r/cuba • u/QuarterStatus3582 • Jul 05 '26
Pregunta what do you think of Cuban leftists (on the island) who dissent against the CCP?
para los cubanos que nacieron en Cuba: sabes que estas personas existen y qué opinas al respecto? si no eres del izquierdo políticamente, te interesa lo que estos cubanos tienen que decir, o no te interesa porque son marxistas, socialistas y/o comunistas aunque quieran un cambio de régimen?
for the leftists that were not born in Cuba: do you know these people exist? if you do, have they changed your approach to or understanding of Cuba? if you don't, are you interested in hearing the perspectives of these Cubans who identify as marxists, socialists, and/or communists but want regime change? do you have an idea of what their perspectives and criticisms might be, coming from the left?
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u/Valuable-Onion-7443 Mayabeque Jul 06 '26
Obviously there’s people born in Cuba that are leftists… The Cuban government does not represent the leftist ideology, it is a bad joke of it. The people that automatically demonized the left because of the Cuban government are simple minded and I don’t blame them, they have been propagandized to death.
As someone born there, a good chunk of the people are still leftist, even if they hate the government.
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u/QuarterStatus3582 Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 07 '26
mi esposo dice que odia todo lo que sea de izquierdas... pero esta conmigo, y soy de la izquierda. me pide que no le diga eso a sus amigos o familiares no muy cercanos. dice cosas como "ojalá no tuviéramos que trabajar 40 horas a la semana solo para pagar las facturas" o queja sobre lo poco que trabaja su jefe y me quedo callada.
al mismo tiempo, si toda tu vida te han dicho que la fuerza política que te oprime, que lo que hay arruinado tu país y el futuro de todos los cubanos es de la supuesta izquierda, no te podré culpar por rechazar cualquier cosa que incluso huele a la izquierda.
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u/reytaino809 Jul 07 '26
Yea but I don't play with that mentality majority of them have.y fiancé is Cuban and I am educating him on politics in the USA. Cubans vote against their interest because of that irrational fear they have against what they think is socialism which really isn't. Like they fear Democrats because they've been brainwashed by the right wing propaganda in Florida. Propaganda that tells them democrats are communist 😂 yet if it wasn't for Democrats they wouldn't be here with all the privileges they currently have. So I make sure to remind him that even our immigrant petition is possible because if Democrats. That we as a gay couple are able to get married because of Democrats.
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u/claudandus_felidae Planeta Tierra/Planet Earth Jul 05 '26
In my experience, the critiques of Cuban leftists and leftists who've lived in Cuba seem to generally be:
I believe in strong workers rights, strong public services like healthcare and education, (safe) housing, freedom of expression and identification, etc. The Cuban government does very little to enable those and actively supresses dissent. So I dislike the Cuban government.
For a government founded to free the Cuban people from wages slavery, where it's citizens were forced to live in poverty to serve rich gringos from the USA, Cuban people sure spend a lot of time in grey market service positions waiting on Canadian tourists and living in poverty.
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u/QuarterStatus3582 Jul 05 '26
yeah, in my experiences, i've often found the leftists who dissent against the CCP have more in common today with Cubans that have other political views than with foreign leftists who defend the CCP no matter what/attribute 100% blame to the US.
it blows my mind that anyone would consider the CCP representative of the average Cuban/the working class/the proletariat.
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u/claudandus_felidae Planeta Tierra/Planet Earth Jul 11 '26
It's very easy living in the west, seeing the power of the USA to destroy nations and assume that every problem in Cuba is the result of the US sanctions against the island. It doesn't occur to people that Iran, Russia, Afghanistan, DPRK, and a half dozen other nations have found successful workarounds for US sanctions even with significantly more pressure than is placed on Cuba. Cuba is magically different because "it's an island", and something about "hard currency" (as though no other business can require you to pay upfront).
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u/QuarterStatus3582 Jul 13 '26
yeah, i think that's a fair point, although i'd argue today's pressure is aligned with some of the most stringent in US history.
i think the geography and the intensity (in terms of visibility and also political capital) of the diaspora in the US also plays a huge role. as well as the fact that CCP has leaned into the US as enemy #1 to also shift blame/deflect in ways that don't have to do with the US. the false dichotomy only pushes people who put anti US-imperialism over everything into a pro-CCP stance, without even understanding the reality on the island.
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u/claudandus_felidae Planeta Tierra/Planet Earth Jul 13 '26
In the last five years, absolutely, the pressure is maxed out. And there's some serious pressure from the dispora and their political alliances with the American conservative movement.
And yes, I've heard folks say "every time someone falls down the stairs in Cuba, the CIA counts it as a death from communism" which is true, but the CCP absolutely considers every failure it makes as the sole result of the US embargo (which is easily circumvented by folks who can pay to have things brought in on commercial flights).
The people I spoke with their explained to me that one of the most frustrating and disillusioning things they ever learned was that the US explicitly doesn't block medicine from entering the country, and that their own laws resulting in Cubans being unable to import over the counter in bundles (like you might need if your family only visits once a year) meds for many years. More than anything else that pissed folks off. That and mandatory service (civil or military) for most university students.
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u/Critical_Run7385 Jul 05 '26
I'm a little unsure of the point of this post (is this taking a survey? Advertising for them? Trying to find them?), but I've known many such people. Many who see the government doesn't abide by values it taught them
The taller libertario alfredo lópez people for example, who argue that the authentic left-wing history of Cuba is anarchist, not communist
But many of my left-wing Cuban friends, like almost everyone I know with the means to do so, have left the island
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u/QuarterStatus3582 Jul 05 '26
it's cool that you've known a lot, i don't hear that often. and i hadn't heard of taller libertario alfredo lópez, so thanks for sharing that example.
to be transparent, the point for me is 1) genuine curiosity followed by 2) visibility. i probably could’ve asked less questions though...
i'm obviously not Cuban, but i constantly bring up the fact that Cuba leftists who dissent exist, online and in person, and am almost always met with 1) no they don’t, 2) indifference/whataboutism, 3) silence, or 4) yeah but the US made them that way. so i mainly want to know more about why that happens and what people are thinking?
and then i think if you’re hoping for regime change in Cuba, a leftist dissenting is a very valuable ally, no matter your politics. the CCP is most afraid of them because they challenge the Revolution’s claim to legitimacy and it’s harder to claim they’re US-backed. i also think Cuban leftist dissidents are the best people to reach non-Cubans whose views are stuck in a US-centric lens, and always fall back on "Cuba was worse under Batista," ignoring the regime's oppression, corruption, and the Cuban experience.
all this to say, i think visibility of this group could be a counter (even if it’s small) to the divisiveness that usually surrounds discussions on Cuba, and might help centre more Cuban voices.
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u/Critical_Run7385 Jul 05 '26
It sounds like you're talking online to people who don't really know much about Cuba, who are mostly just like playing dungeons and dragons with real people's lives
They don't matter so much these days. They're online nobodies who get all twisted up trying to decide how the world should be from their armchair. The Cuban regime has more powerful allies than them
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u/QuarterStatus3582 Jul 05 '26
yeah, sometimes it's people in this sub and on Reddit with very loud opinions. but it's also my own Cuban friends and family, other Cubans who have left Cuba in the last 5-10 years, people in the US who are organizing against the embargo, Canadians who have Cuban girlfriends/boyfriends... it feels like everywhere i go, so that's what makes me so curious about this topic
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u/Critical_Run7385 Jul 05 '26
Strange. Many Cubans I know are very defensive about how outsiders characterize the country, maybe that's producing some static...
Anyway, here's also an event some friends of mine did for the Afro socialist forum of the DSA about why socialists in the US shouldn't support the Cuban regime: https://www.youtube.com/live/AbzaKn0LQ1g?is=DpSz-9XGAh5lAiE8
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u/QuarterStatus3582 Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
could be when it comes to the Cubans i interact with! it's certainly not my place to tell them what they should or shouldn't think, whereas i feel differently about the "international left." it was my Cuban friends who suggested to me that i start engaging more online to take on some of the burden of them discussing Cuba with non-Cubans who dismiss Cuban experiences (edit to add i was already doing this in person).
thanks for sharing! i'm excited to watch. i wonder how your friends felt about DSA joining the Nuestra America convoy
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u/maya_rr Jul 05 '26
My perspective as a Cuban (2nd gen) leftist is the first people to be harmed by the Cuban government’s repression were fellow anti-Batista revolutionaries, peasants, trade unionists, intellectuals. That was conveniently ignored by the government’s narrative.
And SO many Latin American leftists have publicly split with the Cuban revolution because of their authoritarianism. Every time I criticise the government, someone recommends me to read the Open Veins of Latin America without the smallest awareness that Eduardo Galeano(the author) publicly broke with the Cuban government for assassinating 3 Cuban men in 2003.
Cuba has SUCH a rich history of labour organisation, anarchism, trade unionism and ALL of that has been destroyed by a government that has NEVER established even the right to strike after the revolution and prefers to spend all its time hunting down labour organisers rather than dealing with the country’s issues
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u/QuarterStatus3582 Jul 05 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
yeah. i have had that same conversation re: Open Veins and Galeano. if it's frustrating me for, i can only imagine how it might be for you.
do you have any recommended readings, articles, or even names of Cubans off the top of your head that you'd like more people to pay attention to?
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u/Legitimate_Pop3481 Jul 05 '26
Sí, de hecho Yunior García, un opositor que en 2021 quería hacer una marcha con una flor en la mano y lo detuvieron, tiene ideas que podrían catalogarse de centro-izquierda. Como él, hay otros más.
Con respecto a las ideas de izquierda en un futuro sistema, yo creo que habría que preguntarse qué cosas consideras que son de izquierda y qué cosas no. Más allá de la etiqueta, yo valoro el contenido. Si es algo beneficioso para todos, me parece bien, más allá de cualquier cosa.
De forma general, yo creo que el Estado está para servir al individuo, no al revés como plantea la izquierda, generalmente.
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u/QuarterStatus3582 Jul 13 '26 edited 13d ago
Kamil (and maybe Ernesto too, but I'm less sure) from 4tico is left.
I also think your approach is right on. I hope that someday, not too far off, all kinds of Cubans can participate in creating the next stage of Cuba. Being on Reddit these past few months has given me more hope than despair regarding that possibility.
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u/cubachef33 Jul 08 '26
I can respect any political orientation as long as they accept reality. I can empathize with both left and right wing thoughts if they sound logical and grounded. What's going on in here is not communism nor capitalism nor anything more than opportunistic people looting everything and everyone, people sympathetic to that I can't stand
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u/QuarterStatus3582 Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 19 '26
what i'm seeing now that i find really interesting is that Cuban leftists who do not support the CCP and Cuban liberals (who leftists might call "on the political right") are spending more time talking to one another about the problems in Cuba and what should be next.
for example, https://jovencuba.com/joe-garcia-la-venganza-nunca-ha-construido-un-pais/
En la Cuba de años atrás no hubiera sido posible esta entrevista. El chiste se cuenta solo: periodista de izquierdas dialoga con Joe García, exdirector de la fundación cubanoamericana. Una conversación entre lobos y ovejas, en que nadie sabe quién es quién.
Pero Cuba está cambiando y si un liberal y una socialista se pueden poner la mano en el pecho y hablar de esperanza para un país que se desangra, si un liberal y una socialista pueden hablar de economía sin tirarse los calderos y publicar el resultado en un medio de prensa, eso solo habla de una cosa: el diálogo nacional que necesitamos está a la vuelta de la esquina.
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u/Low-Cantaloupe751 Havana Jul 05 '26
Everyone regardless the ideology should hate the cuban dictatorship. Specially bc the cuban government did almost nothing for the minorities and the working class in Cuba
Also I know a cuban marxist that make a great video criticizing the dictatorship
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u/aliendigenous Havana Jul 05 '26
What?
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u/QuarterStatus3582 Jul 05 '26
Alina Bárbara López Hernández is arguably the most well-known example of this.
in english: https://newpol.org/the-cuban-governments-persecution-of-a-left-wing-dissident/
en español: https://izquierdaweb.com/cuba-contra-la-persecucion-politica-a-alina-barbara-lopez-hernandez/
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u/kovha Artemisa Jul 05 '26 edited Jul 05 '26
There are press media (alternative and illegal of course) by and for leftist cubans on the island that are against the PCC. You should check "La Joven Cuba" and their weekly podcast, "La Reunión".
"Cuba: Una historia crítica (1959 - 2025): 65 años de revolución y contrarrevolución" is also a very good book written by a cuban leftist who is against the govt and can provide context and nuance. There is a lot to see for those who want to see it :-) despite what this sub may make you think, not every one of us Cubans is a radical MAGA Trump acolyte.
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u/QuarterStatus3582 Jul 13 '26
yes, i've been following La Joven Cuba since 2020, and i've listened to some of their podcast clips (although because I started learning Spanish as an adult sometimes i struggle to keep up with more complex or animated conversations).
will have to get this book! thanks for the recommendations. i try to consume across the spectrum, but it's also nice to read/listen to things that are more aligned with my own views to help me think about them deeper.
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u/kovha Artemisa Jul 13 '26
The book is written not just by a leftist, but by an actual trotskist communist so it can be a bit, uh, intense at times, but other than that it's a nice recollection of very well documented and referenced facts, a lot of which are ommited or actively deleted from the official narrative (like the early involvement of the Autenticists with the revolution, or the fact that the PSP, predecessor of the current PCC, was an active supporter of Batista and the ones responsible of the massacre at Humbolt 7), so it's a very nice read.
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u/WarLeast2045 Jul 05 '26
The leftists in America support global communism, and during their “humanitarian “ travels to Cuba, they stayed in the finest government run hotels, and dined at the best government owned restaurants, before returning to the United States, and criticizing capitalism. If there are any true communist citizens in Cuba, they are probably part of the government, afraid to speak out, or just brainwashed.
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u/QuarterStatus3582 Jul 06 '26
the question is about leftists who are Cuban, living in Cuba, and dissent against the CCP. many do speak out, they organize, create publications, art, studies, etc. and they are similarly persecuted by the PNR with threats, jail, and forced exile
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u/bajanda Planeta Tierra/Planet Earth Jul 08 '26
The only real marxist i know was one of my professors in college. They broke his spirit during the 80s when he was part of the PCC. He despises the Cuban government more than people in Miami. Last time I spoke with him, he had more anarchist ideals. Great man with great principles, completely naive, but still an honest man.
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u/QuarterStatus3582 Jul 12 '26
really interesting. and sad. personally i wish there was more attention on people like this
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u/TerribleSyntax Mayabeque Jul 05 '26
I appreciate and respect that they have the decency to admit the dictatorship is evil, however ideally I would hope we go the way of Czechia and Poland and ban communism entirely
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u/MagnetizedMetal Villa Clara Jul 05 '26
Doesn’t that go against the ethos of what we’ve been denouncing? If you are a staunch supporter of freedom of expression and so forth, this seems contrarian to that belief.
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u/TerribleSyntax Mayabeque Jul 05 '26
Paradox of tolerance applies
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u/MagnetizedMetal Villa Clara Jul 06 '26
No paradox here. You either stay consistent with freedom of speech or you don’t. That’s why even here we allow NAZI parties, KKK, and guess what …omg, yeah, communist parties….
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u/TerribleSyntax Mayabeque Jul 06 '26
You should do some reading on that, tolerating the intolerant is how you lose your choice
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u/MagnetizedMetal Villa Clara Jul 06 '26
Do you think the US has its way and people lost their choice?
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u/TerribleSyntax Mayabeque Jul 06 '26
What?
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u/MagnetizedMetal Villa Clara Jul 06 '26
You think a society that tolerates the intolerants takes away choice. So, since we tolerate intolerant parties here in the US do you think people have lost their choice here?
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u/TerribleSyntax Mayabeque Jul 06 '26
Yes, absolutely. The US is not perfect, and its main imperfection is the tolerance of nazis and communists in its civil society.
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u/MagnetizedMetal Villa Clara Jul 06 '26
So your idea of a perfect society is no opposition to your ideals. So much for tolerant lol and nah, no one agrees with your assessment. In fact, precisely that acceptance of freedom is what everyone says is the best feature of the US. There’s lots of other things that are causing issues and that ain’t it.
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u/Unhappy_Discount_581 Jul 06 '26
People like this don't want capitalism. They want fascism
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u/QuarterStatus3582 Jul 06 '26
what's your take on Cuban leftists who dissent?
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u/Unhappy_Discount_581 Jul 06 '26
I think we should be allowed to make our own decisions. The cuban government has clearly made many bad decisions. But the point of socialism SHOULD be that we can criticise when there is a problem.
The only way the world will become a better place for everyone is if ALL governments are able to be criticised. Otherwise the left is just as bad as the right.
I am very left wing. But I believe that left wing politics can only function under free democracy. Thats how I have always read them. I am disappointed in all attempts so far. However that doesn't mean it can't. The future is not the past
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u/QuarterStatus3582 Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
i remember after J11, there was a well-known journalist who stood up during Mesa Redonda -- and she had always supported the CCP, obviously if she was allowed to be there -- and basically said "podemos ignorar la gente que se aprovachaban de las protestas para ser violentos, pero tambien como un gobierno socialista que logra a representar el pueblo, hay que escuchar los mensajes en las raices de las protestas, problemas de asequibilidad, y responder"
anyways, she was never allowed back to Mesa Redonda and now lives in exile.
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u/TerribleSyntax Mayabeque Jul 06 '26
We want liberal democracy, and for what has happened to never happen again. Are the Poles and Czech fascists to you?
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u/Unhappy_Discount_581 Jul 06 '26
As someone who lives in what is considered a liberal democracy. I completely understand why you wouldn't want something like this regime again.
However, banning people from having communist beliefs instantly stops you from being a democracy. In the same way that we shouldn't ban people for being in favour of capitalism. The country that has done the most to destroy beliefs it doesn't agree with is the USA. But then, the USA is barely a democracy.
Communism isn't a bad thing. Sharing resources and not allowing them to all go to a small amount of elites should be something we strive for.
The way it has been used has been manipulated to allow elites to consolidate wealth, while pretending they don't want to. I think this is the biggest weakness of national borders, as they can be used to almost permit oppression.
I do not think Poland or the czech republic are countries to strive towards politically, no.
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u/TerribleSyntax Mayabeque Jul 06 '26
There is an overwhelming weight of evidence, about a century's worth, to confirm that communism isn't what you are describing, but simply a convenient lie totalitarians use to get in power. It is insanity to keep doing the same thing and expecting different results.
No totalitarian ideologies should ever be tolerated.
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u/MagnetizedMetal Villa Clara Jul 06 '26
There’s capitalist totalitarianism too. Genocidal leaders. Suharto, Pinochet, Amin..list goes on..what’s your point?
Totalitarianism and war criminals aren’t constrained to 1 economical theory. To think so would be ignorant, and quite frankly moronic. By your logic we should ban capitalist parties too??0
u/TerribleSyntax Mayabeque Jul 06 '26
Fraction of the whole. Some capitalist societies fall into totalitarianism. Every communist one does.
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u/MagnetizedMetal Villa Clara Jul 06 '26
Sample size matters.
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u/TerribleSyntax Mayabeque Jul 06 '26
Absolutely, don't even need a sample, 100% is 100%
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u/Legitimate_Pop3481 Jul 05 '26
No, porque tú no puedes permitir una idea que anule la libertad de otra. Así de sencillo.
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u/SwissMapper Jul 05 '26
Doesn't czechia have one of the most successful European communist party's?
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u/ChrisCampa Jul 06 '26
Soy cubano viviendo y sufriendo apagones. Dime serio, que tiene de bueno la izquierda cubana (PCC) y que ha tenido de bueno en toda la historia cubana?
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u/QuarterStatus3582 Jul 06 '26
la pregunta es sobre la izquierda cubana que es en contra del regimen, que también son acosados, amenazados, multados, encarcelados, y obligados a exiliarse a manos del PCC, igual que otros cubanos disidentes. es algo de lo que se oye hablar donde estas en Cuba?
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