CONGRESS OF WRITERS AND ARTISTS DEBATES CHANGES IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L HAVANA 000377

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/07/2018
TAGS: CU PGOV SCUL
SUBJECT: CONGRESS OF WRITERS AND ARTISTS DEBATES CHANGES IN
THE SYSTEM

Classified By: COM Michael E. Parmly for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

1.(C) Summary: In a closed-door meeting of writers and
artists last month, Cuban intellectuals criticized the
government for, among other things, neglecting education,
poor TV and radio programming, stifling red tape, and
restricting access to the Internet. The VII Congress of the
National Union of Writers and Artists from Cuba (UNEAC)
expressed hope that the changes that have come about since
Raul Castro became president are signs of more good things to
come. We view these groups as an important voice of internal
dissent within the regime. End Summary.


2. (SBU) The seventh congress of the Union of Writers and
Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) met April 1-4 in Havana with 415
delegates in attendance. The meeting kicked off amidst high
expectations due to the fact that: it was the first meeting
of this organization representing Cuba's top intellectuals in
ten years; it was the first time that Fidel would not be
presiding over its sessions; and it came in the wake of a
number of policy changes announced by Cuba's new president,
Raul Castro.


Background
--------------


3. (SBU) UNEAC, which describes itself as a non-governmental
social, cultural, and professional organization was not
immune to criticism. It began as a small elite organization
when it was created in 1961, but has grown to 8,500 members,
of which some 1,500 are less than 40 years old. Two
criticisms that emerged out of the seventh congress were that
it was too big and that it should have more young people in
its ranks. (Note: There is an organization that groups
writers and artists of less thank 35 years of age called the
Asociacion Hermanos Saiz which is under the Communist Youth
Organization.)


4. (SBU) UNEAC is one of the key sub units of the Cuban
Communist Party (PCC) and this congress was one of the last
two hurdles to be cleared before a full party congress, now
scheduled for the second half of 2009, can be held. (The
other is the congress of women, which has not been scheduled
yet.)


Traditional shell on the outside....
--------------


5. (SBU) Raul and Politburo leaders Carlos Lage, Esteban
Lazo, and Culture Minister Abel Prieto spoke at the opening
and closing sessions. These sessions were covered by the
Cuban newspapers and carried on Cuban television news
programs. The Cuban press also published summaries of the
discussions held during the working sessions of UNEAC's
thirteen committees. Some quotes sounded like traditional
Fidel-style revolutionary harangues. For instance:

--From leading writer and poet Miguel Barnet, who had been in
charge of organizing the congress, and (as predicted) went on
to be elected president of UNEAC: "Our number one commitment
should be to strengthen the inalienable commitment to the
principles of our socialist, Martianist (referring to Cuban
national hero Jose Marti) and Fidelist revolution."
--From Abel Prieto: "We need to wage a battle against the
colonial models that contaminate us now."


6. (SBU) This type of rhetoric was to be expected. According
to the official press accounts, the purpose of the congress
was to revitalize UNEAC and reinforce its role in protecting
and promoting culture. The theme of the previous congress a
decade ago was "imperialistic cultural domination." On that
occasion, Fidel famously said, "Within the Revolution,
everything; outside of it, nothing." Not surprisingly, a
letter from Fidel to this new congress ended with:
"Everything that strengthens the Revolution is good;
everything that weakens it is bad."


....but juicier tidbits inside.
--------------


7. (SBU) What was unprecedented in the conduct of this
congress, however, was the openness with which this
privileged sector criticized the government and the "sacred
cows" of the Revolution, and the fact that these criticisms
were replayed by the Cuban media several times a day during
this four-day event. The congress gave a formal voice to the
criticisms levied at the government during the debates
encouraged by Raul in his July 26 2007 speech.


8. (SBU) Intellectual Graziella Pogolotti criticized the

education system for not teaching children to think, and, in
what must be understood as a criticism of the GOC policy to
send teachers to Venezuela in exchange for oil, asked that
experienced teachers be sent back to the classrooms.
Similarly, writer Reynaldo Gonzalez blamed poorly trained
young teachers for the loss of traditional values and the
prevalence of vulgarity. Intellectual Alfredo Guevara said:
"One can never build a society on the basis of dogma,
stubbornness, or the denial of the Cuban reality."


9. (SBU) Barnet and internationally recognized Havana City
historian Eusebio Leal acknowledged that racism is still a
problem in Cuba and suggested that sanctions are needed to
address it. Many others complained about the dilapidated
condition of city buildings, poor infrastructure, the erosion
of traditional values, and low copyright royalties, among
other problems.


10. (SBU) Participants debated at length the low quality of
television programming. News leaked out that the Vice
President of the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television had
announced that Cuba would soon launch a 24-hour channel with
programs from around the world. (Note: At this point, most
Cuban television comes from the U.S., Europe, and other Latin
American countries, with the U.S. programming dominating.
Most recently these have included "The Sopranos.")


11. (C) In order to get an insider's view of the UNEAC
congress, COM Parmly, Pol/Econ counselor and the APAO talked
to Helmo Hernandez, an intellectual who is also chairman of
the Ludwig Foundation, which promotes the work of Cuban
plastic artists. Hernandez, who likes to keep a low profile
though he believes that artists should always push the
limits, told us that he had been asked to be involved in the
organization of the congress and presided over the key
culture and society committee. As such, he gave perhaps the
most high-profile speech, which he said had been cleared at
least by Politburo member Esteban Lazo. Hernandez's speech
can be read as a collective mea culpa of the intellectuals
who have tended to look outside for explanations of what is
wrong with Cuba's socialist system. It had veiled criticism
of Cuban government censorship of information and misguided
cultural policies. At one point in his speech he said: "We
should not be afraid to elucidate the truth, however risky
and difficult that may seem." In another, he referred to "the
new communication technologies," saying: " Prohibiting access
to those technologies would not just be an empty gesture, but
would increase its attractiveness...Moreover, the rejection
of the wealth of information that current technologies make
available to us, would be like stepping back in time and
would place us outside of reality."


12. (C) Comment: One could interpret the abundance of
criticism that took place within the congress as a sort of
Cuban Glasnost, where artists and intellectuals who have
remained on the island at long last found their voices and
began to use a language of their own. These groups have
always been more prone to actual debate, but inviting an
Helmo Hernandez to speak as he did, and then allowing his
words to stand, is a big step beyond the usual practice. In
the end, even if it failed to live up to the high
expectations and hopes of some of its most optimistic
participants and observers, the seventh UNEAC congress
managed to confirm and reinforce trends that have been
developing in Cuban society for some time. We believe the
artists and intellectuals represent the most likely source of
"formal" dissent that exists on the island, and that the
UNEAC congress may embolden others to push towards
achievement of the expectations that many had for the seventh
congress.
PARMLY