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The Liberal Bases
for Politics in Cuba*
in Cuba

Fernando Palacio Mogár
President Cuban National Liberal Party
Havana, Cuba

S

peaking about liberal ideas in Cuba today
involves a great challenge as a societal project. In the first place, The great media
propaganda machine stands in its way and presents liberalism as only an economic strategy embraced by a minority group of powerful men and
bureaucrats for the purpose of enriching themselves and squashing, exploiting and impoverishing the weakest. Even so, liberalism is the political tradition in Cuba.
Hardships, illiteracy, inequalities and injustices
are some the supposed consequences of applied
liberalism, but reality has shown that it can contribute to the resolution of the enormous problem
the Cuban nation has been facing for more than
50 years. A market economy is the primary element we see as the efficient remedy for getting
out of our current situation. Those who attack liberalism both inside and outside Cuba have not
acknowledged that a number of countries have
seen constant economic growth upon having been
guided to shape their economies and politics on a
platform of liberal ideals. We have Peru as an example: for more than 20 years, the country has
shown a sharp increase in its economic development data.
For those of us who defend this political current
in Cuba, it is important for us to study the Oxford
Liberal Manifesto and the Liberal Agenda for the
Twenty-First Century. In them, we will find the
essence of our ideas in clear and profound hypotheses that offer an authentic view of modern

liberal thought. The abundant work on this political tendency is of importance to all Cuban liberals
today. The role of the market and the principles
and theories of liberal thought put us smack in the
position to have to defend liberalism in Cuba. Today, we Cubans are victims of the State’s total intrusion and interference in our lives. Its erratic decisions also affect us. Experience shows that it
would be very beneficial to establish a division of
powers, so that those who make decisions that affect the community are closer to it. This proximity tends to translate into better forms of governments. This is about public authorities not exceeding the degree to which they are needed, and
that the accountability is simpler and more transparent.
The current situation of Cubans is very unfavorable for their ability to exercise their rights and develop as citizens. There are serious limitations on
the diffusion and application of ideas; there continues to be a serious, generalized illiteracy regarding democracy in our society, but there are
more demands for change, a growing social malaise and the authorities are increasingly losing
their legitimacy. Even the process of adjustments
initiated by the government has ended up convincing people about the erratic policies and inappropriate or erroneous ideas it has been employing to create and sustain the country’s wellbeing. Concomitantly, the limited nature of the
changes reinforces the view that the authorities
have not only chosen the wrong path, but that they

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