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Raúl Rivero dreams of radical and unequivocal, yet gradual and non-violent change, headed by the Ladies in White He says he does not feel “nostalgia” for MADRID, April 7th, 2006 (EUROPA PRESS) – The exiled Cuban poet and journalist Raúl Rivero is convinced that change in his country will not occur until Castro’s death, although he assures that it could begin at the moment when his health deteriorates. That is why he dreams of a transition that is “radical and unequivocal” in the Rivero assures this in an interview with Europa Press on the occasion of the publication of his latest book, “Vidas y Oficios: los poemas de la cárcel” (Lives and careers: poems from prison) written during the eleven months he spent in the Ciego de Ávila prison, after being condemned to 20 years in April 2003 under charges of conspiring with the United Status, attempting against the independence of the State, and violating the principles of the revolution. 'The scenario I dream of is to produce change radically and unequivocally, but in a gradual and non-violent way, so that it can be non-violent (...) Everything that is happening now is disastrous, everything must be renovated, everything must be changed, but in an intelligent, non-violent, and calculated way, with prudence so that is does not become a fratricide,” affirmed Rivero. Thus, he refers to the future in the mid term in his country and what will happen when the changes begin to occur that are necessary in FORCE OF THE LADIES IN WHITE The journalist repeats on several occasions the word “non-violent,” and is convinced that movements like the Ladies in White, in which his wife participates, Blanca Reyes, are those that represent the type of struggle for which he pleads against the Castro regime. “They are the most important thing that is happening at the moment in After remembering that it is a non-politicized movement that fights for the freedom of their relatives, he is cautious because they know that the Government is looking for “formulas to end” them. “It is the most emblematic group within the opposition on the island. They have much force and they are a symbol of the most pure non-violent resistance”, adds Rivero, who takes the opportunity to give thanks for the international support. On this point, upon being consulted by the role that When he is asked to evaluate the controversy between the PSOE and the PP as to the policy to adopt to obtain that objective, he considers that what is needed is a combination of both currents.. On the one hand it says that it is “fatal” to break relations with the regime for the Cubans in general, and for the prisoners in particular, and by the other he believes that it is “erroneous and illusory” to wait for a “gentile gesture” from Fidel Castro. ALONE WITH THE ENEMY “It is necessary to maintain contacts and not close the embassies, above all the Europeans, because they are a window opened for the non-violent opposition, to know where the Government is heading. To close them would be fatal, because I am convinced that things would go worse for the opponents than they are now in Cuba, because it would be to leave them alone with the enemy”, he insists. On the other hand, when asking him to give a balance of his stay in Nevertheless, he is also certain that the moment when changes begin to be produced in that he will return to the island. “I feel that I have an obligation to return”, affirms Rivero, who clarifies that political interests do not move him and that his intention is “to mount a journalism business.” On this point, he explains that he does not have official contacts with the Spanish Government, although he recognizes that he maintains good relations with people, “that are friends”, as much in the Government and the PSOE as in the Popular Party and the Foundation for the Analysis of the Social Studies (FAES), presided over by ex- president of the Government José María Aznar, and other institutions. NEUTRAL AND EQUIDISTANT “I am in an absolutely neutral and equidistant position out of respect. I cannot come from another country to take sides on what is happening in The fruit of that longed for freedom is “Vidas y Oficios: los poemas de la cárcel” (Lives and careers: poems from prison) from Peninsula Publishing. Rivero assures that writing those poems served as an “escape” every night from the rigors of the Cuban prisons and that his objective when publishing them now is to obtain his place in the panorama of poetry in Spanish. But above all as a tribute to those that are still imprisoned. In fact, the poet always has words for his companions and friends that remain in prison, with which he has a moral commitment until the last one them leaves and whom he will never abandon, after insisting that the situation in Cuba has worsened in recent years as much for the prisoners as for their relatives, who suffer acts of repudiation mounted by the Government. Those acts of repudiation are “similar” to the one experienced at the
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