DATA OF INTEREST
GUEST:Martha Beatriz Roque
HOST:
Anaeli Ibarra
Synopsis:
A conversation about the creation of the Instituto Cubano de Economistas Independientes and their studies of the problems of Cuban sugarcane, which was the most important economic product of Cuba in the 1980s, searching for transparency in the face of the biased information produced by the state. We discuss the history surrounding the document La Patria es de todos and its relevance, as well as the Asamblea para promover la Sociedad Civil, as a project unifying 365 dissident groups, her characterization of the Cuban political opposition of those years as well as the present, her participation in the Grupo de los 75 and the details of her political imprisonment, as well as her projections about Cuba´s future.
Bio:
Martha Beatriz Roque Cabello was born in Havana on May 16, 1945, the daughter of immigrants from the Canary Islands and one of 6 children, two boys and four girls, of which she was the youngest daughter. She studied economics at the University of Havana, graduated with honors and stayed on as a professor of Mathematical Statistics. In 1989 she joined the opposition, founding the Instituto Cubano de Economistas Independientes. Later, she joined the Grupo de Trabajo de la Disidencia Interna, which was imprisoned in 1997 for writing the document La Patria es de Todos. In 2003 she returned to prison as part of the Grupo de los 75, the only woman. Once on parole she organized the Asamblea para Promover la Sociedad Civil. At present she continues to work with the public through the Red Cubana de Comunicadores Comunitarios.
