Ricardo Pascoe Pierce
The Cuban government has just sentenced 128 people to a total of 1,916 years in prison for protesting peacefully against the high cost of living, the mismanagement of Covid, and the lack of freedoms, on July 11, 2021.
Of this total, two were sentenced to 30 years in prison, one to 26 years, three to 25, eight to 23 years, three to 22, three to 21, eleven to 20 years in prison, four to 19, and eleven to 18 years.
Six were sentenced to 16 years in prison, nine to 15 years, ten to 14, six to 13 years, seventeen to 12 years, five to 11, ten to 10 years, four to 9 years, eight to 8 years, four to 7 and, finally, two to 6 years.
Apart from a few exceptions, the Latin American left does not flinch, does not protest or question the actions of the Cuban authorities. In the case of Mexico, President López Obrador plans to visit the Cuban government next May, precisely in the context of the judicial confirmation of the sentences of 128 political prisoners.
In that visit, the Mexican president has the historical and constitutional duty to dissociate himself from the repression of citizens of that country and demand their release. If he does not do so, the official visit to Cuba will become an open endorsement of a regime that represses its people in order to remain in power.
And if he does not demand the release of the prisoners, AMLO will have broken with the best traditions of Mexico’s foreign policy, which has always been an inspiration to the people fighting for their freedom. Mexico has been, in the past, a refuge for those displaced from their countries for being social fighters or defenders of political liberties, such as Leon Trotsky, the Spaniards against Francoism, Jose Marti and Fidel Castro himself, Che Guevara, Nicaraguans, Argentines, Chileans, Bolivians, Brazilians, including at present Ukrainians fighting against Russian totalitarianism.
Abandoning the tradition of giving refuge to social fighters or those who confront dictatorships would not only speak badly of Mexico; it would also set a worrying precedent about what the tenant of the National Palace is planning for the future of our country. Does he want to hold on to power after the constitutional six-year term? He says no, but, as we know from experience, Lopez Obrador’s denials often turn into affirmations.
López Obrador’s admiration for “strong men” such as Díaz Canel and Putin never ceases to unsettle the mind of the keen observer of his behaviors and preferences.
Even in apparent imitation of her political boss, the Secretary-General of the Morena Party, Citlalli Hernández, did not call for the liberation of political prisoners during a flattering protocol visit with Díaz Canel, President of Cuba.
Morena’s endorsement of the Cuban government’s repression marked its end as a leftist party, showing its true face of rancid totalitarian conservatism, just like the Cuban Communist Party. They have nothing of libertarianism. They are united by their intention to impose their unique thinking on the societies they govern, rejecting thinking beings and annulling democracy.
López Obrador’s visit to Cuba will show his true face: that of a democrat determined to seek the liberation of political prisoners, or he will be judged historically as a defender of the dictatorship. The hour of definitions has arrived.
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