» History

Founded in 1990 at the International Congress of Cuban Youth for a Free Cuba in Miami Beach, the Directorio began primarily as an organization of students and professionals in their 20s and 30s who wanted to contribute to the island's liberation.

The group took the name Directorio Revolucionario Democrático Cubano (Cuban Democratic Revolutionary Directorate) in honor of the tradition founded in the late 1920s in Havana whereby university students began forming "directorates" to defend citizens' basic liberties and rights from government violations. In March 2002, members chose to change the name to Directorio Democrático Cubano (Cuban Democratic Directorate) to better reflect the primacy of democratic values in the organization's vision and goals since its founding.

The Directorio has pursued a coherent strategy for empowering the Cuban people, including radio broadcasts to Cuba, direct aid to the internal Cuban opposition, and campaigns in Latin America and Europe. Particularly through Operation Boitel, the Directorio has traveled to more than 26 countries and has established committees in active solidarity with the opposition in Cuba. It has also developed innovative ways of measuring and monitoring the growth of the pro-democracy movement in Cuba, the results of which it publishes annually in its report Steps to Freedom.

Directorio timeline

Principal Activities of the Cuban Democratic Directorate
from September 1990 to June 2004

1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996
1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003

The Cuban Democratic Directorate is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting democratic change in Cuba and respect for human rights. As part of its work, the Directorio sponsors publications and conferences in the United States, Latin America and Europe that contribute to the restoration of values of Cuban national culture and solidarity with the civic opposition on the island.

The Directorio, founded in 1990 at the International Congress of Young Cubans for a Free Cuba in Miami Beach, FL, began as an organization of young Cubans and Cuban-Americans. The group adopted the name Cuban Revolutionary Democratic Directorate , carrying on a tradition dating back to the 1920's, when youth leaders and university students advocated for the rights and basic civil liberties of all Cubans. To better emphasize the values that had been the organization's guiding principles from its inception, the membership voted to rename themselves the Cuban Democratic Directorate in March 2002 .

The Directorio has undertaken different projects to achieve its objectives, among them coordinating international campaigns in Latin America and Europe, producing radio broadcasts to Cuba, organizing civic protests and giving direct support to the internal opposition. Through the Boitel Campaign , the Directorio has traveled to more than 30 countries and helped establish numerous solidarity committees abroad that support the internal opposition inside Cuba. Additionally, the Directorio has developed methods for measuring and monitoring the growth of the civic resistance inside Cuba, the culmination of which is the annual Steps Toward Freedom report.

Directorio Democrático Cubano
P.O. Box 110235
Hialeah, Florida 33011
Tel. 305-220-2713
info@directorio.org

© Copyright 2006 Directorio Democrático Cubano. All rights reserved.