Renowned Cuban actor Luis Alberto García Novoa took to Facebook on Tuesday to deliver a potent message aimed at Cuba's leadership, demanding they endure the same hardships that the Cuban people face: hunger, power outages, lack of medicines, and laughable wages.
"I want to see them starving, drenched in sweat in those guayaberas and uniforms, unable to sleep, without medicine, walking everywhere, lacking money to solve anything. Suffering just like those below," wrote García in his bold post.
The message opens with a reference to a verse from the Bayamo Anthem—Cuba's national anthem—agreeing with its sentiments but turning it towards the leadership: "Make no mistake 'up there,' enduring these literal and emotional blackouts, clearly insoluble due to your lack of foresight and poor management… THAT TOO! It is also living in affront and disgrace, SUNK!"
Cuban Life's Daily Struggles
The actor details the daily struggles of life in Cuba: wages "that provoke laughter," food shortages, meals spoiled without refrigeration, trash heaps, sewage, lack of potable water and cooking gas, building collapses, inadequate transportation, neglect of the elderly, runaway prices, violence, crime, corruption, and police repression against those who exercise "their inalienable right to complain."
Confronting the Blockade Narrative
One of García's most direct critiques is his dismissal of the official narrative regarding the embargo: "Enough of wielding the thesis that the U.S. blockade/embargo was, is, and will be the ONLY CULPRIT of this hell we burn in."
He also challenges the leaders to publicly account for their own actions: "Don't you think it's time to air your monumental errors accumulated over decades? There's plenty to go around. Your shortcomings? Your failed experiments? Your terrible bets? Your unparalleled stubbornness? Your changes 'from pillar to post'? So many measures that measure nothing?"
Holding Leaders Accountable
García concludes his message with a statement that turns vulnerability into accusation: "You owe it to the grateful citizens, believers, non-believers, voters for, voters against, abstainers, exiles, residents… all poor. Cubans, after all. You are the vulnerable ones."
This isn't the first time García has spoken out in June. He recently accused the "rulers" of abandoning the people "in the darkness of night," and previously described the weekend blackouts as something "designed especially to register as a dissenter."
Additionally, on Tuesday, he posted another text mocking that Cuban power plants have "multiple entry and exit visas," valid for 20 or 30 years.
In May, García had already questioned the use of fuel for political events while the people suffered from blackouts: "Is there fuel or not? Are gasoline and oil ideological?"
Understanding the Critique of Cuban Leadership
What are the main issues Luis Alberto García highlights in his message?
García points out the Cuban people's struggles, including hunger, power outages, lack of medicines, inadequate wages, and the broader systemic failures of the leadership.
Why does García criticize the narrative around the U.S. embargo?
He criticizes the claim that the U.S. embargo is the sole reason for Cuba's problems, suggesting it's an oversimplified excuse that ignores the leadership's own failures.
How does García propose Cuban leaders should respond to their failures?
García urges leaders to publicly acknowledge and take responsibility for their significant errors, misjudgments, and failed policies over the decades.