He is Cuban, he has traveled, discovered the world and decided to leave his country: “They had their eyes closed for many years”

When José G arrived in Moscow, something in him broke. Together with his wife, they had decided to spend the summer in Russia as it offered a free visa for Cubans and it seemed like a good option. Also, they wanted to know the snow. They collected some savings, sold a lot of the things they had and left. “We take advantage of and combine tourism and business: as in Cuba there was a lot of shortage, we bought things in Russia and then we sold them ”, account.

But the journey changed everything. Indeed, they bought clothes, shoes and auto parts to resell them later, but on top of that they discovered a world they did not know: “We got to Moscow and I started to see things that I didn’t even think existed. Simple things like a supermarket, a Burger King, things like there aren’t in Cuba. And there I said: but it cannot be possible when capitalism is so bad, ”he said.

It was the year 2016. Fidel Castro was still alive, although he no longer ran the government due to his medical condition. In fact, his death came two days before José G and his wife returned home. “We couldn’t believe the news of his death. We were very impressed. Other than that We returned to Cuba and we had a terrible euphoria, we felt we had to leave the country. After 15 days this euphoria subsided a bit because we thought the difference in the lifestyle was due to the fact that we had gone to a rich first world country. And we said: let’s get the money and go to a country that we know is poorer, to compare. And so we went to English Guiana. Supposedly, these people were starving, but no, they are not. These people live in capitalism, they are not from the first world but they live much better. And there I concluded that those who were starving were the Cubans, and that they had to leave, ”he said.

Today José is 42 years old and lives in the city of Cordoba with his wife and two children., but it took a lot to get there. For fear of being identified, he asks that only his first name be revealed and that his image be reserved: even if he is abroad, he does not want anyone in Cuba to know that he has told his story.

His position in Cuba was, by his own definition, quite privileged because he was dedicated to tourism, the industry where one can earn more money. In addition, he is a refrigeration technician and had his own warehouse. He lived in the central area of ​​the island, near Cayo Coco, and had his own house, a job, a workshop, a car.

“I come from a humble, very humble family, and although I never ran out of food, the salary was not even enough to dress me. Thank god, or I don’t know who, I was a pretty smart or diligent boy in school and it always worked out well for me. When you get to high school, you should already define what you are going to do. I was average for college but I had to choose to go to a technician to study something that would give me a job quickly because they did not give the numbers to pass the university. This is how I became a refrigeration technician, ”he says.

Over time, it has progressed. In addition to his profession, he also started working with hotels and achieved a better position than many of his compatriots. “Working in the hotel industry has made me more disgusted with government, seeing the things that are done there. That the bosses do not touch anything but send third parties to do everything for them. A mafia. And if you bother, you lose your job, you lose everything, and they put someone they love. They are doing socialism, not socialism “, to define.

After the trip to English Guiana, he decided that they had to leave the country for good. It was the year 2017. They just had to choose their destination. “We started to explore the situation. America was very risky. We had a tourist visa for Spain but we had to leave the children, and we know each other very well… Well, I have a friend in Argentina and he told me to come meet him. Here’s how we did it: we came to Cordoba and I loved the country. I came as a tourist and found out how things were. The dollar at the time was 17. I went back and we sold everything. He had his own house, he had his own workshop, we sold everything. And I managed to get a work contract here for me and one for my wife, and so we legalized“, account.

They arrived in 2018. The two work in an addictive relationship and the boys go to public school, and he says Argentina’s education is as good as Cuba’s. “It also showed us that not only the socialist countries have free education”he adds. He bought a car and started to work. “Argentina was the country which opened its arms to us, which welcomed me and which will give a future to my children, and here we are fighting them, because in Cuba, it is impossible. Cuba is 100 times worse today than when we left“, He says. From there he saw, sadly but also with some illusion, the beginning of the demonstrations in his country.

“I do not believe that communism will collapse with these demonstrations, but I believe that a very important step has been taken in Cuban history. The fear of communism is lost, and they will no longer be able to sleep peacefully as before. Before making a decision, they will have to think about it and consult the population. What happened is a big step and obviously I support them, ”he said.

-Have you always thought the same about the government of your country?

-What happens is that in Cuba, we live for a long time with our eyes closed, because they kept our eyes closed. I saw that since my childhood I didn’t like it, but I had no way to leave the country. Unfortunately this is what is happening in Cuba, otherwise everyone would migrate, I guarantee that. In Cuba there is not only a shortage but they do not let you do anything, you can’t say anything. Out of 10 Cubans, 8 belong to G2 (the Cuban intelligence service). They say yes, yes, they even make you talk badly, and in the end they stab you in the back.

-Why do you think the protests have broken out now?

-Because the shortage of very basic products continues to increase, and it is not denied. And then what happens? That the rulers who are in the country right now do not have the knowledge or the evil to govern properly, let alone deceive the people, as Fidel did.

-In which way?

-It is that Fidel must be recognized for his intelligence and his courage, because to form an army outside the country, to arrive clandestinely in Cuba and to overthrow in two years the dictatorship which existed … This must be recognized. A man who had the courage and the intelligence to do it. And then even more, he had the intelligence to blind all Cubans and lull them to sleep with songs of fairies and mermaids throughout his tenure. The problem now is that he was smart, but not the successors. They are not even half of what Fidel was. And besides, the generation below me no longer owes the revolution anything. So they don’t have to think like that generation who slept in gratitude to the revolution for the change it brought.

-In your opinion, do young people think differently from older people in Cuba?

-Of course, the demonstrations are led by the boys of the new generations. There are 15 or 16 year old boys. This generation doesn’t care if Camilo (Cienfuegos) was a common man and they sent him to kill. They don’t care if Che went there and fought and was righteous or was a murderer. They laugh at the three old green dresses that are left there and that were in the Sierra Maestra. They owe nothing to this generation. What you are seeing, quite simply, is the great shortage that exists. And that cannot be said.

– Many complaints claim that there is no freedom of expression. Is this really the case?

-I always put the same example: you stand in a corner here and you say that Macri is a thief, and nothing happens. He stops at the next corner and says Cristina is a thief, and nothing happens. In Cuba, you can’t stop at any corner or at the door of your house to say anything because you are screwed up. And there is nothing more like a dictatorship than that. A dictatorship is not one that does not provide hospitals or education for its children, no. The concept of dictatorship is one where you don’t have the right to a legitimate vote to choose the person you want to lead. And that’s what’s happening in Cuba.

-While you lived there, did you also feel that way?

-There are Cubans who wake up with the material path in which they compare what is in communism and capitalism. It happened to me. And to be honest, it all happened very quickly. It was a very violent realization of the things that were in capitalism and that they said were bad. The new generations have also connected to the internet, which is the other part of the revival of the protests, and they have seen it all from the other side. And they see the prices, and they compare the most basic things, and that’s where the conflicts start. And that’s great because young people are not alone, those of us who are a little older support them.

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