Speaking freely in an unfree society

Series Global Voices of Freedom, Episode 17:

Establishing and working with an independent media organization in Cuba involves a lot of challenges. But this is exactly what Jessica Dominguez Delgado has done. She is part of our “Global Voices of Freedom” series.

Cuba is notoriously underperforming (bottom 10% of all countries in the world) when it comes to basic freedoms and human rights. The communist one-party state continues to deny a free press and the freedom of speech, while there is an ongoing suppression of citizens and professional journalists in covering public affairs and proposing political change. However, in spite of the limitations, many Cubans are doing their best to contribute to improvements in society as much as they can.

Jessica Dominguez Delgado, a 30-year-old journalist born and based in the Cuban capital of Havana, is part of a journalistic project established seven years ago with the support of SWI swissinfo.ch’s Dutch partner RNW, called elTOQUEExternal link. Jessica leads the fact-checking unit of the online magazine DeFactoExternal link. In our “Global Voices of Freedom” series she shares her experiences and insights of being part of a new generation of Cuban journalists who have been able to use the internet in a way which allows the Caribbean island to connect with the world in a more open way than before.

There are discrepancies in how Cuba operates its undemocratic and autocratic government system. While the new constitution of 2019 formally bans independent media organizations, elTOQUE is an example that it is still possible in practice. Similar approaches have been adapted in the Cuban economy: Jessica describes an ongoing struggle between the anachronistic ambitions of communist party leaders and the societal and economic realities on the ground.

Series Global Voices of Freedom

• Episode 1: 1. Asylum seeker: we all need freedom of expression
• Episode 2: 2. Wang Zhian: China’s democratic voice
• Episode 3: 3. Freedom of expression ‘has a price’, says Brazilian comedian
• Episode 4: 4. Exiled journalist Can Dündar: ‘Turkey’s at a new crossroads’
• Episode 5: 5. Nabil Alosaidi: Press freedom in Yemen has been sentenced to death
• Episode 6: 6. Walking a tightrope as a democracy advocate in Thailand
• Episode 7: 7. ‘Freedom of expression is under pressure even in Switzerland’
• Episode 8: 8. When a journalist refuses to become a billionaire’s press officer
• Episode 9: 9. Fatima Haidari: the inspiring virtual guide to Afghanistan
• Episode 10: 10. Abraham Jiménez Enoa: ‘In Cuba it’s almost impossible to express an opinion’
• Episode 11: 11. Paolo Berizzi, an Italian journalist living under 24-hour police protection
• Episode 12: 12. Russia has passed ‘100 new laws’ restricting press freedom
• Episode 13: 13. ‘When the media is killed, society loses’
• Episode 14: 14. The risks of reporting on the Roman Mafia
• Episode 15: 15. Global Forum for Democracy 2022 – voices for freedom in Lucerne
• Episode 16: 16. Freedom of Expression, Ishigaki Style
• Episode 17: 17. Speaking freely in an unfree society
• Episode 18: 18. Press freedom: a foundation of modern democracy
• Episode 19: 19. Freedom of speech ‘doesn’t exist’ in Venezuela