IDENTIDADES 1 ENGLISH IDENTIDADES 7 ENGLISH | Page 41

cost the lives of thousands of Cubans. In
Guantánamo, the so-called ‘Guayaba’
protest took place during the second half
of the 80s. A youth was coming from the
vicinity of the municipality of Niceto
Pérez with a sack of guavas. The vehicle
in which he was riding was stopped at a
checkpoint at the city’s southeast entrance, and the police began a search.
The young man panicked and quickly
fled. Just like that, one of the officers
fired and the young man was instantly
killed. The population joined the family
members to carry the cadaver and deposit it at the first police station (West 8th
Street, between 2nd and 3rd), near the
victim’s home. They shouted with indignation: Assassins! Assassins! To placate
the atypical situation, uniformed police
took the body to a hospital. The wake
was at home, and when it was time for
the burial, they once again carried him
on their shoulders to the cemetery all the
while shouting the same accusation.
State Security photographers captured all
the details of bo th the wake and funeral
cortege. No police or secret agents intervened. They took action days later, with
the overwhelming proof found in the
photographs. Anyone who was caught
shouting and accusing the authorities on
the governmental lens was sent to prison. It was never known exactly how
many people were punished, but what is
known is that sentences ranged up to 10
years. No one spoke on their behalf. By
now, all Cubans are fighting, each one
on his or her own front. Singers,
filmmakers and creative people talk
about respect for copyright; they publi-

cally protest against piracy—even the
regime’s own piracy of foreign products—and demand fair pay for their efforts and work. There is a call for a liberalization of the media, and commentators are crying out for professionalism as
the only salvation for sports. Something
else that bothers the leaders is the
growing neoliberal current that has
come with the economic opening. While
there is no guarantee of a wholesale
market, and there is massive repression
against it, the private sector has contributed to the economy’s gradual improvement. In addition, the strong influence
both the American government and people have always had on the Cuban population was reinforced when diplomatic
relations between the two countries were
reestablished. The former Minister of the
Armed Forces who is now President
intelligently uses this situation to calm
the people, who can bear no more of the
never-ending economic crisis. If we add
all the protests there have been over all
these years, by oppositionists and nonoppositionists, we’d come up with a
considerable figure. Yet, we must realize
that they have never been organized.
They’ve never had a visible head or sufficient strength for one to continue to
follow them. It may seem trite, we have
always needed someone who knows how
to join all the oppositionist forces, to
efficiently guide them and achieve their
ultimate goal: the overthrow of the Stalinist-style regime that has flogged us
since it came to power in 1959. It is inappropriate to compare our situation to
that of Eastern Europe. Unlike the na-

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