Wednesday, May 2, 2007

First Campaign Announcement

We are proud to announce the the theme for the first campaign conducted by Bloggers United for Cuban Liberty....

Spain campaign logo.jpg


May is an important month for Cuba, but not because of the ridiculous annual May day parades that fidel castro implemented so many years ago. No, May is important because May 20th is the day Cubans around the world celebrate independence day. Cuba was a Spanish colony for more than 400 years.

But the more things change the more they stay the same. The current Spanish government has proven itself to be tone deaf to the pleas of Cuban dissidents, preferring instead to follow a policy that suits Spanish hoteliers and other Spanish investors in Cuba. The same kind of policy that many accused the United States of implementing in pre-castro days. Except that according to former Earl E.T. Smith, U.S. Ambassador to Cuba in the late 50s, in his book, The Fourth Floor, Cuba had its best economic year ever in 1957.

Today Spain is a vulture feeding off the dead carcass of a broken nation. We intend to send a message to Spain with this campaign. We intend to speak firmly and with conviction. We intend to call a spade, a spade. Spain has found a way to sink its colonial hooks into Cuba again more than 100 years later.

If you are interested in sponsoring this campaign against Spanish exploitation of Cubans please email me to receive the full campaign proposal. Please identify your blog in the email. If you are simply interested in donating toward making this campaign happen you can do so at BUCL.org.

For the rest of you, stay tuned as we get closer to Cuban independence day. We'll soon be revealing more about this campaign.

In the meantime get educated on Spain by reading about it here, here, here, here, and here.

12 comments:

El Cerrajero said...

Henry, I'm a well known spanish fighter against communism & socialism and that's why I don't understand your comment in my blog.

You've to know one thing is spaniards and another pretty different one is leftist spaniards.

P.S. Please, be brave and publish my comments in your blog because if you don't do it, what's your difference with Castro?

Anonymous said...

Somo muchos los españoles que llevamos años denunciando al régimen castrista y dando apoyo al pueblo cubano y sus exiliados. Creo injusta vuestra campaña.

Saludos de un español que no piensa como Zapatero y sus secuaces socialistas.

Henry Louis Gomez said...

Luís, yo se que no son todos los españoles los que apoyan la tiranía de Fidel castro pero esta campaña no es en contra de los españoles, sino la política oficial de España con respeto a cuba.

Personas de todo el mundo critican a la política de Estados Unidos sobre varios temas, como la guerra en Irak, y no me molesta. Eso es porque yo entiendo que no es personal. A veces estos criticas tienen razón y veces no. Pero hay que escuchar las criticas para saberlo.

Para ser justo, usted ni ha visto la campaña todavía. ¿Es decir, como puedes criticar la campaña sin saber de que consiste? Cuando se revela la campaña, sobre los próximos días, entonces puedes criticarla desde un punto de vista informado.

Si usted piensa que la critica sobre la política española con respeto a Cuba no tiene razón, entonces dígalo cuando lo veas. Pero si te da vergüenza saber que tenemos la razón, entonces no te opongas a nosotros, mejor únase a nosotros en pedir un cambio de esa política a su gobierno.

Le dejo con una inquietud. Cual incentivo tienen las empresas españoles para apoyar el cambio en Cuba?

Un abrazo fraternal.

Anonymous said...

Estimado Henry, todo parecía inidcar una campaña antiespañola, no antigobierno de españa.
Me alegra muchísimo tu explicación y contarás con mi apoyo, no lo dudes.

De vuelta el abrazo.

Fernando A. Ramírez Martínez said...

I understand that from outside ones country it's difficult to separate the state from the government but even though I strongly disagree with our PM's policy, I think it's quite fallacious to say that Spain it's trying to retake colonial control.

I think that the companies operating in Cuba with the Nihil Obstat from Castro's Dictatorship are despicable and I do not support their way of doing business on your country.
I'd be willing to support your Campaign but not with the spanish flag embeded into cuba's profile, which is in my opinion disrespectful with many spaniards like me, that show absolute support to dissidents and for a free Cuba.

Of course we are responsible up to some degree of our government and hopefully we'll change that next year, on the meantime I'd like to request you to clearly differentiate our country's and citizen's opinion from our government's, which was elected under a quite taut and agitated situation.

Henry Louis Gomez said...

The purpose of this campaign is to generate awareness. The symbolism of the logo is supposed to be "in your face". The point is to make you think about whether what it seems to represent is really true. You can reject it as being false, but I suspect the sensitivity is because there's truth in it. What if I put a small Spanish flag on every Spanish-managed hotel property on the island? Properties where Cubans can't go unless they work there. Even those Cubans don't get to enjoy the fruits of their labor because the Spanish firms gladly turn that over to the regime which in turn pays the workers a miserable wage.

Sorry if we offended you or anyone else, but what's much more offensive (on a titanic scale of offensiveness) is Moratinos shaking hands and smiling with Raul Castro while he snubbed the dissidents. I am much more offended by that than any Spaniard should be about this campaign.

Anonymous said...

The campaign needs in its symbology the spanish flag. Only thus it receives visual impact. If the contents are sufficiently clarify, I will not have problems in supporting it.

Prevost said...

La campaña puede tener sentido pero a primera vista y de lo leído a mí me estáis dando a entender que es algo así como un manifiesto anti-capitalista/pro indigenista.

Es decir, bravo porque las empresas no se aprovechen de las dictaduras y países como España las apoyen. Bien.

Pero es un error mezclarlo con el colonialismo y antiglobalizacion.

Saludos.

Henry Louis Gomez said...

Prevost, La campaña no tiene que ver con anti-globalización. Nosotros somos capitalistas.

Pero es una campaña para levantar el conocimiento sobre las situación en Cuba y como el gobierno y varias empresas españolas se están aprovechando de ella.

Algunos han dicho que los Empresas Americanas hacen lo mismo en China, lo cual no es completamente cierto. Cualquiera que lo examina sabe que por lo menos en China se a liberalizada la economía y individuos pueden tener empresas y propiedad privada. Cuando un hace negocio con un chino privado, se beneficia ese chino. Pero en Cuba no han venido esas reformas y por eso es que no cambia la miseria de los cubanos.

Lo del colonialismo es simbólico y retórico porque como usted bien sabe horita viene el DIA de independencia de Cuba. Es un momento ideal para hablar de España y su relación con Cuba.

La campaña va a ser fuerte y quizás ofenda a algunos. Pero nosotros estamos mas ofendidos por los hechos que el simbolismo.

Que estés bien.

Unknown said...

Hola, Henry, la imagen del mapa de Cuba bajo la bandera de España ha hecho que se me pusieran los pelos como escarpias.

Yo creo que la solución al problema cubano reside en que Cuba vuelva a ser española. Desde que nos fuimos de Cuba, aquello se ha convertido en un despiporre. Eso es indiscutible.

Nosotros, los Conquistadores, deberíamos volver a retomar todas nuestras posesiones, desde Filipinas a la Florida, desde Cuba a Portugal.
Desde que los españoles no dirigimos el mundo la situación se ha vuelto insostenible. Eso también es indiscutible.

Cuba española!!!! Viva España!!!!

Uncas said...

Why against Spain? What about all other countries doing business with Cuba? Should not the trade embargo be lifted? If the US is doing business with China, it should be able to do it with a much closer neighbor. Do you think that the Spanish government does not want democracy for Cuba? Many different measures have been tried and none have worked. This time they are trying rapprochement. I am not saying it will work, but the opposite measures definitely have not.

Henry Louis Gomez said...

Why Spain? Because Spain is one of the largest "investors" in Cuba. No the trade embargo should not be removed. Doing business with the captors of the Cuban people is immoral and that's why we protest it. China does not have the same economic system that Cuba has. In China there is private property and private enterprise. Economic engagement in China can eventually bear fruit in terms of social liberalization but in Cuba there's no private property or private enterprise. No, the current Spanish government does not want democracy for Cuba. In fact Zapatero would like a Cuban form of government for Spain itself. But the Spanish businesses that deal with the regime have no incentive to see change in Cuba. The have the market cornered. You can not engage in rapprochement with a murderer like fidel castro, that's like trusting charles manson with a furlough. When the castro brothers are out of power then perhaps we will see change in Cuba. But it's up to Cuba to make the change, then the US will lower the embargo.

That's it. If you don't understand that, you never will.