10508Cuba

www.ambiente.us OCTOBER | OCTUBRE 2008

In Government's Shadow, Gay Cubans Test Communism

As the decades wore on and the Communist
government found its internal popularity
sagging, officials had no choice but to make
certain concessions and open their doors to
less desirable elements. Not only would the
move ensure political survival, says Cuba-
born AIDS activist Leonard Chacon, but also
had a decidedly diplomatic purpose:
Now because the government has not so
many followers, they have to get people
from other areas of society, like gay, like
Catholic, people from other religions.
Because in the past, if you belong to the
Communist Party, you cannot be a gay…
Now it's different. They want to bring a better image to the other people, to the international community.

And these international public relations efforts put Cuba in a sticky situation.

Though certainly interested in courting positive international opinion, Cuba must be careful not to alienate its
more conservative allies. And, in order to avoid diplomatic awkwardness, Cuba's United Nations
representatives are known to leave the room for lavender-tinged votes. Human Rights Watch's Boris Dittrich,
also a former MP from the Netherlands, explains:

Every time something like that comes up, Cuban representatives are very quiet. They don’t speak in favor of
LGBT organizations and when it comes to a vote, they always leave the room. So, we asked them, “Why do
you leave the room? Why don’t you vote in favor of LGBT organizations?” And they always say, - and this is
confirmed by other missions to the UN, from other countries – “Of course we are in favor of LGBT rights, but
we are afraid that our allied friends wouldn’t like it if we voted in favor of LGBT rights.”
Those "allied friends" include the stridently anti-gay Egypt and Pakistan. While the United States maintains
sanctions against Cuba, some States-based groups, like Florida’s fiercely anti-Castro Unity Coalition, are
moving in on the island. And their approach suggests larger misconceptions in the fight against Cuban
homophobia.
Ron Berensky, a Coalition board member who makes no secret his anti-Castro sentiment, says he and his
allies hope to help “promote” the island’s hidden gay movement, and “help them with logistics and
leadership.” America’s homos, of course, have no lack of experience in gay rights activism. In addition to
asking for gay bars and magazines, says Berensky, the Coalition ultimately seeks full marriage rights, a
move that goes against the government, obviously, and also may be in conflict with the island's queer
communities.

“LGBT activists actually asked Mariela Castro not to start talking about same-sex marriage, says Dittrich.
"They were afraid it would cause a backlash, they told me.” Not surprisingly, the Center for Sexual Diversity
has no interest in working with the Coalition, as evidenced by spokesman Alberto Guerra’s reaction when
asked if he would ever call on their help: “CENESEX and the other Cuban institutions which work with sexual
diversity are serious and professional organizations.” The implication is that Unity Coalition’s meddling
unnecessarily into the Centre – and, by extension, the government’s – affairs.

The tensions were most evident last July, when Havana police squashed what would have been the island’s
first gay pride parade. That event, which took place just weeks after the state-sponsored International Day
Against Homophobia, had been organized by Coalition, and the government saw it as nothing less than a
counter-revolutionary event. Outraged by the repression, Berensky insisted the group wasn't trying to make a
political statement. "It wasn't a march to demand anything. It wasn't a political march," he says before
indirectly contradicting himself, "This is a way of celebrating our lifestyle and the government said, 'No, you
can't do it.' Well, that's not democracy." Well, no, it's not. It's communism. And liberal projections only
complicate arguments against the revolutionary state.
You cannot create your own organization, because all of the organizations for the government, it's a threat,
they're enemies. They refuse to support the other groups. … Gay concentration means that you can be
thinking on your own – you can have your own ideas. That is not welcome in Cuba. Everybody has to follow
the Communist Party’s ideas. You have to follow the guidelines.

The Cuban government will do anything to maintain its communist roots, even if that means quietly including
the gays. Western activists, however, insist on the creation of gay bars, magazines and, as Berensky said,
pride, yet it is impossible for gay activists to achieve the same recognition in Cuba as enjoyed by Westerners.
The long odds aren't not necessarily a lack of experience, as some more arrogant activists may proclaim, but
because the government’s structure simply will not allow it. A theoretical communist society cannot allow civil
space to sprout, thus making such identity-based movements impossible. They’re absolutely antithetical to
the government’s nationalized existence.

If you're still unconvinced, consider Guerra's interpretation of "activism." While Human Rights Watch's Dittrich
and others confirmed that there are gay activists in Cuba, Guerra can't bring himself to admit a social division:
“We do not have an activist movement concerning LGBT rights in Cuba.” To Guerra, activism simply doesnot
exist. It's a part of the larger national machine: “I prefer to call activism “education and advocacy.” I prefer the
institutional work." Without a civil society and a government that fosters discussion, any and all positive
“developments” will occur within preset parameters. Too often international activists neglect to acknowledge
the challenges particular to "collective" governance. And, as they project democratic ideals, they also project
decidedly Western images of "gay."

Berensky insists same-sex supportive magazines and bars are “part of being gay,” and thus implores the
Cuban government, "Let us have the opportunity to express ourselves the way we'd like to express ourselves,
in our parades - in our - whatever we want to do. That is part of being gay." To some, that may be true - many
gay people find comfort in being different, perhaps even segregated from the rest of society. In a communist
context, however, sexual identity politics are meant to melt away into the larger social scheme. There is no
"being gay" in Cuba. People must first be Cuban.
Despite Castro's anti-queer comments in 1965, Guerra’s state-sanctioned statements do ring true: “The
ideal communist society states and advocates the principles of equity and non-discrimination. Ideologically
speaking, there is not any contradiction between communist ideas and homosexuality." This brings us back
to civil unions and CENESEX’s focus on the family. If gays can be integrated into the family structure, says
CENESEX, then they're being integrated into the center of Cuban society and can be assimilated into the
greater social and political landscape.

In order to survive, the Cuban government began loosening its restrictions. It's only a matter of time, however,
until the steps prove too little and Cubans again begin asking for more. And gay activists will no doubt be at
the forefront of the movement. How they go about their business remains up to them, and, in many ways,
depends on how they define "gay." If they align with the Western conception, CENESEX's civil unions ploy will
likely face opposition. On the other hand, if gays decide to join the theoretical communist fun, then Cuba
could be in for smooth sailing.

History has taught us, however, that communist nations often cannibalize their base. Social and political
purity are dependent on centralized control and, unfortunately, this control often entails violent repression, as
has happened time and again in Cuba. If the changing tide proves too much for Raul Castro and the Cuban
government, they'll face two choices: put their foot down or take more steps toward progress, thus further
diluting the government's revolutionary goal. Not only will gay inclusion test the government's priorities, it will
test Cuba's entire political system.

La historia de las políticas gay de Cuba
La Habana - Cuba ha madurado mucho a
nivel político en los últimos meses. El
pasado mes de febrero, luego de 49 años
en el poder, el legendario mandatario
Fidel Castro se hizo a un lado y le entregó
la presidencia a su hermano Raúl. A pesar
de que todo quedó en familia, muchos
han visto el ascenso de Raúl al poder
como una movida positiva para la isla,
una señal de que el gobierno comunista
puede llegar a evolucionar.

Un mes más tarde, Mariela Castro, la hija
del presidente y líder del Centro Nacional
de Educación Sexual (CENESEX), dio un importante paso cuando solicitó al gobierno que reescribiera el
Código de la Familia de los años 70 para poder darle lugar a la unión civil.

La "redefinición revolucionaria" del concepto de familia, según el vocero del CENESEX, Alberto Roque
Guerra, es el principal problema de los gays en Cuba. "La familia es la base de la sociedad. La homofobia y
la transfobia se ven primero que nada dentro del ámbito familiar. La lucha contra la homofobia está
enfocada en la familia como principal disparador". A pesar de lo cierto de este argumento, la declaración de
Guerra deliberadamente ignora las décadas de homofobia sancionada por el mismo estado. Además, la
intención del CENESEX de luchar por la igualdad se abstiene de mencionar lo primero que se necesita para
conseguirla: la asimilación.

El modesto progreso del gobierno cubano tiene tanto que ver con la supervivencia política y las relaciones
públicas como con la evolución cultural.

Fidel Castro, en una entrevista realizada en el año 1965, inauguró la amenaza hacia los gays, cuando
declaró ante el periodista norteamericano Lee Lockwood que "los jóvenes no deberían caer en manos de
los homosexuales".

Nada le impide a un homosexual profesar una ideología revolucionaria y consecuentemente, exhibir una
posición de corrección política. Sin embargo, jamás creeríamos que un homosexual podría dar cuerpo a las
condiciones y requerimientos de conducta que se necesitan para ser un verdadero revolucionario, un
verdadero militante del Comunismo. Una “desviación de la naturaleza” chocaría con el concepto de lo que
un militante comunista debería ser.

Por consiguiente, en su entusiasmo revolucionario, el régimen de Castro erigió campos de reeducación
donde los disidentes, los líderes religiosos y los gays intentaban ser despojados de su "comportamiento
antisocial" y eran entrenados para servir a la revolución. En el año 2006, en una discusión respecto a estos
controvertidos campos de reeducación, Castro reconoció su existencia, pero se negó a relacionarlos con la
"supuesta persecución a los homosexuales". A pesar de que los campos han sido abolidos, la búsqueda
de integración por parte de la Revolución sigue siendo igual, aunque con algunos ajustes a tiempo.

Sostener que la Revolución deliberadamente generó la homofobia en la isla sería injusto. Existieron otros
factores en juego, incluyendo a la Iglesia Católica y quizás lo más importante de todo, el machismo. Esta
clase de hombre flexionó su músculo social, mientras que los hombres con modales más afeminados
debían guardarse en la sombra o sufrir las consecuencias. En la actualidad, el machismo aún domina la
cultura cubana, asegura Leonardo Chacon, un activista gay cubano quien se mudó a Miami el año pasado.
"Ser gay en la isla es una señal de debilidad. Según nuestra tradición, alguien que es gay no es
considerado un hombre. Y ese “no hombre” nunca ha sido una figura de peso en la sociedad cubana".

De más está decir que estos “desviados sexuales” representaban un importante riesgo a la cohesión social
y política, según lo declaraba el Congreso de Educación de Cuba del año 1971: "El carácter patológico de
desviación homosexual ha sido reconocido. Se ha llegado a la resolución que todas las manifestaciones de
desviación homosexual serán firmemente rechazadas y se prevendrá su expansión". El gobierno ha tenido
que mantener su promesa a toda costa y además de los campos de reeducación, durante años se llevaron
a cabo repetidas redadas a los cubanos gays, incluyendo arrestos, ataques, deportaciones masivas y la
puesta en cuarentena durante los años 80 de los cubanos HIV+.

A pesar de su historia violenta y represora, el gobierno cubano ha tenido modestas actitudes positivas en
las décadas desde la revolución, incluyendo la revocación de las leyes de sodomía del año 1979. La
CENESEX en el año 1989 llevó los derechos trans al escenario nacional y el gobierno finalmente comenzó a
permitir las operaciones de cambio se sexo en el país. Luego, en el año 1992, 21 años luego de la
descriminalización de la sodomía, el gobierno decidió normalizar las leyes de edad de consentimiento, una
suerte de igualización simbólica del sexo gay y hetero. Dos años más tarde, Castro describiría a la
homosexualidad como algo "natural" y hace solamente unos meses atrás, el gobierno permitió la
conmemoración del Día Internacional Contra la Homofobia.

Según un reporte acerca de los derechos humanos en Cuba realizado por el Departamento de Estado de
los EE.UU del año 2007, "la discriminación social contra los homosexuales aún persiste, ya que la policía
ocasionalmente patrulla las áreas donde se suelen congregar los gays".

"No existe ninguna justificación para arrestar a un hombre por ser gay ya que la condición sexual no es
considerada un crimen por nuestro código criminal", asegura Guerra. Puede que esto sea verdad, que el
gobierno no arreste a nadie por "ser gay", pero eso no impide que la policía decida detener a activistas por
otras razones, lo cual es una manera de mantener alejados a los adversarios por medio de esta fachada.
Algunos dicen que la reciente actitud "aceptadora" del gobierno no es nada más que una simple
manipulación política. Y probablemente tengan razón.

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