"Normalisation" means that the
government does not turn its back on
reality, that it tackles big problems
head on, that it adapts to society and
does not try to get society to adapt to
it. In other words, lowering the
expectations for utopia and getting in
tune with society.
And the government should accept that
Cuba has been a plural society from the
very start, from the cultural, religious
and philosophical points of view and
even in terms of how people deal with
everyday problems. This pluralism has an
impact on life, and accepting it has
consequences in terms of how the state
is organised, and with respect to
society and how people see those who are
different from them.
Q: In this process of "normalisation",
there is a civil society that is
recognised by the government and whose
issues and demands coincide, in many
cases, with those of the opposition. A
few years ago you told IPS that this
process could deprive some opposition
groups of a raison d'etre; how do you
see that now?
A: I think many of these projects, in
the long run, tend to displace a not
insignificant number of initiatives by
the opposition. In some cases, in the
groups and initiatives that are
tolerated (by the authorities), there is
a higher level of preparation and
sophistication than in the opposition,
and this tendency could mark the way
things unfold in the future.
But perhaps in some areas, that won't
happen because of another important
reason: the connection with society.
Many projects accepted by the government
have more to do with the concerns,
interests and visions of the elites, and
in some cases would appear to be trapped
in the cultural and ideological
parameters of the powers-that-be.
Meanwhile, a significant number of
opposition initiatives do not have an
echo in society, but they better express
the sensibility of the common citizen.
However, they may have a lower cultural,
intellectual and political level, and at
times they are seen as a good
springboard for leaving the country.
Q: Why is getting citizens to
participate on their own initiative a
central focus of the Nuevo País (New
Country) project, of which you are one
of the driving forces?
A: I am among those who believe that in
Cuba there is a certain level of
participation, but that the state
defines in what area and to what extent,
and sets the limits on that
participation, and of course the results
are those desired by the people in a
position to set the limits.
We want people to decide for themselves,
to participate because they want to, not
because they are called to do so.
In other words, we want citizens to be a
source of legitimacy. Here, the source
of legitimacy is the Revolution, and
citizens have to look inside the
Revolution to propose any kind of action
or suggest a political view. What we are
suggesting is for that process to happen
without any kind of mediation.
We don't tell people which direction
they should go in; we tell them they
have the right to decide which direction
they want to go in.
Above and beyond the individual citizen,
the question would seem to be whether
Cuba's problem will be gradually
resolved as adequate responses are
provided to the problems faced by
different segments of society, or
whether a global approach is necessary.
I'm really not sure. |
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