IDENTIDADES 1 ENGLISH IDENTIDADES 5 ENGLISH | Page 9

central points for this agenda and a national political conversation: “This collapse (of the enemy narrative] facilitates
two important developments on the
agenda for progressive Cubans: the
emergence of a citizens’ voice and a
discussion on the institutionalization of
social, cultural, and political plurality in
Cuba. All this requires profound constitutional changes for an environment that
guarantees freedoms.”

Fernando Palacio summarizes the ample
and broad participation of Cuban civil
activists and leaders in these Deliberative Democracy workshops, and their
repercussions. “He states: “I have no
doubt whatsoever that deliberative democracy is a viable process for achieving progress on the long road to freedoms, rights, and democracy in Cuba,
and for creating spaces for active citizen
participation in decision making a the
community and national level, thus contributing to the application and practice
of a methodology that helps us
acknowledge our differences and similarities, so we can achieve consensus
when making decisions.” Eroises González adds to this discussion with her
views on the need for ideas about democracy and liberty being embraced
and accepted by Cuban civil society at a
time when the government is selling the
world a version of twenty-first century
socialism as a perfect, viable option.

These principles have been the foundation for all the development seen at the
Constitutional Initiative Tables (MIC),
whose results have generated broad national and international exchange. There
were also the two Deliberative Democracy workshops organized by the Platform for Cuban Integration, in Pittsburgh, much before the reestablishment
of diplomatic relations, and the other
one, in February of this year, in Miami,
which was co-sponsored by the Program
for Deliberative Democracy, the Nuevo
País Project, the Citizens’ Committee
for Racial Integration, the Cuban Research Institute at Florida International
University, EveryDay Democracy, and
other U.S. organizations. “From Constitutional Tables to a Constitutional Convention,” by Robert Cavalier, discusses
the solid nature of this program in Cuba,
and expounds on the advantages of its
basic fundamentals and methodology
for achieving great and more diverse
community participation at deliberative
forums.

As a cultural resistance movement, alternative culture has been challenging
Cuba’s totalitarian, imposed climate for
years. It has become a favorable mechanism for community consciousnessraising regarding the need and possibility of moving towards democracy. Miriam Real had an interesting conversation
with Lía Villares, which we include in
“No Falsehoods, No Censorship.” Work
by independent creators is eloquent, not
only because it legitimates artistic expression condemned to ostracism upon

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