Cuba at a crossroads

By: Pedro Corzo - 02/03/2026

Guest columnist.
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The title of this column has been taken from a conference recently organized by Patria de Marti, a group led by the Cuban political scientist Julio Schiling, a name more than appropriate to try to describe the existential tragedy in the face of Castro's totalitarianism in the largest of the Antilles.

The vast majority of observers of the Cuban situation have been able to appreciate, through the intense and desperate scenarios that have lasted over six and a half decades, that totalitarianism is in the most negative phase of its history, unfortunately not as a result of actions by the opposition, but because of the terrible ineptitude and corruption of its officials, particularly its leaders.

However, no informed person can consciously deny the efforts of those who have opposed Castroism all these years. Countless have been the strategies, the means employed, and the sacrifices made by a significant sector of Cubans and even foreigners who also gave their lives before the firing squad or languished in long years of imprisonment. Even today, more than 1,200 women and men remain imprisoned for political reasons.

For a period of time, a significant part of our society believed in the promises of totalitarianism; no one turned down a treat, as the unforgettable "Paco" Lorenzo used to say.

The promises of education, health, and sports resonated strongly with the population, to which we must add free burials, free shows, work clothes and shoes without having to pay a cent; in short, they implemented a maneuver well seasoned with repression, to turn the governed into happy sheep.

However, the new class, more corrupt and ruthless than the one that preceded it and of colossal inefficiency, was not able to produce wealth to maintain the supposed miracle that more than one praised without wanting to see that everything that was given away on the Island, in the first place, came from the accumulated wealth of the Republic that they extinguished and then, from the formidable Soviet subsidies.

Ultimately, the system, in its 67 years, has only accumulated failures and errors, with lamentable consequences. The average Cuban citizen today has fewer resources than any of their ancestors, suffering unprecedented material and spiritual poverty.

Fidel and Raul Castro turned out to be storytellers with failed narratives. The accumulation of their unfulfilled promises made the already well-known expression "Aunt Tata tells stories" even more popular in Cuba—the name of a popular television program starring Consuelito Vidal, one of their most devoted supporters.

The accumulated unhappiness and endemic hopelessness caused by the system have awakened the majority of the population. They can no longer endure lies, manipulation, and misery. The citizenry is fed up with living on the edge, a situation the regime constantly pushes.

Numerous factors have led the totalitarian system to this precarious situation, most notably the absolute violation of citizens' rights and the systematic repression of those who do not accept the regime's dictates. Totalitarianism has failed structurally, because where there is no freedom, progress is absent to an almost unimaginable degree.

However, for years, through a policy of sticks and carrots, they managed to subject a large sector of the population to servitude, a circumstance that demonstrates the importance of repression to condition people to excessive obedience, being, most paradoxically, that as a result of social control and the conditioning of the population, it still has defenders as happens with other political proposals that despite their failures and crimes, do not cease to have protectors.

Furthermore, making the situation even more dramatic, the United States government has deprived Cuba of its most valuable ally, Nicolas Maduro, while President Donald Trump states that "There will be no more oil or money for Cuba," placing the system and the population in a terminal situation that could lead to the end of a precarious coexistence that has made the Cuban totalitarian system the longest-lasting in the Americas and one of the oldest in the world.

The crossroads at which Cubans find themselves is extremely dangerous. Hopefully, the outcome will lead to the disappearance of both victims and perpetrators.

«The opinions published herein are the sole responsibility of its author».