A new controversy is shaking the Cuban communication environment after Pedro Lizardo Garcés Escalona, president of the Rampa People's Council in the Plaza de la Revolución municipality, publicly denied a note published by Cubadebate regarding the commercial rental of the José Martí Anti-Imperialist Tribune, located in front of the United States Embassy in Havana.
“She will continue to be a space for our people's denunciation (…) I deny what has been published regarding her lease and assure you that she will remain the platform for Fidel and the people of Cuba. We continue the fight!” wrote Garcés Escalona on the social network Facebook.
The local leader, whose area of responsibility includes the iconic space, reacted firmly to a promotional note disseminated by the aforementioned official portal, a medium directed by journalist Randy Alonso, with whom Garcés recently met to discuss, in his own words, "commitment, homeland, and the lessons of the undefeated."
Cubadebate makes it clear: for rent
The controversy arises from a text published as sponsored content on Cubadebate, which promotes the use of the Antimperialist Tribune for private events, business meetings, fairs, and cultural activities, with rental prices reaching 28,000 CUP per day.
The publication outlines the rates for various spaces within the venue, ranging from climate-controlled rooms to offices available for rent by square meter. All of this is justified as a measure to align with the "regulatory updates of the economic policy" of the country.
Between the epic and the pragmatic
The contradiction between the symbolic discourse of power and its economic practice is evident. The Anti-Imperialist Tribune, built in 2000 as a direct response to the presence of the then U.S. Interests Section, was conceived as a bastion of the "Battle of Ideas" and an exclusively political space.
In 2019, it was partially demolished and renovated. The work included the removal of iconic structures corroded by salt, the construction of new halls and dressing rooms, and the installation of a monumental concrete flag that has faced considerable criticism on social media. Nevertheless, at that time, the authorities assured that the space would not lose its essence.
What changed?
Today, however, what was described as a "battlefield against imperialism" is now promoted as a multifunctional space. The symbolic transformation is evident: from ideological trench to real estate asset amidst a deep economic crisis.
The official publication insists on maintaining an epic rhetoric: "the roar of the Battle of Ideas," "foundational principles," "anti-imperialist bastion." However, the practical twist—renting out the symbol—reveals more than just a change in use: it exposes the exhaustion of a narrative that can no longer support its own symbolic weight.
The question remains open
Is the Tribune for rent or not? Garcés denies it, but Cubadebate promotes it. We must wait for a new version to find narrative coherence within the communication apparatus on the island itself. In the meantime, the symbol, both as a space and as discourse, is diluted among rates, salons, and ambiguities.
Filed under: