‘Your paradise, my prison’: Cuban activists protest outside the headquarters of the Spanish newspaper ‘El País’

MIAMI, United States. – Several Cuban activists protested this Wednesday in front of the headquarters of the Spanish newspaper The countrywhich recently promoted tourism to the Island with the article “With inflation skyrocketing and after the pandemic, is it a good time to travel to Cuba?”by blogger Paco Nadal.

“We will make a silent protest with a sign that says: ‘Your paradise, my prison.’ The freedom of the press admits the responses to the writing by the readers. We accept this right with the confidence that the publisher receives it and will publish it as a response “. the group tweeted made up of activists, journalists, art curators, plastic artists and Cuban writers.

Likewise, the group addressed an open letter to the management of The countrywhere he argues that the article written by Paco Nadal promotes tourism on the island, thus benefiting the Grupo de Administración Empresarial SA (GAESA), a military company that controls 70 percent of the economy of the Cuban State and finances the operations of the State Security against peaceful protests in Cuba.

The letter questions whether The country would publish a similar article promoting tourism in Nicaragua or Venezuela and notes that the newspaper supports the “normalization of the Castro dictatorship” by publishing such content.

In the letter, the activists also mention the unfair treatment of Cuban citizens: “The article thus promotes the main line of the military company GAESA which controls 70 percent of the State’s economy, from tourism to the purchase of anti-riot equipment, while financing State Security operations against peaceful protests by citizens in our country.”

The group of Cubans also accuses the newspaper of maintaining an editorial line that ignores or sweetens the nature of the dictatorship in Cuba. “Throughout the years, we Cubans have read with increasing astonishment how The country has maintained an editorial line on Cuba that ignores the Cuban problem or even sweetens the nature of the dictatorship, making the struggle of citizens for freedom and democracy less relevant news than trips to the Island.

The letter also highlights some of the biases that, according to activists, have permeated the editorial line of The country about Cuba, such as the normalization and aestheticization of the economic, social and political crisis in the country, as well as the tendency to avoid mentioning the citizen protests and the military repression financed by GAESA.

Finally, activists urge The country to commit to the democratization of Cuba and make visible the violations of human rights on the island. The letter concludes with a call not to promote the “extractivist and normalizing tourist culture of the dictatorship,” but to support the “legitimate aspirations for freedom and democracy” of the Cubans.

Among the signatories to the letter are Cuban exiles Carolina Barrero, Ileana Álvarez, Julio Llopiz-Casal, Juliana Rabelo, Leonardo Fernández Otaño, Iliana Hernández, Luz Escobar and Eugenia Gutiérrez.