Arrogance, Totalitarian and Hegemonic

A few weeks ago, El Yuma highlighted a quote from Yoani Sanchez where she criticized the U.S. embargo and spoke of a need to respect Cuban "sovereignty."  I noted at the time that this seemed to be a new emphasis for her, even if she has consistently insisted that U.S. policy has long needed a major overhaul and that the solution to Cuba's problems must come from Cubans themselves. 

If the emphasis is new, however, the sentiment is decidedly NOT.

Recently while doing some background research on the "Genesis" of Generacion Y, I came across this gem of a quote from an editorial in the August 2006 edition of the now defunct digital Cuban magazine Consenso (published on-line between December 2004 and November 2007).  Consenso was replaced briefly by Contodos (2008-2009) and eventually by Voces Cubanas. 

Reinaldo Escobar was the founding editor of the magazine and his then lesser-known wife, Yonai Sanchez, who had recently returned from two years abroad in Switzerland, was the magazine's webmaster and an occassional reporter and essayist.

Entitled, "The Commission's $80 million and Its Effect on Cuban Society," the editorial is a clear and stinging rejection of what Cuban's refer to as "Plan Bush," otherwise known as the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba. (Interestingly, when you click on this CAFC link now, it is preceeded by a U.S. State Department pop-up warning along with a bright red banner both reminding you: "Archive: Information released online prior to January 20, 2009" - Hmmm, wonder what happened on that date?)

The pull quote:

"We Cubans face a double threat in our citizen and collective security: one from the totalitarian arrogance of the Cuban government and another from the hegemonic arrogance of the United States."

The Commission's $80 Million and Its Effect on Cuban Society

"United States' policy toward Cuba, in its effort to democratize Cuba based on its own interests, is mistaken; it offends the majority of Cubans in its ignorance of our capacity for self determination and for developing our own projects; it fuels a discourse that justifies internal repression in the country; it overlooks the internal division between the Cuban government and Cuban society, thus contributing to balkanization; it attacks Cuban national sovereignty and the virtual exercise of popular sovereignty with an arrogance that could lead to a loss of citizen self-esteem; it acts against international law and is lacking in ethical values.  

"The fact that the Cuban people today lack a voice of their own, does not mean that this voice can or should be replaced by external actors.  Cuba is not an object: It is, desires to be, and has the capacity to be the protagonist of its own history.  As a consequence, we Cubans face a double threat in our citizen and collective security: one from the totalitarian arrogance of the Cuban government and another from the hegemonic arrogance of the United States."