Was Payá Cuban?
By Yadira Escobar
HIALEAH GARDENS – Oswaldo Paya was a Spanish citizen as told on Spanish television by his own brother, Carlos Paya Sardinas, when he proclaimed that “the government of Mariano Rajoy was obliged to ask Cuba for a more open investigation into the death of his brother, because after all, he was a Spanish citizen. … My brother Oswaldo was a Spaniard and he died a Spaniard,” he added.
Apparently it was the best kept secret of the MCL (Christian Liberation Movement), and yesterday (March 19) in the program "Breakfast with TVE" alongside journalists Arsenio Escolar (20 Minutes), Bieito Rubido (ABC) and John Paul Colmer (Cadena Cope), his daughter, Rosa, confirmed that fact hidden by her late father in his struggle as oppositionist to the Cuban government.
Citizenship for an opponent is serious because it defines one’s part in a republic,
(or in a constitutional monarchy such as Spain). I, for one, am an American citizen, but never voluntarily renounced my Cuban citizenship. The fact is I acquired it automatically as a child when my parents became U.S. citizens.
In the future, lawmakers will decide, according to the general good, if Cubans can have dual citizenship. In the meantime, only Cuban citizens can legitimately claim political space within the state and government on the island. We must be realistic with this citizenship issue. Cuba has long been immersed in an economic situation that favors that Cubans put aside their citizenship for the economic advantages offered by other countries. That’s understandable, because everywhere the citizen has advantages over a foreign resident, but in Cuba when one switches and becomes a citizen of another nation and then gets into politics, should he or she not, at least, be transparent with the people who he or she wants to involve (creating movements or parties) by telling the truth about one’s self? What would happen to a political group that got into trouble with the law and their bosses escaped liability by arguing citizenship of another state?
As an exiled nationalist who does not share citizenship with my compatriots on the island, but who is part of the nation, and who lives in my Cubanness, I believe that if the MCL wants to continue to exist, at least in the imagination of Opus Dei and the fantasies of the enemies of secularism within the island, then they should be very careful not to facilitate interference by European Social-Christians in Cuba and claiming rights from Spanish positions. Cuba is not Spain, and the double standard of claiming rights within the island, and then asking for support backed by the other citizenship, speaks very poorly of what should be a serious opposition.
Order is the basis of civil life, and if there is clear separation of things then there is more clarity when we study and apply them. Opportunism in politics has always brought evil to our nation, and we should aspire to a future with a high degree of public responsibility. That future republic must not rise above ashes of a fire caused by lies. What we need is bright, informative lights. But mostly what is required is public morality so that sound policy allows us to finally enjoy the benefits of a superior social model.
Yadira Escobar is a Cuban artist and blogger (YadiraEscobar.com) who lives in Hialeah Gardens.
