The legalization of repression in Cuba. Approximation to the criminalization of political dissidence between 1959 and 1987

Abstract

In Cuba, repression against dissidents and opponents began in 1959 and continues to this day through a legislative system that has favored the systematic violation of human rights and the establishment of fear as a State policy to criminalize citizens who have raised their voices against the regime. From the analysis of 649 cases of people convicted for political crimes between 1959 and 1987, I present part of exploratory research on the convictions for “counterrevolutionary crimes” and “against State Security” through the analysis of penal codes, testimonies of victims, lawyers and reports of international organizations that allows reconstructing a memory of the repression and the judicialization of political dissent.