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Amarilis Cortina Rey, Cuba-Verdad
HAVANA, June (www.cubanet.org) - As officials from the Committees for the
Defense of the Revolution pressure the residents of the town of Managua to sign
the proposal for the modification of the Cuban Constitution, most of them say: "We
have to sign, so as not to stand out."
In their frequent house visits, officials remind residents, "Remember
that no one in this house has been over to sign."
In the street, as well, officials approach people and ask them: "Did
you sign already?"
At the beginning of the campaign to collect signatures, numerous officials
of the Managua "mass organizations," such as the Committees for the
Defense of the Revolution, and the Cuban Women's Federation, rallied the
citizens to the park to explain the procedures and underline what they called "the
achievements of the last 43 years" of the Communist system.
The Constitutional proposal seeks to declare the present economic, political
and social system "untouchable."
Here are some snapshots Cuba-Verdad gathered in the streets of Managua: "Listen,
I went and signed because I'm afraid that otherwise they won't give me the white
card (exit permit, issued by the Ministry of the Interior)," said one woman
who has a visa to the United States.
"I have nothing to eat today, but I signed because my son is not
working and I don't want them to come down on him," said an older woman who
refused to give her name.
"It's all the same. Whether you sign or not, they are going to release
the numbers they want, while we wallow in the same shit," said one employee
of the Services Administration.
"The people have responded to the call of the Revolution to answer
Bush's speech as it deserves to be answered," said a Communist Party
militant, upset upon learning that Cuba-Verdad is an independent agency.
When asked how he knows what George W. Bush said in his speeches of May 20,
if they haven't been broadcast in Cuba, the man said: "No, but they were
discussed in several Round Tables."
The Round Tables are nightly televised segments in which government
journalists and officials defend the Cuban one-party system.
Versión
original en español
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