The Steps of Change platform also called on world governments to act in support of the just right of Cubans to live in democracy.
LIMA, Peru – Opponents of the Castro regime and activists united in a call to the Cuban people and the democracies of the world to support the cause of freedom on the Island.
“Cubans, we have a plan and we are ready for change,” reads the slogan of this initiative promoted by Pasos de Cambio, a civic platform that brings together organizations and citizens committed to the democratization of Cuba.
Rosa María Payá, founder of the platform Cuba Decides and member of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), confirmed that Cubans are fighting for freedom and celebrated the recent events in Venezuela, where this last Saturday the dictator Nicolás Maduro was captured by US forces.
“Venezuela is living its time of change today and we hope that it will culminate in a timely manner with democracy and freedom. We ask for the recovery of sovereignty for the people of Venezuela,” said the activist.
The secretary general of the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance (ARC), Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat, argued that just as the Venezuelan people defended their sovereignty by electing Edmundo González as president and María Corina Machado as vice president, the Cubans are also ready to recover their sovereignty.
“Cuba must be saved. The path to democracy in Cuba is now irreversible. We are willing to assert our right, to live in freedom and give way to the transition into democracy that needs us all. The demand and mobilization for real change is unequivocal on the Island and in exile,” stressed Gutiérrez-Boronat.
In a Steps of Change video that brought together voices from more than twenty recognized figures, opponents called on the governments of the world to act in support of the just right of Cubans to live in democracy.
“We are united, we want and we can rebuild our nation (…) And there, on the Island, we will forever bury communism in the Americas, opening the way to a new era of peace, stability, freedom and prosperity for everyone in our hemisphere,” Payá assured.
“We have fought for years, we have given everything. Cuba will be free (…) The night will not be eternal,” highlighted the ARC leader.
Steps of Change is an initiative that brings together Cuban organizations from inside and outside the country committed to promoting a peaceful transition towards a democratic system. Its commitment is to unity, coordinated action and citizen leadership as ways to transform the political, social and economic structures of the nation.
In 2025, the platform launched a call addressed to all Cubans to present proposals that help the democratic transition in the country, seeking to promote concrete actions that contribute to the change of the political, economic and social system of the largest of the Antilles, in response to the internal crisis and the influence of the Cuban regime in the hemisphere.
Later, Pasos de Cambio published the document “Guidelines for Citizen Mobilization for Change in Cuba”, the compendium of proposals presented by Cuban citizens and organizations. Signatories of the Agreement for Democracy participated, as well as academics, activists and unaffiliated citizens, who proposed structured measures to advance towards a democratic, plural Cuba free of totalitarianism.
As explained by the platform, Most of the proposals agreed on the need for a sustained, organized and non-violent strategy, based on peaceful demonstrations, civil disobedience and international pressure, as well as the strengthening of local coordination networks, independent media and autonomous economy.
