I met a few days ago, almost at the end of 2022, with a group of my colleagues from the good times of the 80s and also from the hard years of the 90s.
In between sips of Ávila rum —our pockets don't reach two beers— the topic could not have been other than today's economic difficulties. We were in catharsis for over an hour.
Of course, there was no shortage of controversy, looking at the causes and even the consequences of what we are now experiencing. It was an attempt to analyze our present and future, from our personal experiences and the information that comes to us, or to which we are exposed.
My friends, through thick and thin, mentioned various reasons for the current situation in Cuba. They agreed, yes, that the evils are not only a consequence of the blockade (although the damage is enormous), but also of that other fabric of obstacles, obstacles and bureaucratic issues that does us so much damage and that, almost always, is in the shadows of the truth.
For this reason, when making public my wishes for this 2023, I do it as if it were the summary of that extensive talk. There aren't many, but I'll tell you.
May we not stop being a beacon that radiates hope to the millions of illiterate and hungry people who live in those "democracies" of tinsel and fireworks?
May our scientists continue to accompany us and confirm the tremendous certainty of 2021 and 2022: they are the shield to defend ourselves against viruses and evils and any despair?
May citizen security continue to be one of our main flags in a world where violence and drugs steal a piece of our horizon every day?
May Silvio's sentence “having is not a sign of evil and not having is not a sign that virtue accompanies” come true in my Cuba. On the other hand, what is the same: that those who, from their private jobs, subject to the laws, accumulate amounts of money much higher than those of the average citizen, should not be looked at with "evil eyes".
That our health system continue to give us more and more quality and safety of life and that doctors do not stop being that ray of hope and solidarity in the world and that Education and Sports do not stop being rights of the people and that we can exercise them without material cuts.
I also ask that the Government, at all levels, not assume excessive bureaucracy as something natural to our reality, but as a weed that hinders and does not let the good grow.
May the fight against corruption not be seasonal, but permanent, because in this tenacious and daily confrontation the survival of our project depends on us? That the corrupt have names and surnames and that, precisely, one of the punishments is to stop being anonymous.
I hope that this 2023 will be the starting point to evaluate the different opinions from another perspective and that the divergences do not run the risk of being counted as enemies.
It would be a great achievement if the meetings were fewer and fewer and ceased to be the stage in which words are more applauded than deeds.
This New Year would be very different if, once and for all, consignism, fleeting campaigns and vain triumphalism disappear from all public spaces where everyone's life is decided.
Finally, I only ask to defend the Revolution from its original essence: humanism. What prevails is not being afraid of making mistakes, but also the courage to admit them. I ask only that.