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Cuban Bloggers: The Next Revolution
Small signs of freedom are starting to sprout in Cuba — and none more hopeful than the tolerance of bloggers who criticize the Castro regime.
Yoani Sánchez was a student at the University of Havana when she did the unthinkable and wrote a thesis about dictatorships in Latin American literature. It wasn’t a direct criticism of Fidel Castro, but it was too close for comfort in a country where there’s so much that’s officially unthinkable.
Ms. Sánchez eventually fled Cuba for Switzerland in 2002, with her son and husband soon joining her. Then she once again did the unthinkable and in 2004 moved back to Cuba when her husband couldn’t find employment in Europe. It’s not unheard of for people to return to Cuba to live, after having lived abroad, but it is exceptionally rare. Yet as it pertains to doing unthinkable things, Yoani Sánchez was just getting warmed up. In April 2007 she started a blog about real life in Cuba and incredibly she began posting with her real name and her photograph.
Her experiences outside of Cuba have, no doubt, shaped Yoani’s opinions about life on the island, opinions that she shares with her readers several times a week.
A few months before Yoani blogged her first post, Cuba’s communications czar, Ramiro Valdés, told an audience “the wild colt of the new technologies could and must be controlled.”
But such pronouncements by Cuba’s totalitarian leadership did not deter Yoani Sánchez. Today she is arguably the most well-known critic of the Castro regime, with well over 1 million visitors to her blog, Generación Y, each month.
Yoani composes her blog posts at home and uses a USB drive, the kind many of us take for granted, to take her work to a tourist hotel or some other place like an Internet café, where she uploads her thoughts. Generación Y’s server is outside of Cuba, of course, far from the would-be tamers of the wild colt.
I first heard of Yoani and her blog in December of last year when the Miami Herald and the Wall Street Journal featured her in pieces about Cuba’s nascent blogging community. In the short amount of time since, she has become a hero to me.
Cuba is second only to China in terms of jailed journalists, but change is happening under Raul Castro, who is trying to portray his reign as a kinder and gentler dictatorship than the one his older brother presided over: the repression in Cuba, which is the hallmark of any totalitarian tyrant, has gotten much more subtle recently.
Raul simply can’t abide by a Cuban openly criticizing the ridiculous policies enacted by his brother and enforced by his sycophants, but rather than arrest Yoani he’s been content to block her blog inside of Cuba. I suppose he thought that he could mitigate the damage she might do, at least in terms of “corrupting” the minds of the few Cubans on the island that have access to the Internet. But the proverbial horse has already left the barn; on April 4, 2008, Yoani Sánchez won the coveted Ortega y Gasset award for journalism in the digital category. The award is Spain’s equivalent to the Pulitzer Prize, an accomplishment for Ms. Sánchez.
Yes, changes are happening in Cuba, but they are not the highly touted changes that Raul Castro is announcing on a daily basis. The changes are happening among the Cuban people, who are beginning to lose their fear and beginning to speak their minds regardless of the consequences. People like the Ladies in White, who recently held a protest in the Plaza of the Revolution demanding the release of their loved ones who are political prisoners of the regime. As one might expect, the protest was broken up by a force of Cuban policewomen and a government-organized mob of women. But still they did it; they challenged the regime for its arbitrary and capricious abuses of human rights.
In a recent piece for the prestigious Letras Libres, Yoani writes about the inevitable changes that are occurring among the Cuban citizenry:
Slowly the hypnotized begin to shake it off, not with a violent snap of the fingers, as in the circus, but ever so slowly as the prolonged influence of Fidel Castro fades. His brother, evidently, does not have the gift of casting the collective spell.
Fidel has been many things, but eventually he will be remembered as the best hypnotist in the history of Cuba. A magician who made millions of people believe that the future was promising and imminent and that any individual sacrifice would be little compared to the collective well-being to come. A seducer who created in the minds of the millions of Cubans a dream of a national dignity strengthened in a fight against the most powerful enemy in the history of the world. In order to maintain that elusive fantasy, at least three generations of Cubans, that of my parents, my own, and that of my son, renounced the guarantees to what should have been the material basis of their personal dignity: decent housing, an adequate food supply, an efficient transportation system, and the most basic rights of expression, information, and free association.
The changes are also happening among the world’s leading media outlets, which have for years accepted a Faustian bargain in which they traded their journalistic integrity for access and the right to have bureaus in Havana. They are finally beginning to report the truth, if only to give some context to the lifting of the most ludicrous restrictions on Cuban citizens. Or perhaps they have been shamed into it. Shamed by the efforts of one particularly courageous blogger who has nothing to gain and everything to lose for portraying Cuban life accurately and faithfully. Time Magazine has named Ms. Sanchez one of the world’s 100 most influential people.
Yoani Sánchez has inspired others as well. Recently, a new Cuban blog made its debut. It’s name: Wild Colt. Unthinkable.
Henry Louis Gomez is Cuban-American and contributes to Babalublog.com and CubanAmericanPundits.com.
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21 Comments
1. Michael Canzano:Ms Sanchez is in a league of “Brave Women” the likes of which include ; Oriana Fallaci , Hirsi Ali , Brigitte Gabriel , Phyllis Chesler, Wafa Sultan and Nonie Darwish to name a few of the courageous women contributing truths the MSM refuses to report. Criticizing Islam or Socialism can have deadly consequences. I salute them all. When frustration with political correctness and “America Hatred” sets in , I temper it with their courage.
May 10, 2008 - 3:47 am 2. RHM:American Christian Infidel
This an excellent read. The new wave of Cuban bloggers is very encouraging. – RHM
May 10, 2008 - 10:18 am 3. Doc99:History teaches us that the end of all totalitarian regimes begins with a loosening of restrictions on its citizens’ daily lives. Cuba will be no exception. In the interest of accelerating this process, the embargo should and must be ended and full free trade begun with the island nation. Just as the Wendy’s “Fashion Show” helped end the Cold War, free and open trade will free the Cuban people. The Genie is out of the bottle. It’s time to put it to work.
May 10, 2008 - 2:43 pm 4. Cuban Bloggers: The Next Revolution « Hispanic Marketing:[...] read more | digg story [...]
May 10, 2008 - 2:49 pm 5. Henry Gomez:Not so fast, Doc99. What raul castro has NOT done is liberalize the Cuban economy. With the state controlling all of the factors of production, there is ZERO chance of any trickle down for the average Cuban. Instead the state-owned monopolies will derive all the benefits. What does the Cuban state do when it has dollars? It represses its own people and subverts other countries. I need to see more before the U.S. takes away the embargo.
May 10, 2008 - 6:49 pm 6. The Conservative Revolution » Blog Archive » Cuban freedom bloggers:[...] Pajamas Media has a great story about the rise of anti-regime bloggers in Cuba. A few months before Yoani blogged her first post, Cuba’s communications czar, Ramiro Valdés, told an audience “the wild colt of the new technologies could and must be controlled.” [...]
May 11, 2008 - 5:49 am 7. Ritchie Emmons:Doc99, I agree with Henry Gomez. Free and open trade does not lead to political freedom. Look at China. We have tons of free trade with them, yet the govt is still very opressive. As the article above notes, they lead the world in jailed journalists. They also restrict the Internet, grossly violate human rights and aren’t even close to permitting its citizens the right to vote for their national leaders.
Raul is lifting some restrictions, which is good. If the Cubans are lucky, Raul is taking it slow only because Fidel is still alive. Perhaps when Fidel is dead, Raul will start to open up everything. That may be wishful thinking, but it sure would be nice. Especially for those poor Cubans who have lived a lifetime of poverty and oppression.
May 11, 2008 - 7:49 am 8. Omar:In Cuba there are changes, but to improve our socialism. Nobody from out can want to impose his system of government on us. We are not a perfect society, but at least we try to be the most just.
May 12, 2008 - 3:15 pm 9. Henry Gomez:Neither mercenaries will be able to demolish our society.
There is justifiable the economic blockade that imposes USA to Cuba? It is possible to want “to liberate” a people submitting it to penuries?
Many changes had come even if he had been still Fidel; he has been the genius of this Revolution and one of the grandest personalities of the history, it is undeniable.
Leave us in peace, and don´t want to turn into heroine an pro imperialistic that disguises itself of rebellious.
You don´t speak about the really revolutionary blogs
Learn to live with socialist and revolutionary Cuba, which “invades” peoples, but not with weapon, but saving lives.
Hey Omar,
What blockade are you talking about. There’s no blockade and you know it. It’s a limited trade embargo. And your buddy fidel didn’t seem to mind too much about it when he STOLE 1.8 Billion in American Assets.
Your government wants free trade between the U.S. and Cuba but not between the U.S. and Colombia. Explain that.
May 12, 2008 - 6:33 pm 10. Xanthippe:I wish I could read Spanish – I’d love to read Yoani’s blog.
Cuba will not be truly revolutionary until her people are free.
May 12, 2008 - 9:33 pm 11. Omar:How not to call blockade to the implacable pursuit in any country of any product that contains a minimal per cent of American material? Do you know how much this people has suffered for your friend American government? Whom does you want to cheat with it of the money stolen of Fidel?
May 13, 2008 - 8:07 am 12. Henry Gomez:It was the USA the one that was stealing our country with his companies.
Do not offend this people that has resisted everything for defended his model of social justice and because the immense majority of this country we feel part of our real Revolution.
Do you know how many losses of all kinds your friends have caused us?
Come to the reality.
Omar take a look at the pictures of Cuba before fidel when American companies “were stealing your country”. You know, when the buildings we new. When there was food in the grocery stores and you didn’t need a ration card to buy meat. Please, your embarrassing yourself.
May 13, 2008 - 12:08 pm 13. Mabel:Xanthippe,
You can read it in English. Yoani has asked people to post translations in the comments section and these are very good I might say. I read her blog every day. She is brave and extremely talented in the way she expresses her thoughts.
http://www.desdecuba.com/generaciony/
May 13, 2008 - 1:49 pm 14. Omar:But, take from us the blockade (embargo) and you will see like we will improve or will realize that this is a failure, but first take from us the blockade.
May 14, 2008 - 8:24 am 15. don ,royce-roy:In spite of the economic war, we have better indexes of health that USA.
The ration card has been a needness for not to leave anybody abandoned in our country.
Don´t repeat the lies.
like a mind farmer the seed,s have bin-planted- in a place were not , that. ,but/only a few root,s have.bin. taken/to the earth we call cuba. it,s our blood that will water/ this plant- to bloom into the tree of
May 15, 2008 - 11:49 am 16. 6 Questions with Fidel Castro’s Worst Nightmare (Part I of II) : TheCandidacy.com:How to Get Elected 6 Questions with Fidel Castro’s Worst Nightmare (Part I of II) — TheCandidacy.com:How to Get Elected:life , that every cuban must that , a part of eating that bark. off the tree . and then must come back to that same tree to feed it so it can have flower,s that bloom in a city of doom after 50 years of sin — but you know/ what/ the new cuban bee will make the cross palination in too a new national of devus pulrums avoctions de el reculso,s de la vida // we all know too well , and this time
we make no mistakes on the way too the makeing of a hole new way of live for all cubans on this earth , we will never be the same once we get back what the hunta has trick our familys in to think there way we have a LOT OF UN BRIAN WASHING TO DO . BUT ONCES THEY SEE FOR FRIST HAND . THE MIX OF THE TWO BLOODS THE FULL OF CUBA AND QUEST , WILL START TI COME TOO IT,S END . 2009-2012,
[...] Gomez blogs regularly at Babalu and CubanAmericanPundits.com. In addition, he recently published a very cool article about Cubans who risk it all by blogging from [...]
May 21, 2008 - 9:18 pm 17. 6 Questions with Fidel Castro’s Worst Nightmare (Part II of II) : TheCandidacy.com:How to Get Elected 6 Questions with Fidel Castro’s Worst Nightmare (Part II of II) — TheCandidacy.com:How to Get Elected:[...] Gomez blogs regularly at Babalu and CubanAmericanPundits.com. In addition, he recently published a very cool article about Cubans who risk it all by blogging from [...]
May 22, 2008 - 9:10 pm 18. physical resistance in digital culture | The Institute of Illogical Operation:[...] of information. we even have examples of countries with extremely strict internet guidelines making the internet widely available. many cubans, preceding the rule of raul castro, routinely downloaded popular blog posts to usb [...]
Jul 5, 2008 - 3:14 am 19. alejandro:omar please you sound like the official newspaper, i want to improve our sistem because i live on it but our young people do not want to work because the salary they pay us is nothing and this is not the embargo , it is the way we live, very bad, poverty everywhere and we still say “WE are doing well” , untill we accept we have problems everywhere we can not solve them. We have to try other ways without forget what we have good, that is not to much. Health care??? our best doctors are outside of cuba to make more money and get a permision to buy a house and a car, or not?? education, long time ago was good, no anymore. When i hear someone saying we have some problems , i say no we have manyyyyyyyyyyyy problems but not all of them are because of the embargo, smart people can not accept that .
Dec 6, 2008 - 8:30 am 20. jaime:Usa goberment is not our friend but we have to stop saying all the time that the embargo is getting this and that and better use an energy to get new solutions for our good country.
embargo,eso no existe,cuba comercia con70% del mudo,no le hechen la culpa a E.U .Todo lo que produce cuba con la mano obrera cubana como carne frutas azucar cigars cafe ecetera…….. se exporta mientras al pueblo lo mantiene con raciones que en un dia se comen lo que le dan para un mes.Que hacen con estas dibisas comprar armas y mas armas no para defender al publo si no para tenerlo mas oprimido.E.U y el mundo lo unico que quieren es que se respeten los derechos del hombre libertad de exprecion,congregacion,viajarde elegir a su dirigente sin temor a ser reprimidos
Jun 27, 2009 - 1:58 pm 21. Pajamas Media » Cuban Blogger Beaten by Regime Thugs — This Time, the World Notices:[...] Sanchez is a blogger who persists in offending Cuba’s dictatorial masters by continuing to think freely. For this reason, Time [...]
Nov 18, 2009 - 1:30 am