[NYTr] Cuba: ‘If asked to choose, we opt for criticism’

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

Cubarte Nov 28, 2007 via Progreso Weekly - Dec 6, 2007
http://progreso-weekly.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=262&Itemid=1

"Cuba from the Inside"


‘If asked to choose, we opt for criticism’

An interview with Elíades Acosta

By Isachi Fernández

He is a man who listens. That's what Cuba's intellectual world says,
and that "card" accredits Elíades Acosta, head of the Department of
Culture of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, as
much as his work in historical research, his literary output and his
contributions to the José Martí National Library and the country's
system of libraries.

He arrived at his current post during a period of confrontation, of
reconsideration of mechanisms, of public recognition of problems, some
of which had been theretofore hidden.

Q.: What situation do you see before you as you assume the leadership
of the Central Committee's Culture Department?

A.: The party has not had a Department of Culture for 17 years. So as
not to constitute an onerous burden for the State during an
economically difficult moment, the party structure contracted during
that period.

Many officials were eliminated and the Department of Culture, which had
had a sustained trajectory (remember it was directed brilliantly by
Sergio Corrieri, among other comrades) ceased to exist. The contraction
came at a time that was hard for the country, that directly affected
culture and its institutions. This doesn't mean there wasn't any
dialogue; at that time, Fidel was particularly close to the Cuban
Writers and Artists Union [UNEAC] and to the cultural arena.

In July 2006, the Party secretariat was reestablished and it agreed to
restart the departments of Health, Science and Culture. 

Now we are at another moment, a moment of revolutionary
transformations. The country is rethinking its structures, the Party
itself is rethinking its relations with society, looking for a more
direct, more efficient dialogue and a greater participation of the
people in its decisions.

During the period of the old Department of Culture, we didn't have all
the institutions we have today, or the entrepreneurial system of the
Ministry of Culture, or the new wave of art instructors, the José Martí
Brigade. In addition, we must now be mindful of the cultural
programming on radio and television. The challenges are very big; there
are many problems.

Q.: Could you elaborate on those tasks and problems?

A.: There is a need to review the role of cultural institutions
vis-à-vis creation and creators. It's something that was demanded by
the creators themselves during the meetings prior to the UNEAC Congress.

We have met with artists and intellectuals, with boards of directors,
with union groups, with the UNEAC, with officials from the Ministry of
Culture. We have visited the provinces, institutions, the homes of the
creators and we have found a logical desire that the legislation be
updated.

There is a new stage in the country; with economic and social changes,
the cultural level of the Cuban people has risen but also some
undesirable inequalities have come to the fore. For example, on the
issue of creators and the copyright laws.

There are also demands to update the relationship between institutions
and creators, to redefine the role of institutions, how they represent,
how they serve [the creator], who decides if a work should be promoted
or not, what are the powers of an institution, the rights and duties in
relation to the creators and viceversa, how artists and intellectuals
can have a more active participation in the making of decisions, how to
ask for an account of the officials' work, how to get attention when
one files complaints, opinions or suggestions.

Who takes care of the complaints? When? It is important that everyone
be attended, regardless of whether one is a top-notch creator or the
receptionist at a library. We all have rights, the Constitution
protects us, the Revolution was waged so the people could have rights
and exercise them. And the officials are obliged to serve and respect
the individuals, process and (whenever possible) solve the problems,
bearing in mind that some solutions are being weighed at a time when
the country is going through a difficult period.

Every once in a while, it is healthy to rethink what one has done, to
calibrate how society has evolved. When you introduce changes in a
sector, repercussions surge through the entire system. It's a question
of the healthy exercise of good government.

Q.: To what do you attribute the so-called "critical indigence" that
bogs down the media in Cuba?

A.: To several factors. There's the abuse of institutional practices to
limit criticism. We cannot ignore that -- for many reasons and for a
long time -- questions became a nuisance. True, the enemy uses our
errors and our criticism.

Q.: Also our silence. 

A.: Also. It uses all the empty spaces we leave. Criticism can help
solve our problems; silences never solve anything. Asked to choose, we
opt for criticism. We must abandon the practice of shushing down the
problems, which does not help the Revolution but instead protects posts
or positions or postures that are harmful to the ethical climate of
society.

Institutionally, criticism was not always permitted, understood or
encouraged. This creates a reflex attitude on those who are obliged to
engage in [criticism] because of their work. Of course, this is not the
task of a profession; criticism is a condition that is part of being a
human being.

A kind of self-censorship syndrome is created: "I'm looking for trouble
if I tackle a scabrous topic." "I'm going to stay in the center, so as
not to invite trouble." A very dangerous vacuum is formed and, even
though society may grow economically, it will decline in that climate.

Silences are fatal in a society; so are forgetfulness, self-censorship
or unbridled censorship -- because censorship exists in all societies
that are divided into classes. Wherever there is a State, there is
censorship.

Q.: Sometimes, it is well concealed.

A.: It conceals itself well, when it comes to the market. But, going
back to Cuba, the call to debate issued by Raúl on July 26 in Camagüey
was beneficial in terms of avoiding that trap. Raúl himself, who heads
the Party and the State, with all the moral authority he enjoys, told
the people that this is the time to "remove our shirts" and discuss our
problems.

The Political Bureau issued a document that supports criticism in the
media. But what did we find? There is reluctance, inertia, there are
people who are not prepared because they find it difficult to break the
psychological barrier. But when we read the press, and we read the
non-institutional press, and the e-mails (which are here to stay), we
see that the people are participating.

We see a very healthy activation of the civic spirit of Cubans. In the
wake of Raúl's speech, more than 5 million people have participated in
the debates and 1.2 million opinions have been expressed.

Q.: When talking about a rearrangement in the country, what do you
consider possible and convenient?

A.: Both are intimately linked. I recall a statement by Marx that was
picked up by Lenin, a profoundly revolutionary and dialectic statement
that goes: "Every contradiction carries within itself its own
solution." Jules Verne said it differently: "What one man can dream,
another man can bring to reality."

The aspirations of Cuban society, as expressed in the discussions that
resulted from Raúl's speech, on the street, in homes and in Party
nuclei, are possible and necessary. They are aspirations to material
well-being, to the hope that you can take care of yourself and your
family with the fruit of your honest labor. They are aspirations to
personal and social development, to a greater access to knowledge, to a
fuller life that is based on revolutionary principles.

Everything is done for a more efficient, more participatory society
that recognizes and respect differences, that doesn't fall apart and
does not place itself at the service of a foreign power.

What needs to be done in this country is a matter of efficiency, of
participation, a matter of guaranteeing people a larger quota of
responsibility because they feel co-responsible for the decisions.

We aspire to a society that talks out loud about its problems, without
fear, where the media reflect life without triumphalism, where the
errors are aired publicly in a search for solutions, where people can
express themselves honestly, where the economy works, where the
services work, where Cubans do not feel they are second-class citizens
in their own country due to some measures that were indispensable in
the past but that are obsolete and unsustainable today. We want a
society with plenty of information, varied information, with high-level
cultural products, where we can communicate with the world in a natural
manner and can defend the essence of our identity and the
accomplishments of the Revolution.

It is not the task of any particular person or any genius. It will be
up to the people of Cuba, the Party, the force that guides society, us
revolutionaries, the people who are obliged to do it and can do it. The
Chinese say that "a journey of a thousand miles begins but with a
single step." That step was the discussion to which the Party summoned
us, so we could renew a consensus and begin solving the problems, which
are many and complicated. But this is a people with a very high culture
and political consciousness.

Q.: What is indispensable for Cuba's cultural policy in the next
several years?

A.: All cultural policies are part of a greater project. It is not an
amusement applied to a human group. Cultural policy is the mechanism
through which society as a whole stimulates creation, promotion,
access, the participation of the many disciplines in the cultural
effort, so it may benefit society itself.

Everything we do must be for the fullness of man and society, and we
must bear in mind that, in Cuba, policies are for everyone. We must
think about how to improve arts education and how to protect and
promote popular cultures.

Q.: Do I understand you to say that there is dissatisfaction in this
regard?

A.: Throughout. We're at a point that every society goes through. There
are several ways to do things and they require a leap to another level.
It's the moment to break away and go through a dialectical,
revolutionary transformation. The world will not come to an end just
because too many complaints are voiced. There is a kind of shared
malaise that is temporary; it will last until all the molds that
imprison us break and we find a new expression for the environment we
ourselves have created.

This country has a level of culture that the world powers would envy.
Therefore, this country is dissatisfied with its radio and television,
because it wants them to be more educated, to better reflect the
reality and aspirations of the people. The arts graduate, for example,
is better prepared than his predecessors and has different aspirations;
therefore, the institutions must evolve with their new human material.

There are many material problems involving wages, rights, that are like
red lights and tell us of the need to change. We don't have to get
huffy, we're not questioning the work of anyone, we're not denying
where we come from or the contributions of others, we haven't stopped
acknowledging the sacrifices others have made (especially during the
Special Period) to hold on to our social achievements. 

We need to listen a lot, in order to update the policies. The first
step to make an honest decision that deals with other human beings is
to know how to listen and how to be humble. If you begin with that
premise, people will contribute, participate and the errors will be
smaller.

We know that Cuban culture is a culture of thought -- a series of
figures underscore this affirmation -- but in addition, as a Caribbean
country, dance is deeply ingrained in our identity.

Q.: What options will open to the ordinary Cuban, the person who has no
access to dollars?

A.: Everything that has been done is insufficient; it needs to be
rethought so it can enter a new phase. For example, I have attended the
inauguration of casinothéques in some very modest sections of Havana.
They were very popular and I saw how pleased the people were to receive
these facilities. Meanwhile, the carnavals languish.

We still haven't come up with regular, systematic spaces, but there's a
program afoot. For example, rock has its audience; we need to respect
rock, it is part of the national identity and needs its own space.

Then there's the topic of the dances, which cannot be limited to the
end of the year and to the national feast days. All this takes money.
We must remember the tension the country has experienced. Right now,
the price of a barrel of oil is almost $100, and to that we must add
the damages caused [in Cuba] by the bad weather.

In any case, we need to take a systematical look throughout the
territory. The solutions have been apportioned -- "this is for
culture," "this is for gastronomy," "this is for education." And we
have looked at the problems in a very traditional manner. We have not
come up with a collective way of thinking in order to advance, with
some honorable exceptions.

When you go, for example, to Granma and see what is being done in
Bayamo, you marvel at the fact that, in a province with relatively
modest resources, you see an encouraging panorama with cultural
institutions and gastronomic establishments that are open, most of them
charging the national currency, the cultured environment being created,
the newly inaugurated Guiñol (one of the best in Cuba), the recently
inaugurated theater.

Why is this achieved there and elswhere not? We'd have to look into the
culture of the officials, into their sensitivity, and also in the
actions of the collective thought. I am sure that there is a kind of
"cultural parliament" that makes decisions, where the UNEAC is
important, the Saiz Brothers Association is important, and so is the
Historians Union.

The artists, intellectuals participate, they get involved. We were
there on the Day of Cuban Culture with a group of comrades, among them
Abel Prieto and Ricardo Alarcón, and we felt a climate of satisfaction.
It isn't that problems don't exist, but the people have confidence.
Some problems have local solutions, in large cities the situation is a
bit more complicated, but anyway the participation is decisive.

Q.: As regards the sugar patrimony, what has happened?

A.: A debacle. Although the protection of the patrimony, the
preservation of the traditions, the care of the archives were included
in the task, reality didn't work out. There was a call of alert to the
Cuban Historians Union and the Party immediately tried to solve the
problem. The departments of Sciences, Culture and Farming joined
forces. We summoned the Ministry of Sugar, the National Council for
Patrimony, the Union of Historians. We presented a very critical report
on the situation because -- due to bureaucracy, inertia, lack of
control, lack of social denunciation -- part of the patrimony was
damaged. 

We return to the importance of the press and activated society: that
problem was predictable. It became public because of the historians but
it should have become public through local press, first, or the
national press, or the accounts of the People's Power, of the Party
nuclei. It doesn't mean it didn't happen, but they didn't have the
expected effect. Therefore, something in the mechanism failed. 

A part of the patrimony was lost forever; luckily, it wasn't the
largest or the most valuable. As a result, we did a national tour; now
we're doing the second tour in the same year, place by place, analysis,
immediate measures to save the archives and revert the situation.

In four or five months the process of deterioration has been halted and
we keep up a systematic task with the Party in front to reach an
irreversible state in favor of patrimony. It is an example of what
shouldn't have happened, but it is also an example of a rapid response
to a problem that's essential for the memory of this country.

Q.: What about the ecclesiastical patrimony?

A.: Based on the analyses made by the Party, a state commission was
created, headed by Carlos Lage, that has been studying the situation of
the documental patrimony, understood to be documents of any kind, and a
kind of program in stages was recently presented in the major
decision-making entities in the country, and money was set aside for it.

Included in this program is the ecclesiastical patrimony, which fills a
huge void for historians and the nation, because the birth and death
archives were in the parish houses. Important resources have been set
aside in different spheres to that the situation may be stabilized in
the next five years. This includes international participation in the
projects to save the patrimony. 

Q.: What do you expect from the upcoming UNEAC Congress?

A.: A new UNEAC that somehow reminds us of the initial UNEAC. A live
UNEAC that allows that enormous civic, ethic and cultural reservoir of
our artists and intellectuals to devote itself to the betterment of our
country, to the future of the true Cuban culture.

It should not be a travel agency, or a commercialization agency, or a
place to have a drink. It should not favor chapels that struggle over
quotas of power or create breeding grounds for selfishness. I believe
in a living, valiant, civic UNEAC that is listened to and respected.