222 Chapter 9
negotiated an end to the government’s ban on the protest marches
organized by the Ladies in White and gained a pledge from President
Raul Castro to improve conditions for political prisoners, including
the movement of some prisoners to locations closer to their families.
In early July, with the added help of Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel
Moratinos, government officials agreed to release 5 of the 52 political
prisoners still imprisoned from the March 2003 crackdown. The freed
dissidents would be flown into exile in Spain and the remaining 47
would be released under the same conditions over the following
months. Upon hearing the news, Guillermo Farinas agreed to end his
hunger strike at 134 days.
Not everyone was pleased with the efforts of the church leaders.
Oswaldo Payá denounced the dialogue and complained that church
leaders were excluding dissidents from the negotiations. Payá accused
the church and government representatives of treating the dissidents
as “spectators” by not bringing them to the negotiating table.^17 Con-
sistent with its strategy of not endorsing any specific dissident activi-
ties or organizations, the Cuban Catholic Church were not negotiating
for the benefit of the CLM or any other group of dissidents, but out
of concern for the situation of the political prisoners on the island.
The Cuban Catholic Church emerged from the negotiations with a
heightened stature and a more vibrant image as the one independent,
national institution active in Cuban society.
Conclusion
In 1993, the moment when the Cuban Revolution seemed on the
precipice of collapse and some kind of transition was perceived to be
forthcoming, Cuban church leaders leveled a strong critique on the
policies and character of the Cuban government in the form of the
pastoral letter El amor todo lo espera. But they joined this critique with a
forceful call for dialogue, a dialogue that would bring dissident activ-
- qtd. in Juan O. Tamayo, “Hope—and controversy—after dialogue with the
Church,” The Miami Herald, 29 June 2010.