The Revolution of Promises: Reflections of a Cuban Exile

By Nelson Rodriguez Chartrand and Erik Seligman

Based on his firsthand experiences and those of his fellow Cuban citizens, Nelson exposes the network of lies at the center of Cuban Communism. He discusses the many promises of the Communist government and shows how each one was either an intentional falsehood or a gross distortion of actual reality. Areas he analyzes include press freedom, education, healthcare, and the unrelenting day-to-day struggle for survival and sustenance. In a new appendix in this English edition, he also discusses some more details of his own life in Cuba, and the specific events that led to his prison term, his role in founding Cuban libertarian groups, and his eventual need to flee the country.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Aug 14, 2023
• ISBN: 9781665748148

Book preview

Copyright © 2023 Nelson Rodriguez Chartrand.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-6657-4815-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6657-4814-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023914874

Archway Publishing rev. date: 08/14/2023

CONTENTS

Translator’s Introduction

Foreword

From the Author

Chapter 1 Breaking the First Promises

Chapter 2 Revolutionary ‘Freedom’

Chapter 3 Keeping us Under Control

Chapter 4 Best Practices in Education

Chapter 5 Free Healthcare

Chapter 6 Symbolic food at Symbolic Prices

Chapter 7 Blaming the Embargo

Chapter 8 Cuba Before Castro

Appendix 1: The Podcast Interviews

Appendix 2: Nelson on Nelson

Appendix 3: The Liberty Sentinels Fund

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Nelson in Brazil, 2019

THE REVOLUTION OF PROMISES:

Reflections of a Cuban Exile

By Nelson Rodriguez Chartrand

Translated and Edited by Erik Seligman

NOTE ON NAMES AND ILLUSTRATIONS

All names have been changed to protect privacy, except for the author himself (Nelson Rodriguez Chartrand), his friend Raphael Ribeiro who contributed the Foreword, translator Erik Seligman, and quoted or referenced journalists, public figures, and national leaders, with whom Nelson is not acquainted but is discussing based on public knowledge.

All illustrations are from the author’s personal photo collection.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to thank the Liberty Sentinels Fund, whose generous grant helped make the publication of this book possible.

Translator’s Introduction

I first heard of Nelson Rodriguez Chartrand when I was interviewing a journalist who had spent time in Cuba, for my podcast Stories of Communism. The journalist told me about a surprisingly brave Cuban lawyer who had actually attempted to start an informal school to teach free market economics to his countrymen. Curious to meet this courageous lawyer, I later spent some time searching the internet, and was pleasantly surprised that I was able to get in contact with Nelson directly.

As you can probably guess, his attempts to teach non-Communist economic theories did not please the Cuban authorities, and it had eventually become clear he needed to flee the country. Luckily, he was able to make it to Brazil with the help of some friends, and he is now building a new life down there. I interviewed him a couple of times for the podcast, and was excited to learn he was writing a book about his experiences... but disappointed when I found the book was only written in Spanish, with no plans to translate it. (Nelson speaks very little English.)

With no official translation forthcoming, and curious to read the book, I decided to take on this challenge myself. While I can do a decent job reading basic Spanish, having learned it many decades ago in high school, I am nowhere near fluent. But armed with my basic knowledge, lots of help from Google Translate, and access to the author for clarification questions, I believe I have come up with a reasonable English version. I’m sure a professional literary translator fluent in Spanish could have done a better job, but what’s most important is that Nelson’s message is now accessible to the American reader.

Foreword

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Nelson and his cat Miguel in Brazil

In his book Real Heroes: Inspirational Stories of Courage, Character and Conviction, Lawrence Reed reminds us that it is freedom that gives meaning to life. We cannot be full individuals if we are forced to live a life prescribed by the political power of other individuals. Strong words in themselves; however, life has given me the opportunity to see them materialized in the story of my friend Nelson Chartrand.

Before I met Nelson, I had only met heroes on the pages of books. Most of them were historical fiction characters, and the fight for freedom, for me, did not exist in real life. My entire perspective changed when I met, one August afternoon, a Cuban fugitive who was looking to start a dignified life in Brazil. A life with freedom.

It was surprising to me that Nelson chose Brazilian soil as the destination of his quest for freedom. The most obvious and closest alternative for a Cuban would be the United States of America. However, like the heroes of the books, Nelson sought to be free in circumstances that would prove his courage, to fight for something more than his own freedom and to participate in the liberation of a completely new world that welcomed him.

Nelson arrived in Brazil on the eve of the 2018 elections, in the middle of the countdown to the beginning of the end of the national subjugation of Lulo-Petista socialism. This was a socialism that Nelson, unfortunately, already knew very well as a citizen-prisoner of Castro’s dictatorship, a model for the political and intellectual elites of Brazil.

Accompanying Nelson in his first days in Brazil, apart from being an adventure, was a great learning experience in character, conviction and courage. I lived so many stories with this dear friend that they do not fit in a preface.

In the next few pages the reader will experience a true odyssey, in the story of a man who has sought the most valuable thing in life: to be free. It is a unique opportunity for Brazilians and readers of other nationalities to realize the importance of freedom (especially in the times we live in) and the essential requirements to enjoy this gift: courage, character and conviction.

Raphael Ribeiro

From the Author

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Nelson in Brazil, 2023

When it was proposed that I write a book that would show Cuban reality, and despite the proposal coming from my host in Brazil (one of the kindest, most supportive and decent people I have ever met), my first reaction was to answer with a NO, emphatic and determined. I think it was the force of respect and gratitude towards him that made me recant immediately: after a few seconds I told him, Well buddy, let me think about it. But my attitude had a logical foundation!

Imagine, just