In these days the country is in the midst of baseball fever sparked by the final games of the national playoff series. The Industriales wear blue while red is the color of the team from Santiago de Cuba. On many balconies, doors or walls one can read posters with “Industriales Champions” or “Santiago, Go Santiago!” The Party militants have been advised that during the games in the huge Latinoamericano stadium they must avoid contemptuously shouting the word “Palestinians” to refer to the players from the eastern team. Meanwhile, the police deployment around the stadium is comparable only to that during the Summit of Non-aligned Nations last September.
Even for me, who doesn’t share the passion for baseball, I watch the games on TV and jump when the industrial lions score. However, I don’t fail to note that during these days of baseball that plunge us into an unreal torpor, even the appearance of the tolerated posters is a parenthesis, a temporary permission, that we may not use for other themes. I can imagine what would happen if, after the final, I hung from my balcony a small paper that said: “Yes to ethanol,” or “Internet for all.”