Cuba’s Promising New Online Voices

[Commentary] In December 2010, nearly three years after he took power from his ailing brother Fidel, Raúl Castro called on Cubans to be critical of the system, acknowledging that the Communist Party had failed its citizens in myriad ways. Cuba’s diverse and growing community of bloggers and independent journalists have done just that, becoming a powerful alternative to the official press, which for decades has delivered hyperbolic and dull content, but little substantive journalism.

Few segments of Cuban society will stand to benefit more from improved relations between Washington and Havana than this group. As Internet access on the island expands and the Cuban government can no longer credibly argue that the United States represents an existential threat, independent writers could become even more important agents of change.

[Dec 24]