Although Arelys Falcón Hernández, rector of Medical Sciences at the University of Cienfuegos, has visited Santiago de Compostela, in Spain, for personal reasons, the newspaper The Galician Mail interviewed the officialwho spoke on behalf of the State until he was asked about a democratic transition on the Island.
At that time, Falcón avoided the conversation, claiming that previous responses were his personal opinion. “I do not make assessments as a deputy of the National Assembly because that is not the motivation for my trip,” he settled.
The ban had been opened in the penultimate question, when the journalist wanted to know if the possibility of incorporating the opposition in the National Assembly was being contemplated and Falcón rejected that the Communist Party of Cuba, of which he is a part, decide the composition of the Chamber . “In Cuba there is only one party, but it is that the National Assembly (…) is a diverse body in which there are people from the religious field, housewives who are not affiliated … Everyone has the opportunity,” he says he.
“The Biden government has not lifted a finger to remove any of the measures put in place by the Trump Executive”
In the official’s opinion, 50% of the seats are proposed by the population and the mass organizations – which are treated as if they were independent – designate their candidates. Practice is very clear regarding Falcón’s statements. Although the Electoral Law indicates that all Cubans in “full enjoyment of their civil rights” can apply and the pre-candidates are chosen taking into account their merits and abilities, an independent candidacy has never prospered.
In April 2015, in two constituencies of Havana two independentHildebrando Chaviano and Yuniel López, made it to the electoral ballots, but the commissions described them in their biographies as “counterrevolutionary elements” and neither was elected.
The official does consider it appropriate to comment on other issues raised, one of them the possible thaw with the US since the Democrats are in the White House. Falcón considers that there has not been the slightest rapprochement, rather the opposite. “The Biden government has not lifted a finger to remove any of the measures implemented by the Trump Executive,” she protests, adding that Cuba wants to improve the relationship, but without pressure or conditions. “That presumed opening face of the new North American government seems to me a farce,” she says.
Regarding the Latin American context, Falcón considers that the most recent elections have left governments in several countries that, a priori, may be more favorable when it comes to integrating or creating common markets in which they have Cuba. However, the official keeps her distance and indicates that the Island respects the policies of other countries without interference.
The official has taken advantage of her stay in Spain to make some visits to friends from the university health sector and meet him
Falcón also refers to the economic situation in Cuba, which has been bad since before the war in Ukraine, he says, because it is “a blocked country”, to which the pandemic was added. The deputy claims friendship with Russia and says that the Government works “with great hope and great commitment to continue guaranteeing the well-being of the people.” For this reason, he recalls that “Cuba is open to all foreign investment” and mentions areas such as pharmaceuticals and tourism -recalling that Spanish businessmen have worked for decades on the island with beneficial results for both parties-, in addition to others “that may They are not in the portfolio but they can be attractive”.
The official has taken advantage of her stay in Spain to make some visits to friends from the university health sector and get to know him. In the interview, she praises the immediate incorporation of students into Medicine, which occurs from the first year of studies, as the main difference she has found with the Spanish system.
Falcon is in the list of repressors prepared by the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba (FHRC), for having expelled from his job as a university professor, on October 19, 2021, the engineer David Martínez Espinosa, one of the promoters of the frustrated march of 15N in Cuba that anus.
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