MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Cuba “big brother” network celebrates 45th anniversary

The Cuban communist regime celebrated this week the 45th anniversary of the neighbourly “big brother” organization which keeps a close eye on almost every Cuban citizen and foreign visitors, virtually covering the whole island.

The Committees for the Defence of the Revolution, CDR, were created in 1960 as part of a "collective revolutionary vigilance" to combat "imperialist actions" and modelled on the experience of the former Soviet republics with political stooges looking and listening, and interpreting, whatever was said by neighbours of the assigned block.

Raul Castro, brother and designated heir of Fidel Castro, presided over Wednesday evening's ceremony to mark the 45th anniversary in Havana's Karl Marx Theatre. However Fidel did not show up but sent a message.

The Havana ceremony concluded with an address from Cuban Communist Party leader Jose Ramon Machado Ventura, who warned that when confronted with "imperialist actions," the island will respond in the same way as it did in 1960, when the CDR were first established.

CDR, according to Castro's instructions 45 years ago, would ensure "that everyone knows who the block's residents are, what they do, what relations or links they had with the (Fulgencio Batista) tyranny; what they devote themselves to, with whom they associate, in which activities they participate".

Eventually 130,000 CDRs were created across Cuba, one for every block with an official membership of 8 million members, 86% of the island's total population over 14. "They are the transmission line between the Communist party and the masses", explained CDR national coordinator Juan Jose Rabilero.

However with the revolution ageing and closer to the half century, CDR's job now is mainly reaching out to the 65% of members born after January 1, 1959, when Fidel took power. "Political and ideological formation, educating the new generations of Cubans, that's the current approach".

But some of the "big brother" delegates admit that the sixties spirit is far gone, "now the objective is watching people: knowing all the residents of the block, ensuring no one moves from the area, knowing where they work, if they are true revolutionaries, if they have family abroad, how they mingle with foreigners".

"Regular sessions have become a little boring, almost nobody speaks out against the official line except when there's some robbery or mugging and neighbours complain".