Twenty-five years after his international case, Elián González, now an industrial engineer and deputy in Cuba's National Assembly, gave interviews at the 9th Continental Meeting of Solidarity with Cuba in Mexico. He defended the Cuban Revolution's achievements and blamed the US embargo for current problems. The opinion piece criticizes his views as influenced by the Cuban government.
Elián González, who in 2000 became a symbol of the Cuban struggle after shipwrecking with his mother and returning to Cuba by judicial decision, has reemerged in the public eye. At 31 years old, during the 9th Continental Meeting of Solidarity with Cuba in Mexico, he shared his views in several interviews. He is now an industrial engineer, a deputy in Cuba's National Assembly, and a private entrepreneur in Matanzas province.
In his statements, González described pre-revolutionary Cuba as 'a plundered Cuba, a poor Cuba, a population that was being exterminated, a population living under a real tyranny, a population whose rights were being taken away.' He praised advances in education, public health, culture, and sports under the Revolution, though the opinion piece notes that these sectors face severe shortcomings today.
He blames the US 'blockade' for economic issues, stating it is 'a strangulation of the people, not of the government' and that it prevents a 'normal economic flow with other countries.' He suggested that, once the economy improves, 'many of the Cubans who have emigrated will gladly return because Cubans are very patriotic and family oriented.' The opinion text questions this, arguing that returns will depend on political changes and criticizes government policies like unpaid debts and obstacles to investors.
The author, Francisco Acevedo, accuses González of having been brainwashed and benefiting from privileges, ignoring poverty, repression, and mass emigration in Cuba. He recalls that González's mother died attempting to take him to the US, motivated by the Cuban Adjustment Act, and urges him to question the system rather than defend it.