The quiet opposition, except for Oscar

The Cuban government’s economic reform program has strong political implications. It goes to most Cubans’ central political grievance, which is that the economy doesn’t work and the economic rules of the game don’t allow them to get ahead, or even to make ends meet. Depending on how the program works out, it could be a big winner or a big loser for the government. It has certainly made economic change the main issue in Cuban society, one where the government and party have the initiative and their political opponents are sidelined.

Given all that, I have been surprised that opposition figures have spoken out so little. An exception is Oscar Espinosa Chepe, who has written a series of commentaries that plow through the policy guidelines document that the Communist Party published for its April Congress.

I collected his commentaries in this document (pdf). Readers can tell me if I have missed statements by others.