Can we still talk about "Revolution" in Cuba?
Every revolution is a two-stage process: one of destruction, and the construction of a social order and a political regime. That was what happened in Cuba between the 50s and 70s of the last century.
Once the new state is constituted, the "revolution" becomes a metaphor for the language of power that sustains a fiction of unity between the government and people.
What should be salvaged from the revolutionary period?
All revolutions have been liberating and oppressive at the same time. The Cuban one stoked the hopes of millions who became involved in the social, educational and cultural policies of the new state. That belief in change, which was expressed in multiple ways, especially in the 60s, still seems the most redeemable aspect of the Cuban experience.
How would you classify the current period in Cuba?
Since the 1990s, after the disintegration of the socialist camp, Cuba has been able to veer towards a new political regime, through reform. The social change that took place among the Island's citizens, and the many Cubans abroad, demanded this. But the refusal to undertake comprehensive reform of the post-revolutionary State remains a burden today, as can be seen in the new Constitution, and it is the main cause of the country's problems. Since then, Cuba has been stuck in a period of postponed reform.