Stabilization without democracy?

By: Dagoberto Valdés Hernández - 09/03/2026

Guest columnist.
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We Cubans are living through a crisis where misery, uncertainty, and hope are intertwined. The result is an agonizing anguish that leads us to plead for whatever is going to happen to happen, without pausing to consider that not everything is acceptable, that not all solutions are good for us Cubans or for the countries of the region.

Uncertainty increases for everyone when we are not involved in the path, the selection of the key players, or the methods and strategies that others seem to be preparing for Cuba. It already happened in 1898 when the Mambises, Cubans who fought for decades for Cuba's freedom, were unable to participate in that path to achieving liberty. That must not be repeated. It is unethical, illogical, and political in the truest sense. We Cubans must take part in every process that leads us to true freedom, which must be inextricably linked to responsibility and participation in every change, process, or transition that affects the life and destiny of our people.

Indeed, we Cubans must be involved, participate, and feel involved in all the most important decisions and changes that affect the future of the nation. The concern arises from realizing that both within Cuba, by the regime, and from abroad, by international actors, decisions are being made at the highest levels, decisions which, once again, remain unknown to us. We cannot choose the best option for ourselves, Cubans both inside and outside the country, and we are left, like fledglings in their nest, with our mouths agape and our souls in turmoil, waiting, speculating, even guessing, what will happen and what they will do to us.

In that state of anticipation, aware of all kinds of social media headlines—some more objective, others sensationalist—everyone is waiting for the “declarations” coming from on high. A country in agony and mired in total crisis should not be paralyzed, prostrate, and dependent on a few high places, whether in the capital or in the heights of Havana, deciding what everyone does according to their own strategies. Even when the end is good and desired, not all means and strategies can be good, especially when ordinary Cubans have no say in those decisions.

Finally, I would like to express my opinion on some recurring dichotomies in our history and in our minds: stabilization or democracy? Preventing migratory waves or freedom for nations? Economic or political changes?

I believe it is unethical, that is, unfair and inhumane, to decide the future of an entire people by only considering the first terms: stability, avoiding waves of migration and only economic reforms.

This would be, wherever it comes from, a very serious blow to the dignity, freedom, and life and death of so many Cubans who have dedicated their entire existence to the freedom, democracy, and progress of Cuba.

Proposals

1. The desired internal stability and the sought-after stability of the Western Hemisphere must be inextricably linked to: the internal freedom of all Cubans and the effective and transparent democratization of all nations on the continent. Stability without democracy is a fraud. And, to top it all off, without both there will never be lasting stability. Only democracy preserves stability.

2. Achieving normal and orderly migration is not possible through economic reforms alone; people are not farm animals that can be kept docile simply by being fed. Regulating migration processes is only possible when countries achieve freedom, democracy, and stable and lasting progress within their own borders.

3. Finally, let's say it once again: economic reforms without freedom, with political prisoners, and without democracy guarantee neither internal nor regional stability. The experiences of well-known countries like China, Russia, and Iran demonstrate this.

The end does not justify the means, and both the means and the ends to be achieved must be ethically acceptable and faithfully respond to the most legitimate aspirations of the Cuban people:

1. True freedom with responsibility.

2. True democracy with citizen participation in all processes of change.

3. True prosperity and development with freedom and justice.

In summary: Economic changes, political freedom, civic responsibility, democracy, and economic development are interdependent and complementary processes that will only lead to national and international stability when we conceive, plan, and execute them as synergistic and holistic processes.

Cuba deserves it.

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