Yes, but no. No, but yes.
The
dialectics of consensus
If
Shakespeare had lived through this Cuban moment, he would have
exchanged his quandary of "to be or not to be" for the
title of this article, in which I attempt to answer questions that
motivated my previous article ("The
process of changes is ongoing".) The
most-frequently-asked question is "Why is a consensus needed to
make reforms if everything in Cuba is done by unanimity?"
Almost
all of the people who ask that question live in the United States. It
figures.
The
image held abroad of Cuban society and our institutions is one of
absolute unanimity. In good measure, this image has been fed by our
own information media, which can provide various explanations for the
phenomenon.
But
reality does not match that projection, and in passing I say that I
wouldn’t be surprised if several municipal organizations of the
People’s Power have in the past (and on more than one occasion)
rejected candidacies submitted by the National Commission on
Candidacies for the Provincial Assemblies and the National Assembly.
If this happened, it wasn’t reported. But let’s go on.
The
dialectics of consensus
By
Manuel Alberto Ramy Read Spanish Version
maprogre@gmail.com
If
Shakespeare had lived through this Cuban moment, he would have
exchanged his quandary of "to be or not to be" for the
title of this article, in which I attempt to answer questions that
motivated my previous article ("The
process of changes is ongoing".) The
most-frequently-asked question is "Why is a consensus needed to
make reforms if everything in Cuba is done by unanimity?"
Almost
all of the people who ask that question live in the United States. It
figures.
The
image held abroad of Cuban society and our institutions is one of
absolute unanimity. In good measure, this image has been fed by our
own information media, which can provide various explanations for the
phenomenon.
But
reality does not match that projection, and in passing I say that I
wouldn’t be surprised if several municipal organizations of the
People’s Power have in the past (and on more than one occasion)
rejected candidacies submitted by the National Commission on
Candidacies for the Provincial Assemblies and the National Assembly.
If this happened, it wasn’t reported. But let’s go on.
The
need for consensus (the reaching of accords among parties that differ
on specific topics), which interim President Raúl Castro has
referred to in his latest speeches, reveals that while there is
unanimity on basic issues — the defense of the national sovereignty
and the essential achievements of the Revolution; the need to
concretize Cuban socialism — there is also a diversity of opinion as
to how to maintain those achievements and to advance in the current
domestic situation and the tangled international context.
There
is a diversity of opinion both in the established structures and
institutions and society. The "how" and "how far"
to develop the process of inevitable reforms demands a consensus
among the different tendencies, because we must avoid fractures. It
is a question of reforming within socialism, not of restoring the
capitalist system. It is a question of making the citizens’
participation in decision-making more effective and real, and of
having greater control over political and administrative actions.
It
is also inescapable to make certain structural reforms that, no
matter where they begin (inevitably in the economy), will have
repercussions in political circles. Let’s not forget that a greater
economic democracy (and here I refer to a greater socialization of
the production-and-services sector) will bring more political
democracy. This would force us not into a multiparty system, as some
people might think, but into a plurality of opinions, which, in
addition to being respected (as has been the case) will have to be
"consensualized," harmonized.
Reality
demands reforms. The people demand them with a foot on the
accelerator. So does the intellectual sector within society
(academicians or not) but with a full realization that we must use
the clutch and the gearshift as well. This sector shows discrepancies
as to the measures that could be implemented, especially in the depth
and direction of the changes, as well as the mechanisms or levers
that must be used in the economic field.
If
the reader has any questions, he should access the Web page of the
magazine Temas
and
read the articles by Camila Piñeiro Harnecker and Juan Valdés
Paz about the interview that months ago I conducted with sociologist
Aurelio Alonso, published in "From Havana" under the title
"Less
fear that people might make money."
There,
we see that in the bosom of society there is a need to reach a
consensus, an accord, a need to find points of coincidence that
harmonize. And in the Communist Party of Cuba? Well now, with Raúl
Castro’s recent statement that because there is only one party, the
party needs to be more democratic, the doors to diversity of opinion
have been flung open. A free discussion, collective analysis,
consensus and a consistent behavior.
But
"will this party-based democracy work? Is it working?"
These are other questions I’ve been asked. I respond with one
example.
Exactly
one year ago, there was a colloquium about the "Gray
Quinquennium," a period characterized by censorship and
alienation in the world of culture. The debate included e-mails,
discrepancies, and proposals. The magazine Criterios,
which is not funded by the government, offered its small office for
debates. That office was too small and the Casa de las Américas,
an official institution, offered one of its halls. The topic of the
Quinquennium overflowed the strictly cultural boundaries and invaded
the political terrain.
The
Communist Party and the National Union of Writers of Artists of Cuba
(UNEAC) reached an accord and achieved consensus. Debates took place
in educational centers; they were very harsh and critical and I
reported on them.
Did
the consensus satisfy all the parties involved? Not altogether, but
there were strong debates and strong criticism. Was it reported by
the press? NO, but partly YES, because the subject was treated in two
articles by Granma,
the party’s official publication.
Even
more recently, at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 13, a national TV
channel showed the controversial documentary "Out
of the League," which
— even though it had been nominated for the national award in its
category — had been shelved for five years. The controversial part
of the documentary is that it interviews famous Cuban baseball
players — among them the stellar "Duke" Hernández
— who left the country and play (or have played) in professional
baseball, mainly in the United States.
In
the interviews, those players affirm their Cubanness and their
feeling of belonging to the national team in which they once played.
And the statements by their fellow players, back in Cuba, were not at
all hostile.
If
athletes and artists are opinion leaders, how can we accept those
images and statements on TV?, asked some people in important sectors
and institutions. Others, especially in the sector of culture,
disagreed with that reaction, and remained consistent with the
achievements of the debates about the Quinquennium.
The
result? The program was broadcast thanks to the maturity of achieving
a consensus of opinion. How? I imagine that one sector asked that it
NOT be broadcast on a national channel but YES, it might be broadcast
in the City of Havana channel. Another sector opined: YES, we should
show it, but NOT nationwide.
The
dynamic (or dialectic, whichever you prefer) of the YES-but-NO and
the NO-but-YES was successful. Neither position won 100 percent,
something very difficult in consensual processes, but the important
thing is that the program was shown, and the trend to an opening
prevailed. Moderately, but it prevailed.
The
process of reforms, which must result from a consensus of society as
a whole, will not develop in a lineal manner, as I have written
previously. It will move forward, retreat, zig and zag, but it will
advance by a consensus of positions. Short-term, no one will come up
with 100 percent. But whoever can create the conditions to support
his demands will come out ahead.
Manuel
Alberto Ramy is Havana bureau chief of Radio Progreso Alternativa and
editor of Progreso Semanal, the Spanish-language version of Progreso
Weekly.
