Identities in chaos

By: Pedro Corzo - 09/12/2025

Guest columnist.
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Many years ago, the writer Stefan Zweig published a book entitled, "The Confusion of Feelings," something that, in my opinion, is being suffered by those who in good faith supported Castro's totalitarianism, mainly some intellectuals, who, seeing the accumulation of failures that resulted from their efforts, have distanced themselves and even broken with the system.

However, we must bear in mind that some of these people, perhaps in their tortured consciences, have neurons that insist on justifying the past, not because of Castroism but because of themselves, resorting, when they exchange ideas with individuals of opposing views, to the worn-out slogans they used in their time when they were devoted servants of a failed proposal.

These renegade creators have not broken completely with the past as did, among others, Alberto Álvarez, an academic with great intellectual courage who never stops warning about those who continue to resort to Marxist or Castroist arguments and proposals.

Álvarez draws attention to supposedly exiled academics who, in reality, have not broken with totalitarianism and continue to defend, or at least justify, the policies of Castroism. These "leftists" use their academic knowledge to live as they please, striving to maintain a foothold on the island without suffering the consequences of the failure they helped to create.

It must be acknowledged that, however talented these creators may be, they were raised in a society of absolute tension, conditioned to hate and discredit those who did not think like them. The disqualification, the moral execution of the adversary based on the Castroist narrative, must be a very difficult burden to overcome; however, I have known several intellectuals raised under totalitarianism who have managed to do so, Álvarez being an example for me, although not the only one.

It is very difficult to respect individuals who lie to themselves and try to do the same to others, acting out of opportunism rather than conviction. Meanwhile, within Cuba, intellectuals, journalists, and artists in general confront the autocracy without fear of the consequences, despite proven threats of ending up in prison.

However, there are others we must not overlook. Individuals who, because of their behavior, also suffer severe internal ostracism that has gradually reduced them to non-persons for taking critical stances. The system does not forgive their lack of unconditional support, their questioning, however minor it may be, although, paradoxically, several of them continue to believe in socialism despite the disaster they helped create.

Some of these people suffer from a syndrome similar to that of the so-called "leftists." They have broken with the system, but not with their past. When they debate, they defend their former activities more than the tyranny itself. Arguing with them is extremely difficult because they try to justify their actions by claiming that times were different and even suggesting that Castroism was not inherently nefarious, but rather that it hardened in response to those who opposed it.

They constantly link the historical opposition and even sectors of the so-called dissident movement with the United States and its investigative agencies; moreover, they like to identify their adversary with the current president, specifically with the most conservative elements, and finally, they have a favorite mantra, "the blockade," even though they know that it does not exist and that the limitations imposed on the Cuban people have been installed by their own government.

Totalitarianism and its defenders, whether open or covert, constantly resort to discrediting adversaries and enemies, linking those who oppose their proposals to foreign powers or interests contrary to the homeland, labeling them as traitors.

This disrepute is not accidental; it is part of the systematic discrediting implemented by the system to undermine the moral authority of those who put forward proposals contrary to the official ones.

Over the years I have met and shared with some of these people who recognize that they were wrong and had the courage to correct their course by fighting, at whatever risk was necessary, including prison, the motivation behind their probable injustices, the most notable of all being Ricardo Bofill.

I confess that I admire those people, though not as much as those who never let themselves be blinded by utopia. They deserve respect for their course correction, but above all, for their decision to fight those who turned them into instruments of hatred.

To those who still suffer from confusion, I suggest a profound act of contrition; to err is human, and justice will reach us all.

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