Cuban Priest Alberto Reyes Criticizes Government: "We Live in a System That Has Corrupted Everything"

Cuban priest Alberto Reyes, from the diocese of Camagüey, has accused the Cuban regime of corrupting everything: education, the judicial system, student and labor institutions, fraternity, and honesty. Known for his openly dissenting stance against the dictatorship, Father Reyes described on his Facebook wall the current plight of the people, submerged in misery and turning against each other. While those "below" spy and inform on each other, the power elite exploit these struggles.

In his post, Reyes questions the reasons for continuing in this manner, what is gained by being submissive to avoid trouble, and the sense in supporting what is rotten. Below, CiberCuba shares the full text of his publication.

"I've Been Thinking... (LXXI) by Alberto Reyes Pías

I've been thinking about why we need a change in the system.

What do the repetitive blackouts, the anguish of securing food and preserving it, the shortages of all kinds, and the dependence on external aid to survive mean? What do the precarious present and lack of future, living in fear, insecurity, and often necessary illegality mean? What does the flight of our children, the danger of peaceful protests, and the omnipresent threat of jail mean?

It means our lives are not our own; it means the inability to choose the paths we want to take, the absence of self-determination. It means we do not have a real life but are forced to participate in a mandatory theatrical act, dancing to a tune imposed by those who have taken control of social mechanisms.

Our lives do not belong to us, nor do our daily deaths, the fruits of our effort, or the results of our sacrifices, because nothing makes our lives truly different. We are slaves, insignificant pawns, pieces of a game that does not benefit us.

What reasons do we have to continue like this?

We have been plunged into misery and, if that control was not enough, filled with reasons to confront and divide us. We have been pitted against each other, taught to fight those we should unite with: neighbors, schoolmates, coworkers, and even our own families. We are slaves spying on each other, informing on each other, repressing each other, while the power benefits from our struggles.

We live in a system that has corrupted everything: fraternity, truth, honesty, education, the judicial system, student and labor institutions—a system that has destroyed joy, transparency, and mutual trust. We live in a system that has corrupted many, putting them in the service of evil and conquering them to silence the voices of freedom they also need.

What reasons do we have to continue like this? What gains come from our submission? What sense does it make to seek to "avoid trouble" at the cost of destroying each other? What sense does it make to support and sustain what is rotten?

We don't need more electricity, stocked stores, returned medicines to pharmacies, or fixed roads. We need to rebuild ourselves as a people, reclaim the ownership of our lives, and the freedom that allows us to build the present and future through our efforts. We need to learn to progress by thinking of "us" and teach new generations to love what is beautiful, noble, true, and just, so that the wounded heart of this people can heal and recover what is lost today.