A deluge of events is falling on Cuba. The first drops fell at the beginning of January, with the death of several dozen patients in the Havana Psychiatric Hospital from starvation and cold. The flood of problems intensified with the death of Orlando Zapata Tamayo, pushed to his end by the negligence of his jailers and the stubbornness of our leaders.Then came the hunger strike of the journalist Guillermos Farinas and with it our lives fell into the center of a political tornado whose hurricane winds are increasing every day.
In parallel with these tempests, a series of possible corruption scandals have come as a check on the power in Cuba. According to rumors, allegations have come to light about ministers with suitcases of dollars hidden in their water tanks, commercial flights whose earnings went into the hands of a few, and juice factories whose enormous earnings were quickly rushed out of the country. Among those implicated appear to be men who came down from the Sierra Maestra mountains with Fidel in 1959 and who now have enriched themselves awarding licenses to foreign companies who repaid them with extremely succulent commissions. The State has been looted by the State itself. The diversion of resources has reached a level to where the filching of a little milk from a warehouse looks like child's play. The hierarchy of power on this Island takes to the road with their hands full, as if they sense that today's downpour will eventually bring the roof down on their heads. It gives the impression that the country is in the midst of a liquidation sale and many -- wearing the olive green uniform -- are taking the opportunity to make off with what little we have left.
The silent press, meanwhile, speaks to us of past glories, of anniversaries to be commemorated, all the while declaring that the Revolution has never been stronger. Behind the curtain, a series of purges are carried out and the auditors dig into the guts of our finances, confirming there's nothing they can do before the advance of corruption. The "historic" generation not only showed us how to live a complete masquerade, they have also sown the idea that the nation's coffers are managed like a personal wallet. The wastewaters from ethical and moral misery, that they themselves nurtured and prospered from, appear as if they are about to drown everyone.
Please sign this PETITION to save Cuba's hunger strikers
Yoani's blog, Generation Y, can be read here in English translation.