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The Cuban regime approved equal marriage. The decision is celebrated by a dictatorship that has historically persecuted, tortured, and murdered gay people in Cuba.
Cuba’s electoral authority announced that marriage and adoption for same-sex couples had been approved in a referendum held on September 25. According to official information, 67% of voters, some 4 million, supported the proposal.
A lie of the Cuban regime
For many, however, the measure is a trap set by the dictatorship to whitewash its criminal regime. Activist Rosa María Paya explained, in a conversation with El American, that it is a strategy to divert attention from the crimes against humanity committed on the island.
“There is no change in the authorities towards respect for the human dignity of all people regardless of how they choose a partner, this mock referendum is part of the image cleansing that the dictatorship has been trying for some time,” said Payá.
Media such as The New York Times or The Guardian are “celebrating” the “historic decision” of the Cuban people. What do you think about it?
My father called this “Cambio Fraude” and it is a strategy of the regime to simulate an opening process that does not exist. It is a trap that these media have fallen into either by compulsion or complicity. The regime instrumentalizes the LGBTQ+ issue to insert itself into relevant topics in the Western agenda seeking dollars and pretending to divert attention from its crimes against humanity. At the same time, it victimizes all Cubans, whether they belong to the LGBTQ+ population or not.
The Cuban people have not decided for more than six decades simply because they have no freedom or rights to do so. By now, these media should know that there can be no minority rights if there are no human rights.
The White House also congratulated the Cubans. What do you think?
This congratulation seems a mockery, in the midst of the repression and violence suffered by all Cubans regardless of how they identify themselves or what their sexual orientation is. It is incomprehensible that the U.S. Government would recognize a vote that did not meet the most basic standards of transparency, justice, or freedom.
The pronouncement of the U.S. Embassy in Havana revictimizes the Cuban people, who (contrary to what the tweet says) did not “decide” because they have neither freedom of expression, nor access to the media, nor the opportunity to campaign for both options, nor independent observers, nor international observers, nor an entity independent of the communist party to oversee the process.
The Cuban regime is known for persecuting homosexuals, torturing them, and throwing them in concentration camps. Today vv, it allows LGBTQ marches on the island and approves marriage. Why do you think this change is due to this?
It is not true that it allows LGBTQ marches. It allows LGBTQ marches that are organized by the regime or controlled by the regime and aligned with its objectives. LGBTQ activists who act independently are victims of political persecution and discrimination.
Homosexual men who are political prisoners in Cuba are forced to walk naked inside the prison and suffer all kinds of physical and psychological humiliations by the authorities. There is no change in the authorities towards respect for the human dignity of all people regardless of how they choose a partner. This mock referendum is part of the image cleansing that the dictatorship has been trying for some time.
Orlando Avendaño is the co-editor-in-chief of El American. He is a Venezuelan journalist and has studies in the History of Venezuela. He is the author of the book Days of submission // Orlando Avendaño es el co-editor en Jefe de El American. Es periodista venezolano y cuenta con estudios en Historia de Venezuela. Es autor del libro Días de sumisión.