The Communist Party of Cuba's official publication, Granma, released an article on Monday that, at first glance, seems to be a report on the surge of the Aedes aegypti mosquito and the spread of arboviral diseases across the nation.
However, a closer look reveals a different agenda. It's not about delivering news; it's a politically crafted message designed to cushion the blow, maintain impunity, and shift the blame from the state to its citizens.
The article opens with what seems like a crack in the official narrative: “The responsibility doesn't lie solely with the health system; it requires an organized social mobilization to reduce infestation rates.”
This sentence hints at reflecting on institutional accountability, but this notion fades quickly.
Authored by journalist Wennys Díaz Ballaga, the piece never revisits this thought. There's no critique of the Ministry of Public Health's (MINSAP) shortcomings, structural failures, or ineffective health control campaigns.
The fleeting acknowledgment of “non-exclusive responsibility” of the health system in the article's introduction vanishes as if it was included merely to feign self-criticism and deflect external critique.
A Propaganda Operation
Rather than informing, Granma's article serves a political purpose: safeguarding MINSAP, shielding Minister José Ángel Portal Miranda —whose public presence is increasingly scarce— and perpetuating the narrative that Cubans share the blame for the crisis.
The strategy is familiar: turn victims into culprits. Instead of accountability or admitting failures, the regime's media apparatus pushes a narrative of "shared responsibility" that in practice shares nothing.
Under this logic, the epidemic isn't due to lack of planning, budget cuts, corruption, or institutional neglect, but rather the fault of families who fail to clean their water tanks or refuse entry to fumigators.
It's a longstanding discourse pattern used by the regime to avoid accountability and transform its failures into alleged flaws of the populace.
The “organized social mobilization” Granma calls for is not a civic appeal but a demand for compliance. The state absolves itself while demanding discipline and silence as the price for survival.
The Invisible Minister and Compliant Press
As millions of Cubans wonder about the whereabouts of José Ángel Portal Miranda —the political leader of the health system— the state media serves as a smokescreen.
No mention of the minister is made. His absence is unaddressed. There's no discussion about his duty to explain why the nation faces an unprecedented health crisis.
In any other scenario, the media would hold authorities accountable. In Cuba, the media is the authority. Granma doesn't investigate; it absolves. It doesn't scrutinize; it justifies.
The state press operates as a communication arm of the Communist Party, focused not on informing but on protecting those who should be accountable to the public.
Strategy of Deflection
The article from the official publication exemplifies the regime's propaganda tactic during crises: acknowledge a problem partially and then dilute it among a vague mass of shared responsibility.
It's the old “we're all responsible” rhetoric that ultimately means “no one in power is.”
Thus, MINSAP avoids accountability, the minister remains unseen, Miguel Díaz-Canel doesn't acknowledge the disaster's scale, and the people —already weary from shortages, hunger, and power outages— end up bearing the brunt of a health emergency they didn't cause.
Between Silence and Coercion
What Granma describes as “social mobilization” is essentially a control strategy. It's not about participation, but obedience; not about shared responsibility, but enforcement.
The article mentions that fumigation is “mandatory” and refusing it is a crime. This embedded warning reveals the text's true intent: the state doesn't negotiate, it commands.
Transparency and accountability, mentioned only in passing, are foreign concepts to the regime's political practice. Instead, the official machine prefers preventive propaganda: feigning concern to neutralize criticism, sowing fear to ensure control.
Meanwhile, the epidemiological crisis worsens, leaving the Cuban people again without answers. In today's Cuba, when the state should provide explanations, it issues orders. And when it should assume responsibility, it distributes blame.
Understanding Cuba's Epidemiological Crisis
What is the main cause of the epidemiological crisis in Cuba?
The crisis is largely attributed to the spread of the Aedes aegypti mosquito and arboviral diseases, compounded by institutional failures and inadequate state response.
How does the Cuban regime shift blame for the crisis?
The regime uses media to suggest that citizens share responsibility for the crisis, downplaying state accountability and emphasizing citizen compliance.
Why is there criticism of the Cuban health ministry's response?
Critics point to the health ministry's lack of effective campaigns and structural issues, as well as the absence of transparent communication from its leadership.