There are problems but ‘we can come out ahead’
There are problems but ‘we can come
out ahead’
An interview with
Félix Sautié
By Orestes Martí –
Manuel Alberto Ramy Read Spanish Version
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria – Havana, Cuba
On
several opportunities we have chatted with Félix Sautié and discussed diverse
topics, basically those topics related to the different views, opinions and
paths for the necessary improvement of socialism in
reflect his criteria and profound belief that one can be simultaneously
religious and revolutionary, also has been interviewed about the meaning of the
50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution.
50th anniversary of the triumph of its Revolution. Did you live through that
event? How do you remember it?
Sautié: There are events in
our lives that are engraved in our conscience as inflections where the entire
existential course changes drastically. That’s what the triumph of the
Revolution on Jan. 1, 1959, was for me. I expected it, because I was part of
the 26 July Movement and took part in the capture of the Candelaria barracks in
a town in Pinar del Río province, at the foot of the Soroa hills.
The
early stages were very dramatic. It was the total collapse of a bloodthirsty
tyranny defeated by the struggle of an entire nation. The myth that no
revolution could be waged against the Army was smashed. I saw that, reflected
in the faces of the army officers who surrendered to the "local
troublemakers," as they used to call us. I was in that zone from the end
of the April 1958 strike in
where I was part of the Catholic Action and the FON (National Workers Front).
In that area of Pinar del Río, my father had a farm.
Later
came nights of vigil and wait, and days of agitation in a place where the most
characteristic feature was the peace and quiet. Maybe that is what I remember
best, along with those faces, hardened by the practice of repression and
defeated for ever. I shall never forget them. In mid-January 1959, I returned
to
comrades in the 26 July Movement had sent for me and put me to work in the
takeover of the National Development Commission and political-revolutionary
activities in
places in
What
influence has the Cuban Revolution had in your social environment?
Sautié: A total
transformation that could never return to the past. The future has many
imponderables that we have to clear up, but, for sure, the past will not return
because the Cuban Revolution has been a drastic, uprooting change. Beyond its
wear-and-tear and its current problems, I have faith and confidence that we can
come out ahead.
What
is your opinion of the
blockade against
Sautié: It is criminal and
unacceptable and the only alternative is to lift it unconditionally. To try to
conquer the Cuban people through hunger and penury is an act that can never be
justified. Our problems are for us Cubans to solve, not the
Would
you counsel the new
administration to lift the blockade, in response to the demands of the
international public opinion, especially the results of the voting at the
United Nations?
Sautié: They have no
dignified alternative other than lifting the blockade unconditionally.
Everything else can be debated bilaterally under conditions of equality.
What
are the "pending tasks" of the Cuban revolutionary process?
Sautié: The Cuban people —
who have struggled so hard and has endured multiple problems and difficulties
— must be taken very much into account, in terms of their aspirations and
current needs. The postponements and the wait for the changes and
transformations needed to continue to move ahead are not justifiable.
Therefore, it is indispensable that full freedom of expression, of conscience,
and unhindered travel be established, because the excessive control and
prohibitions that keep us Cubans from traveling wherever we want and returning
to our native country are totally unbearable.
There
are other, very important problems, such as free access to information on the
Internet, in a world where the absence of this communication is inconceivable.
The fact that people, especially professional people, cannot have access to the
Internet from their homes or wherever they are is a sign of backwardness. These
measures can no longer be justified with the excuse that there are other
countries more backward than
or that we’re facing a blockade.
but these restrictions hamper its future.
The
process must rid itself of self-righteousness, of the bureaucracy that
complicates everything. It must socialize state-owned property with a greater
direct participation by the workers, so they may escape from the precarious
wage systems that obliges them to eke out a living. It must leave behind
authoritarianism and centralization. In addition, it is essential that we give
youth full access to the helm of society, along with an effective economic and
social participation that will halt the exodus that ages our nation and sets it
back beyond the natural secondary effects of development. These effects are
used as the only explanation for the aging of society, a phenomenon that is
reaching very worrisome levels.
A
dialogue among all of us Cubans — without disqualifications or insults, and in
a civilized manner — must be the sign of the times.
What
do you expect from the Cuban Revolution in the next several years?
Sautié: It needs to free
itself from the stagnation in which it lies. It needs to modernize and change
everything that needs to be changed so it can definitely keep up with the
times. The mistakes, stubbornness and inconsistencies within the process itself
are the only factors that can destroy it.
