Óscar Espinosa Chepe

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Óscar Manuel Espinosa Chepe (born November 29, 1940 in Cienfuegos , Cuba ; † September 23, 2013 in Cercedilla , Spain ) was a Cuban economist , diplomat and dissident . He had been a senior staff member in various Cuban government agencies since 1961 and an internationally known Castro critic from the 1990s . As a member of Group of 75 , he was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2003 as part of the Black Spring . Amnesty International recognized him and his colleagues as “prisoners of conscience free of violence”.

Live and act

Youth and first political activity

Óscar Espinosa Chepe grew up as the son of Óscar Espinosa Prado and Clara Chepe Núñez in a middle-class family in the southern Cuban port city of Cienfuegos. The parents initially worked in the delivery of pharmacies and later became partners in a drugstore. The father was a communist who had served in prison for his part in the fight against dictator Gerardo Machado , and the mother was a devout Catholic; after the father later left Cuba because of his rejection of the system established by Castro and settled in New York , however, he too turned into a devout Catholic for the rest of his life. As a teenager to Chepe the dictatorship completed in the time of Fulgencio Batista of Juventud Socialista on, the youth wing of the Communist Party and participated in numerous acts of resistance. After an act of sabotage in Cienfuegos, in which he was not involved, he was arrested in 1957 and charged. After the later President Osvaldo Dorticós defended him in the trial, he was acquitted, but had to leave his hometown in view of the police chief's threats, whereupon he evaded to Havana. He continued his political activities and was therefore expelled from the Methodist high school in early 1958 , to which he had switched. At this time and for the rest of the revolutionary struggle , he belonged to a student movement that supported the " Directorio Revolucionario 13 de Marzo ", which was fighting parallel to Castro's " Movement of July 26th " against Batista . Like the majority of Cubans, he experienced the fall of Batista on January 1, 1959 as a moment of liberation. He returned to Cienfuegos and the Juventud Socialista and was first chairman in the city and then a member of the board of directors in his home province of Las Villas . As a result, there was a gradual consolidation of communist rule under the leadership of Fidel Castro , to which the amalgamation of the various, still licensed political youth organizations belonged to the Association of Young Rebels (Asociación de Jóvenes Rebeldes, AJR) , the forerunner of the to this day existing Unión de Jóvenes Comunistas (UJC). After graduating in economics from Havana University in 1961, Chepe rose to the national board of the AJR, but never became a member of the Communist Party.

Economist in civil service

From 1961 he worked in various government institutions: from 1961 to 1963 he was department head in the powerful INRA, the National Institute for Land Reform, then until 1965 he was department head in the central planning staff JUCEPLAN. He then worked as an economic advisor on livestock in the office of Prime Minister Castro. After criticizing the government's economic policy decisions, he was punished in 1968 with a 20-month placement in a rural labor camp. There he was used to collect bat guano in caves. After completing this re-education measure in the spirit of the revolutionary leadership, he was again admitted to the government service and worked in the state committee for economic cooperation from 1970 to 1984, where he was head of the department for economic and scientific-technical relations with Hungary , Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia . From 1984 to 1987 he worked as an economic advisor at the Cuban Embassy in Belgrade . After a home leave, his government refused to allow him to return to Yugoslavia in 1987, after he had made positive comments about the reform policies of glasnost and perestroika in the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev . Chepe defended many of the initiatives rejected by the Cuban leadership and advocated a decisive economic opening in order to be able to preserve the "gains" of the revolution. After his exclusion from the Foreign Service , he was transferred to the Cuban National Bank , where he was responsible for domestic trade issues. When the Cuban economy fell into its greatest crisis in the wake of the end of the Soviet billion- dollar subsidies and the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe with the proclamation of the "special period in peacetime" , Chepe was declared a "counterrevolutionary subject" in 1992 at the instigation of a colleague in a bank-internal political process. indicted and eventually released. At the same time, his wife, Miriam Leiva, was expelled from the diplomatic service because of “lack of ideological trust”, as she refused to distance herself from Chepe. He was then allowed to work in a savings bank branch before he was dismissed from this job in 1996.

Activity as a journalist critical of the government

Now an unemployed economist, he and his wife began to participate in the emerging phenomenon of non-governmental critical journalism. Above all, he wrote economic and political analyzes, which he published, for example, through the Cubanet news agency , which is coordinated in Miami, and the Encuentro publication, edited in Madrid , whose reports reached Cubans living in exile in particular. For five years (until his arrest in 2003) he had his own weekly column on Radio Martí , the US-operated station for the Cuban audience, entitled Charlando con Chepe (Chatting with Chepe) on Las Noticias como son. European media also cited his analyzes, which were always based on official figures published by the Cuban authorities. His professional competence and his moderate positions compared to other government critics made him one of the most prominent representatives of the dissidents still living on the island. He did not join any group, but always remained independent. In addition to developing his own economic policy analyzes and proposals, Chepe supported the Proyecto Varela - the initiative for legal reforms launched in 1998 in the form of a collection of signatures by Oswaldo Payas Movimiento Cristiano Liberación (MCL; Christian Liberation Movement ), as well as the founding manifesto of the broad opposition alliance Todos Unidos in 1999 , above all Called for free elections, rejected the distinction between Cubans living inside and outside of Cuba, and opposed outside interference. Subsequently, within the framework of this alliance, he participated in the formulation of concrete proposals for economic policy measures to overcome the crisis in Cuba . When a group of American Congress members traveled to Havana in 2002 and 2003 for exploratory talks on improving relations between Cuba and the United States , Chepe was one of the representatives of the Cuban opposition with whom the US MPs exchanged views in addition to their talks with government officials. The last meeting of this type took place on March 8, 2003, with eight members of the US House of Representatives and seven representatives of the Cuban opposition.

Persecution by the Cuban government from 2003

Arrested and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment

After an extensive home search on March 19, 2003, Chepe was arrested the following day. Dozens of other journalists critical of the government, independent librarians and human rights activists were arrested at the same time. As part of this wave of arrests, which went down in Cuban history as La Primavera Negra (German: Black Spring ), Espinosa Chepe was sentenced to 20 years ' imprisonment on April 3, 2003 - similar to 74 other dissidents within a few days. He was charged with crimes "against the independence and territorial integrity of Cuba" (under Section 91 of the Cuban Penal Code) and violations of Law 88 of 1999 "for the protection of national independence and the economy". The court followed the prosecution's allegation that Chepe had provided the United States with information in order to pursue the anti-Cuba objectives of the Helms-Burton Act . In addition, his partially paid collaboration with foreign media constituted a disturbance of public order.

In a justification for the actions of the Cuban authorities, the Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque referred explicitly to the Chepe case, which had received large sums of cash from various international organizations for his work, which originally came from the US government. Representatives of the US government and the online publication Cubanet , which it financially supports and for which Espinosa wrote regularly, rejected the representation. Espinosa Chepe denied the allegations. The retrial he initiated ended in June 2003 with the confirmation of the prison sentence, as did the parallel reviews of the other convicts. The dissidents of the Group of 75 were regularly denigrated as “mercenaries” by the Cuban government and the media it controlled. The human rights organization Amnesty International declared Chepe and the other dissidents arrested during the Black Spring to be "prisoners of conscience". Other international organizations campaigned for his release, including Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch , Reporters Without Borders, and the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy (ASCE). In April 2004, the repression of the spring of 2003 was condemned by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights , and later by the Organization of American States' Inter-American Commission on Human Rights .

Even before he was arrested, Chepe had health problems and, according to his family, who fought for his release, worsened his liver disease due to poor prison conditions. Miriam Leiva, his wife, was one of the founders and, until she left in 2008, one of the leaders of the Ladies in White (Movimiento Las Damas de Blanco “Laura Pollán”) , who were formed from female family members of the “Group of 75” and through public Demonstrations and international calls for their freedom fought. In order to refute Leiva's internationally acclaimed evidence of her husband's state of health, the Cuban government resorted to the extremely unusual means in March 2004 of having the doctor treating Chepe in prison appear at a press conference chaired by Foreign Minister Pérez Roque: His patient was being optimally cared for, The doctor reported that he was in good health and, contrary to the statements of his relatives, did not suffer from liver cirrhosis . However, an independent investigation by representatives of the International Red Cross was not permitted.

Dismissal and continued opposition activity

Eight months later, however, the government changed its assessment of Chepe's condition: after 20 months in prison, on his 64th birthday in November 2004, Chepe was granted a special form of exemption (licencia extrapenal) on the grounds of his poor health . Between June and December 2004, apart from Chepe, 13 other political prisoners of the “Group of 75” were able to leave the prisons due to health problems, including Martha Beatriz Roque and Raúl Rivero, who are internationally most prominent alongside Chepe. In contrast to the vast majority of political prisoners who were arrested with him, after his release, Chepe decided not to go into exile as suggested by the government, even against the advice of his wife and mother. The conditions attached to the suspension of the prison sentence included regular political monitoring of his “social attitudes” by local representatives of the various mass organizations controlled by the Communist Party .

Despite the existing threat that his release from prison could be revoked at any time, Chepe continued his journalistic, economic and political activities in a similar way as before his imprisonment. He was frequently asked for his opinion by both international journalists and diplomats. He also devoted numerous articles to the tenure of Raúl Castro as well as his band Cambios en Cuba , published in 2011 : Pocos, Limitados y Tardíos (German: "Changes in Cuba: Little, limited, belated"). In his opinion, the market economy reforms introduced by Raúl were inadequate. However, Chepe also criticized the US policy towards Cuba throughout his life, especially the economic embargo , which he campaigned to lift. The last text published by Chepe was a call, signed jointly with his wife, on the US government not to allow the restrictions on previously approved money transfers and travel to Cuba, which have been called for by Conservative Republicans, because the effects would contradict the stated goals.

Departure and death in Spain

Óscar Espinosa Chepe died in September 2013 in the palliative care unit of a hospital in Cercedilla near Madrid of acute complications from chronic liver cirrhosis, which he was first diagnosed in 2000. Since mid-2012, his condition had worsened and required several inpatient treatments in Havana. In March 2013, through the mediation of Cardinal Jaime Ortega and the Spanish government , Chepe had received permission from the Cuban authorities, for the first time since his conviction in 2003, to leave the country temporarily (with the right to return) for the purpose of medical treatment.

See also

Publications

  • 2003: Crónica de un disastre. Hispano-Cubana, Madrid (Spanish)
  • 2007: Cuba: Revolución o Involución. Aduana Vieja, Valencia (Spanish)
  • 2011: Cambios en Cuba: Pocos, Limitados y Tardíos. (PDF, 106 p .; 750 kB), Havana (Spanish)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Paul Vitello: Oscar Espinosa Chepe, Cuban Economist and Critic of Castro, Dies at 72. In: New York Times, September 25, 2013, accessed on September 27, 2013 (English)
  2. ↑ a b c d e Hice en cada momento lo que mi conciencia me dictó. Detailed interview in El Blog de Dimas on July 9, 2009, accessed on October 3, 2013 (Spanish)
  3. ^ A b Fallce el economista cubano Oscar Espinosa Chepe. In: Café Fuerte of September 23, 2013, accessed on September 27, 2013 (Spanish)
  4. ↑ Carmen Muñoz: Muere el disidente Oscar Espinosa Chepe, un cubano sabio y honesto. In: ABC of September 23, 2013, accessed on September 27, 2013 (Spanish)
  5. ^ Mauricio Vicent: Óscar Espinosa Chepe, voz moderada de la disidencia cubana. In: El País of September 23, 2013, accessed on September 27, 2013 (Spanish)
  6. ↑ Acerca del Author. (PDF; 750 kB) CV in his book Cambios en Cuba. (2011) S. I (Spanish)
  7. ↑ a b Oscar Espinosa Chepe, mente brillante del pensamiento económico cubano. ( Memento of the original from October 5, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.elnortedecastilla.es archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: El Norte de Castilla of September 23, 2013, accessed on September 28, 2013 (Spanish)
  8. ↑ Oscar Espinosa Chepe se apaga lejos de la patria. In: Cubanet of August 21, 2013, accessed on September 23, 2013 (Spanish)
  9. ^ A b Síntesis biográficos de Oscar Manuel Espinosa Chepe. Curriculum vitae on Payo Libre , undated, accessed September 27, 2013 (Spanish)
  10. ↑ a b Case Information: Oscar Manuel Espinosa Chepe. From the National Academy of Sciences Human Rights Committee website , accessed September 27, 2013
  11. ↑ z. B. Alain Abellard: Fidel Castro face à la recession et l'isolement. In: Le Monde, May 15, 2002, p. 20 (French)
  12. ↑ “Todos Unidos”. Release from Cuba Free Press dated February 29, 2000, accessed October 4, 2013
  13. ↑ Todos Unidos: Propuesta de medidas para salir de la crisis. In: Cubaencuentro of December 23, 2002, accessed October 4, 2013 (Spanish)
  14. ↑ Miriam Leiva: Eight US Representatives meet with Cuban dissidents. ( Memento of October 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) In: Cubanet of March 8, 2003, accessed on September 28, 2013 (English)
  15. ^ Annual report 2004: Cuba. ( Memento of August 16, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Amnesty International, accessed October 3, 2013
  16. ↑ a b CPJ concerned about health of imprisoned journalist. Report of the Committee to Protect Journalists of April 23, 2003, accessed October 3, 2013
  17. ↑ a b Report N ° 67/06 of the IACHR of October 21, 2006, accessed on October 4, 2013 (English)
  18. ↑ Leader: No US aid money goes to Cuban dissidents. In: Miami Herald of April 18, 2003, accessed via Latin American Studies on October 3, 2013 (English)
  19. ↑ Cuba ratifica severas penas para intelectuales Disidentes. In: El País (Montevideo) of June 24, 2003, accessed October 4, 2013 (Spanish)
  20. ↑ La atención médica a los mercenarios en prisión (“The Medical Care of Imprisoned Mercenaries”). Report from the Cuban Foreign Ministry from 2004, accessed October 3, 2013 (Spanish)
  21. ↑ a b Document - Cuba: Prisoners of conscience: 71 longing for freedom , Amnesty International of March 18, 2005
  22. ^ Update on Imprisoned Cuban Dissident in Need of Medical Treatment. ( Memento of October 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Message from Human Rights First of August 25, 2003, accessed on October 3, 2013 (English)
  23. ^ Cuba: Heavy Sentences Are "Totally Unjustified". Human Rights Watch announcement dated April 7, 2003, accessed October 3, 2013
  24. ↑ Reporters Without Borders condemns Stalinist trials as independent journalists are handed down jail sentences. ( Memento of the original from October 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / archives.rsf.org archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Reporters Without Borders release dated April 7, 2004, accessed October 3, 2013
  25. ↑ Letter sent to several human rights organizations supporting our imprisoned colleague Oscar Espinosa Chepe on March 25, 2004. ( Memento of October 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 88 kB) Report in the ASCE newsletter of March 30, 2004, accessed on October 4, 2013 (English)
  26. ↑ UN panel criticizes Cuba's crackdown on dissidents. In: Chicago Tribune of April 16, 2004, accessed via Latin American Studies on October 3, 2013 (English)
  27. ↑ CUBA: Founder of Women in White Drops Out. In: Inter Press Service of August 18, 2008, accessed October 3, 2013
  28. ↑ El caso de Óscar Espinosa Chepe. In: La Jiribilla o. D., accessed on October 3, 2013 (Spanish)
  29. ↑ 75 Dissidents Get Good Health Care, Cuba Says. In: Sun-Sentinel of March 26, 2004, accessed on October 3, 2013 (English)
  30. ↑ Oscar Espinosa Chepe sometido a control político pero dispensado del trabajo obligatorio. ( Memento of the original from October 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / archives.rsf.org archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Reporters Without Borders report dated March 1, 2006, accessed October 3, 2013 (Spanish)
  31. ↑ Óscar Espinosa Chepe and Miriam Leiva: Eliminar las remesas y las visitas pueblo a pueblo sería contraproducente. In the jointly operated blog Reconciliación Cubana from July 21, 2013, accessed on October 4, 2013 (Spanish)
  32. ↑ Miriam Leiva: Muy grave Óscar Espinosa Chepe en Madrid. In the blog Reconciliación Cubana from August 21, 2013, operated jointly by Leiva and Chepe , accessed on October 4, 2013 (Spanish)
  33. ↑ El gobierno de EEUU lamenta la muerte del disidente cubano Espinosa Chepe. In: Nuevo Herald of September 23, 2013, accessed October 3, 2013 (Spanish)
personal data
SURNAME Espinosa Chepe, Óscar
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Espinosa Chepe, Óscar Manuel (full name); El Chepe
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Cuban economist, diplomat and dissident
DATE OF BIRTH November 29, 1940
PLACE OF BIRTH Cienfuegos , Cuba
DATE OF DEATH 23rd September 2013
Place of death Cercedilla , Spain