14ymedio, Havana, 30 December 2023 — Subject to close control, the official Cuban media have historically been fundamental instruments of revolutionary propaganda, with Granma, the official organ of the Cuban Communist Party, as the spearhead. Eppur si muove, “and yet it moves,” a phrase attributed to Galileo; somewhat far from the capital, Ciego de Ávila’s newspaper, Invasor, is the best example, although not the only one.
The newspaper has published some of the most critical articles against the Government, from its own ranks, and continues to provide valuable material that allows the independent press to work with data and statements that are impossible to access from a medium considered illegal by the regime. While it is true that it is not the only one and in the Sancti Spíritus Escambray it has its best student, the Avileño paper is the most daring in its class.
We have been observing in recent years in 14ymedio that some provincial media dare to be more critical of power than those considered national media , but the milestone was reached this October 2023 Invasor in its article Silences, respect and pending communication, in which the author, Sayli Sosa Barceló, accuses different institutions of lack of transparency, deliberate delays in responding to journalists and even rudeness to media teams that prevent the press from fulfilling its obligation to keep the public informed.
The article referred to another with similar characteristics, published in the summer by Escambray with a harsh title – Keep quiet and then inform – by the very official Dayamis Sotolongo, who cried out against the new policy of the Ministry of Tourism that forces the media through a bureaucr
