IDENTIDADES 1 ENGLISH IDENTIDADES 9 ENGLISH | Page 53

hegemonic interests that led us to ruin.
The initiative could have not been more
trustworthy and commendable. Manuel
Cuesta Morúa, National Coordinator of
the Platform New Country and
Recipient of the 2016 Ion Ratiu
Democracy Award, materialized the
idea of having popular workshops on
Deliberative
Democracy
in
neighborhoods and villages across the
country. This effort was supported by
the Platform for Cuban Integration and
other exile organizations. It also was
assisted by some international humanist
NGOs. Precisely at the opening of the
Fifth Meeting, Cuesta Morúa explained:
"The idea of Deliberative Democracy
arose from certain vision of failure in
Cuba. In one way or another, we have
always tried to advance in the
democratic field, to find a way to free
us from the regime. Some had the view
that democratic changes could occur

overnight, but enough time has passed
and they have not been achieved. Thus,
the main intention among some of us
was to think how we could advance a
mobilization process that were just that,
a process. In certain circumstances, two
texts on Deliberative Democracy fell
into our hands and we found them very
relevant and important for applying the
ideas on how to handle pluralism and
diversity in a country that had lost
democracy and was divided into
clusters with their peculiar visions on
how to do things. In such situation,
Deliberative Democracy seemed to be
the fundamental tool to find concrete
solutions to concrete problems. The
Project New Country opened the
discussions and the process began to
open itself. We started to involve not
only the greatest possible number of
groups, but also to address the critical
issues on law and the rule of law ".

.

Cuesta Morúa at the opening of the Fifth Meeting on Deliberative Democracy
On such a path, seeking that ordinary
Cubans are truly informed and take part
in solving the problems of their vital

environments, while opening to hear the
different opinions for choosing the best
ones, some activists of the independent

52