Claudia Márquez Linares, Grupo Decoro
HAVANA, May – My Swedish friend asked me: "How do Cubans access the Internet?"
I told him that before worrying about Internet access, the Cuban has to get a computer. Cubans are forbidden to own a computer, even if they have the foreign currency to do so.
As a result, Cubans are misinformed. All the information received is filtered through the government sieve. For example, on economics, the Cuban may learn of increases in sugar production or about achievements in cattle production, even if beef has long been found only in memory. In the same
way, on politics, Cubans are going to learn that the Cuban model is the perfect model for the rest of the world to follow.
The Cuban government is afraid of globalization because it is inimical to absolute control. Inevitably, the Internet is part of the trend to globalization. I showed my Swedish friend my typewriter, an Underwood dating back to the 1920’s. He loved it, thought it was a valuable museum piece.
Before leaving he asked for my e-mail address. He does not understand that the Underwood does not access the Internet.
Versión original en español
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