Father Alberto Reyes Urges Cubans to Demand Lasting Change, Not Just Temporary Improvements

The Cuban priest Alberto Reyes, from the diocese of Camagüey, has implored the Cuban people to strive for a definitive change rather than settling for minor improvements in the country's situation as a way out of the crisis.

Father Reyes, a vocal critic of the Castro regime, shared a post on his Facebook wall where he condemned the miserable existence that Cubans endure due to scarcity and high prices, despite being aware that the system is dysfunctional. The priest highlighted that the regime's strategy is to make temporary improvements (such as electricity and water) to prevent people from taking to the streets to demand their rights, and he urged citizens not to settle for crumbs but to be capable of demanding everything and not just 'something.'

Below is the full text of the post shared by CiberCuba:

Reflections by Father Alberto Reyes

"I've been thinking... (LXXIV) by Alberto Reyes Pías

I've been thinking about something called 'intermittent reinforcement.'

We live a miserable existence. From the moment we wake up, a Cuban's life is an obstacle course to solve basic needs, wrapped in the discomfort caused by scarcity, lack of resources, skyrocketing prices, the inescapable heat, and, of course, the constant tension due to power outages.

We complain: about sleepless nights, the horrible sweat that soaks our children's beds, the medicines that never arrive, the lack of freedom... But we keep enduring, we keep 'fighting,' asking ourselves over and over why we stay this way if the system doesn't work, without realizing that, from time to time, some things 'work,' and when that happens, our hope clings to these sporadic changes, allowing them to feed the illusion of real change.

We're battered by blackouts, left without electricity all night long, and the tension rises, people get 'rebellious,' but suddenly, the blackouts 'ease up,' and the power comes back earlier, giving us a break to sleep and rest... and the tension fades away.

Water is scarce, we get desperate, and suddenly our women block the streets, and things get 'heated,' until, out of nowhere, the water supply is restored, the crisis is resolved, and everything calms down.

And when there's an uncontrollable outburst, when the pressure cooker that is Cuba overflows, an escape valve always appears, be it Mariel, rafters, or Nicaragua.

We're controlled by intermittent reinforcement. When a switch breaks, and we keep flipping it until we realize it won't turn on the light, we take the trouble to change it as soon as possible. However, when it has a loose connection, and we know that by flipping it repeatedly, at some point the damaged wire will 'click' and the light will come on, that switch can stay there for years. It would be better to change it right away so that it always turns on the light when flipped, but that's more work, and since we occasionally receive the 'reinforcement' of turning on the light, we prefer to insist even if we live precariously.

When pursuing a dream, a person fails to achieve what they truly want, but occasionally achieves something, and that something is satisfying, they can fall into the trap of 'a hair from the wolf,' and may end up settling for a hair when, in reality, their dream is the entire wolf.

We need to convince ourselves that we don't want things to 'improve' but to change, and to change definitively. We need to convince ourselves that we don't have to keep settling for crumbs, nor do we have to do 'more with less,' nor enroll in 'creative resistance.'

When we realize that what we need is not to make the 'loose connection' work but to change the switch, then, and only then, will we be able to demand everything and not just 'something,' we will be able to leave the exhausting paths of our daily lives to conquer the wide and clean avenue of freedom, the one that brings progress, well-being, and peace."