Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08HAVANA120
2008-02-06 14:42:00
CONFIDENTIAL
US Interests Section Havana
Cable title:  

CUBA DISSIDENT GROUP FLAMUR: POLITICAL MOVEMENT OR

Tags:  ECON PGOV PINR PREL PHUM CU 
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RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
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RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
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RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HAVANA 000120 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR WHA/CCA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/05/2018
TAGS: ECON PGOV PINR PREL PHUM CU
SUBJECT: CUBA DISSIDENT GROUP FLAMUR: POLITICAL MOVEMENT OR
CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION


Classified By: COM: Michael E. Parmly: For reasons 1.4 b/d

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HAVANA 000120

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR WHA/CCA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/05/2018
TAGS: ECON PGOV PINR PREL PHUM CU
SUBJECT: CUBA DISSIDENT GROUP FLAMUR: POLITICAL MOVEMENT OR
CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION


Classified By: COM: Michael E. Parmly: For reasons 1.4 b/d


1. (C) SUMMARY: Dissident group FLAMUR (Latin American
Federation of Rural Women) seeks to represent the interests
of rural women in Cuba. The group receives guidance and
other supplies from support groups in the U.S. During 2007,
it drafted a petition calling for the GOC to do away with the
dual currency system and collected more than 10,000
signatures. In some ways, however, FLAMUR seems closer to an
NGO or charity organization than a political opposition
movement, something which has made it difficult for FLAMUR to
gain acceptance as a mainstream dissident group. End Summary.

The Organization
--------------


2. (C) Founded in 1997, in the midst of the Cuban "special
period" or economic depression, the "Federacion
Latinoamericana de Mujeres Rurales" (FLAMUR; Latin American
Federation of Rural Women) is a group that seeks to represent
the interests of rural women in Cuba. Its founder,
Magdelivia Hidalgo, emigrated to the U.S. and now supports
the organization from Miami. According to its president,
Maura Iset Gonzalez Jurquet, FLAMUR currently has 2,700
members spread throughout all of Cuba's provinces. Members
elect one delegate from each province, who, in turn, elect
the organization's national leadership.

Mission:
--------------


3. (C) FLAMUR's main mission has been to support rural
Cubans, particularly women, in fulfilling basic economic
needs. They deliver needed items, teach workshops, and
create awareness of women's issues and rights.

Environment:
--------------


4. (C) While most Cubans in the countryside can maintain a
minimum level of subsistence (mainly because they live in
remote locations where it is easier to grow some crops for
personal consumption outside the control of the GOC),they
are still extremely poor and lack many essentials. In many
remote areas, access to the bodegas (food rationing

distribution points) is limited by distance and lack of
transportation. According to FLAMUR spokesperson Belinda
Salas, food rationing portions are larger in urban locations
like Havana than in remote rural locations, where rationed
items such as detergent, cooking oil, and soap are often
insufficient or missing. Beyond the few crops and animals
they may manage to raise for themselves, rural Cubans have no
purchasing power. This situation remains unchanged even if
rations are supplemented by a minimal government salary in
the local currency (less than USD 16 per month). FLAMUR sees
its mission as working to alleviate this sad economic reality
for many rural Cubans.

Operationally dependent on Cuban-American largesse:
-------------- --------------


5. (C) FLAMUR tells us that it receives guidance, money,
publications, medicines and other supplies through their
representative in the U.S., Magdelivia Hidalgo, and from
various other sources, mainly Frank Hernandez Trujillo and
Omar Lopez Montenegro of the Cuban-American Foundation. It
should be mentioned that this group has sent supplies to
FLAMUR through USINT. It is not clear whether USAID funding
has gone to FLAMUR. Both money and supplies for FLAMUR are
smuggled into Cuba through various means. According to
FLAMUR president Gonzalez, money is always sent in dollars.
(Comment: In Cuba, exchanging U.S. dollars implies an
additional loss of 10% compared to any other currency because
of a GOC tax that is levied exclusively on the dollar. In
providing cash, some other hard currencies, such as euros,
would be more efficient. End Comment.) In return, FLAMUR
sends reports and photos of their activities on the island so
they can be published outside the island. Some can be seen
on their website: www.flamurcuba.org.


HAVANA 00000120 002 OF 003


One currency campaign:
--------------


6. (C) Because of the dual currency system, whenever average
Cubans buy something in convertible Cuban pesos (CUCs) --
which include most imported products and just about anything
of quality -- their purchasing power evaporates. According
to spokesperson Salas, FLAMUR began a campaign called "Con la
misma moneda" (With the same currency) in 2006, when members
of the organization tried to buy a piece of equipment for a
boy suffering from asthma but the piece was only sold in CUCs
rather than in the Cuban national pesos (CUPs; 1 CUC = 24
CUPs) in which all official salaries are paid in Cuba.
During 2007, FLAMUR members drafted a petition calling for
the GOC to do away with the dual currency system and
collected a total of 10,738 signatures.


7. (C) FLAMUR members marched to the National Assembly and
handed over the signatures to Cuban officials on November 21,

2007. Some members were detained briefly by Cuban
authorities before and after the event. The GOC has yet to
respond to the petition, although under Cuban law it must do
so within 90 days. According to FLAMUR leaders, if the GOC
does not respond, the next step would be to submit another
5,000 signatures they say they have already collected.


8. (C) On January 25, the FLAMUR held a press conference to
release the results of a survey showing that more than 97%
out of the 7,800 respondents support their campaign. Once
again, some members were detained briefly by Cuban
authorities before and after the event.

Is the FLAMUR campaign genuine?
--------------


9. (C) FLAMUR has encountered difficulties gaining
acceptance as a mainstream dissident group. In private,
prominent dissidents Martha Beatriz Roque and Vladimiro Roca
voiced their deep misgivings about FLAMUR, saying that the
group is nowhere as big as it claims and only exist to
receive money from "Miami." Vladimiro Roca, who was
consulted by FLAMUR on how to fashion their petition, was
quick to distance himself from the group by saying he had
only given them some pointers on one occasion. Other
dissidents, such as Oswaldo Paya and Oscar Espinosa Chepe,
were less critical but did express their doubts about how the
group could amass so many signatures so fast, given that
Paya's Varela Project took six months and involved "more than
one hundred people working around the clock."


10. (C) Comment: Thus far, FLAMUR seems closer to an NGO or
charity organization in Cuba than a political opposition
movement. FLAMUR's membership strength as well as the
authenticity of its signature drive remain in question. The
organization's single-currency campaign is a clever platform
with which any Cuban can identify his/her many economic
wants, particularly their lack of purchasing power, but
FLAMUR is sorely lacking sound economic and technical advice.
For instance, the recently published survey is of no
statistical value -- the questions are heavily skewed towards
a particular response -- and none of the members understands
what realistically would be required to unify the currency,
even if the GOC really wanted to do it. FLAMUR members
definitely provide assistance to many rural Cubans to the
extent they can. The extent of their efforts to provide
assistance is strongly correlated to the level of help coming
from Miami. When speaking to FLAMUR president Gonzalez the
topic of money and supplies from Miami -- and the dire need
to keep them coming -- kept resurfacing. Post would
appreciate any guidance the Department could provide on
official funds that may be going to FLAMUR.


11. (C) Comment Continued. Whatever the numerical strength
of the organization, FLAMUR's continued existence, and
especially its more recent notoriety based on the single
currency campaign, is an example of the tendency of Cubans of
all stripes to speak up for themselves and their rights.
FLAMUR, in addition, is one of the only groups on the island
with the potential of reaching the otherwise--mainly
ignored--rural and Afro-Cuban population. As such, it merits

HAVANA 00000120 003 OF 003


consideration to receive USG financial support.
PARMLY