14ymedio, Pedro Corzo, Miami, April 27, 2024 — What drives many intellectuals to voluntarily submit to the authority of a despot? It is a question that overwhelms many ordinary citizens, because it is inconceivable that people who may be among those who lose the most in an autocratic society are among the most willing to pay tribute to a tyranny. This new reflection about intellectuals who voluntarily submit to an oppressor is relevant for the recent First International Book Fair that was held in Tampa, a poor imitation of the First Exiled Cuban Book Fair that opened in Miami in 2015, sponsored by journalist and writer Silvio Mancha and several exile organizations.
The Tampa Fair was tarnished by the presence and participation of home-grown Castro intellectuals. They create narratives to cover the failures and abuses of the Havana regime and even subscribe to documents which support the ignominies of the dictatorship as did Francisco López Sacha and Rigoberto Rodríguez Entenza, signatories of the letter that in 2022 endorsed the repression of the peaceful protests in Cuba against Castro and his lackeys. I clarify, not all servants live on the Island.
Cuban totalitarianism has been an absolute failure, but it is undeniable that its ability to survive must be added to other successes which highlight its talent for repression and its ability to attract servants in the creative arts, specifically in the media and literature.
Usually the intellectual is an individual who flees from commitments
Usually the intellectual is an individual who flees from commitments. Their freedom to d
