Legal Dissent: Constitutional Proposals for “Cambio” in Cuba 151
tion, who are marginalized from political power. In many cases, the
pressure is such that dissident individuals opt to leave the country.
Marta Beatriz Roque, a well-known dissident, estimates that in 2002,
the number of active dissidents was around 30,000 individuals
(Diversent 2008). Another key dissident, Francisco Chaviano, esti-
mates that today the number is much higher (Diversent 2008). Con-
sider the 25,000 Varela Project signatories, and the 1 million
abstentions in the 2007 election. Consider also the peak of 3,322
recorded acts of non-violent civic resistance in 2006, with 2,768
recorded in 2007, 1/3 of which were in support of the political pris-
oners (Directorio 2006; Amador and Rivero 2008). The total number
of participants in these protest activities (which include vigils, meet-
ings, fasts, public declarations, opening independent libraries, etc.) is
unknown (Directorio 2006).
The total number active dissidents is subdivided into numerous
organizations that reflect differing perspectives along the entire politi-
cal spectrum (FOCAL 2008). The tendency towards fragmentation
can be attributed to a natural diversity of opinions, as well as to more
egotistic self-promotional tendencies (“protagonismo”). However,
fragmentation is also fed by the often-successful efforts of the Cuban
intelligence services to infiltrate organizations and undermine trust in
both long-standing and newly-built collaborative relationships (Payá
2009). When the 2006 movie about the East German Staasi agent,
“The Lives of Others,” screened briefly in Havana as “La Vida de Los
Otros,” it was jokingly referred to as “La Vida de Nosotros,” (Our
Life) (O. Visiedo, personal communication, August 6, 2007). Not
conincidentally, the Staasi played a key role in training Cuban intelli-
gence agents (A. Vaatz, personal communication, June 23, 2007), and
that the Cuban intelligence actively promotes the impression that the
dissident movement is fragmented and isolated (Payá 2009).
Despite the diverse range of political perspectives among Cuba’s
many dissident groups, there is broad agreement on basic principles.
An example is the 2006 “Unidad por la Libertad” (United for Liberty)
declaration, which closely tracks MCL proposals and was signed by