(This is) About a strange domestic blockade in apologists of domestic blockade

It is true. There is a domestic blockade in Cuba: by law, it is forbidden to return to capitalism. But those planning to make a career out of the slogan “domestic blockade” seem to have suffered from a mental blockade as well. They go round and round without saying what they really want: Cuba’s return to capitalism.

The usage of euphemisms has usually been a resource to endow socially unaccepted and vulgar events with certain degree of decency. There is a soft rhetoric to disguise horrors; an evil will behind such feigned elegance. Words that seem to be created by the Thought Police (Thinkpol) according to (George) Orwell’s novel.

News keep us updated on daily basis.  Wars leaving behind thousands of victims, whose sole benefit is to plundering natural resources in third countries, are introduced under the skeptical excuse of “fair conflicts” or “humanitarian reasons.” Few decades ago, a group of German linguists set that the euphemism kollateralschaden — collateral damage — was the word of the year.

It is alarming. When we look for the expression “collateral damage” on Wikipedia, it is stunning that to define it, more euphemisms are used. But nothing to do with the assassination of thousands of women, children, and senior citizens, who can only be labeled as something collateral in a de-humanized world. Plain and simple, it is stated that the extermination of innocent citizens would turn out to be secondary compared to one ton of lithium or an oil barrel.

Assange warned about it: “truth is the first victim in a war.” From ancient times, it is being said that a military conflict does not start once the main fortress is attacked, but once it begins the siege. According to this principle, the longest war in modern times has been the US blockade imposed on Cuba for over 60 years.

The invasion of Bay of Pigs, the Missile Crisis, terrorist sabotages, the financing and logistic support of criminal bands in Cuba, or the deliberate introduction of diseases in Cuba, are only part of this warfare, whose actual goal was explicitly confirmed by one of Eisenhower’s aides.

On April 6, 1960, 60 years ago, Assistant Secretary of State Lester D. Mallory wrote a memorandum that, among other recommendations, read: “The majority of Cubans support Castro (…) There is no effective political opposition (…) The only effective way to make him lose internal support (to the government) is to provoke disappointment and discouragement through economic dissatisfaction and hardship (...) All possible means must be put into practice quickly to weaken economic life (...) by denying Cuba money and supplies in order to reduce nominal and real wages, with the aim of provoking hunger, despair and the overthrow of the government."

To reduce the frenzy triggered by the cruel presentation of that policy — hasn’t changed at all — the term blockade is not used, but the euphemism “embargo.” This way, they intend to bring to the rhetoric arena, the lost of dozens of billions US dollars for the country development, but also the death or amputation of thousands of innocent people.  

And now, as the rock of Sisyphus — who repeatedly rolled up to the hill only to have it rolled down — they intend to prove there is no blockade, but one internal in Cuba.

There are certainly some obstacles to get round in Cuba. Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel has addressed some. In his closing speech at the 8^th Congress of the National Association of Economists and Accountants of Cuba (ANEC), the President listed a series of negative, domestic phenomena that it was imperative to solve.

But the goal is to solve each of them to improve our work, not to destroy it. That’s what the Cuban people want. A year ago, our will was endorsed by overwhelming majority: at the polls, by direct and secret vote; not with a bunch of “likes” in Facebook from those who ridiculously call themselves democracy fighters.

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz / CubaSí Translation Staff