IDENTIDADES 1 ENGLISH IDENTIDADES 5 ENGLISH | Page 6

eloquent: “It is hard to understand some
Cuban intellectuals who say they are
defenders of black and mestizo rights,
but have a fit if another intellectual, including someone as pro-government and
leftist as they airs opinions that contradict official rhetoric about racism in
Cuba.”

and harassment by the police and State
Security are the order of the day.
What is different nowadays, as José
Hugo Fernández comments in “Associationism, Not Mirages,” is in the crude
evidence of the fact that the problem has
forced the government to try to mask its
position by adulterating the concept of
civil society. Proof of this is the rise in a
group of pro-government institutions
that are parading as independent ones.
Despite their seemingly committed pronouncements, it is doubtful their subordination to the dictatorship will be able
to benefit the interests of the Afrodescendant population. In highlighting
the possibilities that associationism offered blacks and mestizos throughout
history, the author also underlines the
current urgent need there is for this vehicle to be free of government manipulation.

Despite this, authentic associationism
and the Afro-descendant voice has been
gaining strength over the last few years