EDITORIAL: One year after 11-J, Cuba celebrates another victory

On Sunday, July 11, 2021, Cuba starred the headlines of much of the world's media. Social explosion, anti-government revolt, demonstrations against the system: these were some of the terms used to describe the events. In several cities of the country, almost in unison (which instead of spontaneity, as some maintain, it speaks of premeditated coordination) hundreds of people, thousands in some places, took to the streets to demonstrate in the face of the rigors caused by the crisis. But what might seem like a legitimate protest turned into destabilizing, violent, vandalistic actions.

We must insist: perhaps some of those involved in the demonstrations did so out of the overwhelm of an economic crisis deepened by the impact of a pandemic and the unarguable effect of the sanctions imposed by the United States. This has been recognized by the authorities themselves. But something is clear: the actual aim of the organizers and those who sponsored them went far beyond to support a simple protest: they wanted to overthrow a government, put it on the ropes, force it to take repressive measures to expose it to the international community.

It was a well-written script. Suddenly, a specific narrative began: the law-enforcement agencies violently repress the defenseless and peaceful people. Attacks on police officers and institutions were overlooked on purpose as well as the irruption and robberies in shopping centers, or the violence of some individuals…

In the news programs broadcasted by several international media, and pamphlets of the “domestic” opposition, there was talk of a "disproportionate response" by the police forces to the "peaceful resistance of a people."

It is also noteworthy the use of that term: people. It was as if the entire citizenry supported the protests: an entire country against the government, against a system. It is noteworthy that the citizens who came spontaneously, or at the call of the President of the Republic, to defend the Revolution in the streets (thousands as well, across the country) were not considered part of that people. For certain "unbiased observers," they were government agents, repression troops... and they were so well undercover that reputable international newspapers confused them with "peaceful" protesters against the government.

Oh, the double standard. Cases of police abuse against protesters abound worldwide. Excessive response by the police abounds in several countries. In some places, as a matter of fact, these are so common that are seen somehow natural. And the media do not question the legitimacy of the police response against violent actions (or even when violence has not been exerted). But the image with which they depicted Cuba was like the empire of bloody repression, even though tanks did not get to the streets, even though there was no massacre, even though terror was not unleashed.

That is what some wanted...from the comfort of their homes, usually living abroad far from the site of events. Certain sectors encouraged the confrontation between Cubans. They conceived it as part of a strategy. They added fuel to the fire.

But prudence and legality prevailed.

The authorities acted within the framework of the law. Specific irregularities in police behavior were investigated. There were, as rumored, no disappearances or executions. Individuals responsible for criminal acts were identified and taken before courts, offering all guarantees. It was analyzed case by case. The corresponding sanctions were imposed.

This is what is supposed to happen in any country in the world. But in Cuba, when it happens, it is judged differently. Once again, the media machinery exaggerated the news event, once again some TV hosts pointed out alleged irregularities. The campaigns against Cuba are coordinated following the path of unconventional warfare.

Some of the accusers should take care of their own business.

With what moral authority does the United States government judge and condemn? The US police forces do not exactly have a clean record: abuses and violations of the law are constantly reported. And they occur in a nation that proclaims itself the universal champion of human rights.

One year after the events of July 11, the machinery of hatred and confrontation redoubles its efforts. Social networks are the ideal environment for calls to disobedience and vulgar provocation. The target is to destabilize citizen peace, in a particularly difficult times for the country.

Of course there is a crisis, of course there exists frustration, of course the citizenry has the right to speak out on the matter. The government has a responsibility to meet these demands. And they work, rigorously, and in the midst of shortcomings.

But Cuba is not the failed state that they have wanted to present. There is a part of Cuba that does not usually appear on international headlines: the country that efficiently faced the pandemic, that produced its homegrown vaccines and leads the booster doses applied to its population. This country has maintained, against all pressures, its basic services and is committed to an equitable distribution of the few existing resources. The resilient Cuba, a nation that creates.

The right to consolidate an independent, prosperous, and sustainable society is opposed by the arrogance of those who hate. They do not seek dialogue. They embrace the policy of blackmailing.

This July 11, as the President of the Republic Miguel Díaz-Canel said at the National Council of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba, Cuba will celebrate the triumph of the Revolution and socialism in the face of an attempted vandal coup. It is not the triumph of a government. It is the triumph of a people.

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz / CubaSí Translation Staff