TOKYO - The political effervescence that Cuba has been experiencing in recent weeks moved to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, where boxer Julio Cesar La Cruz launched a fiery political proclamation in support of the Havana regime from the ring itself.
“Fatherland and life no! Fatherland or death, we will win!” shouted La Cruz from the ring after defeating Spain’s Emmanuel Reyes Plá on Friday by a clear 4-1 in the five-judge judging. La Cruz won gold in the light-heavyweight class at the Rio 2016 Games.
The slogan “Fatherland or Death” is a historic motto of the revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power in 1959. After the leader’s death, his brother Raúl took over, who after leaving office today is the guardian of the current president, Miguel Díaz Canel.
The singer Yotuel generated a huge political upheaval on the island by spreading his musical version reversing the slogan: no “Homeland or death”, but “Homeland and life”.
Yotuel, who in recent days visited the Capitol in Washington, was in the sights of the Díaz Canel regime. Cuba was the scene in July of the largest anti-regime demonstrations in over six decades. Yotuel’s “Patria y vida” (Homeland and life) was one of the protesters’ slogans.
The Cuban president congratulated La Cruz this weekend for his shout from the ring. “Inspiring the performance of our athletes, Idalis Ortiz’s silver, Alba’s bronze and Julio Cesar la Cruz’s patriotic cry of Homeland or Death in Tokyo 2021. I have spoken to them on the phone and I have ratified Cuba’s pride in its athletes,” Diaz Canel wrote on Twitter.
That the boxer expressed political ideas so clearly from a sports scenario and in an Olympic competition led to believe that the IOC would be forced to activate Article 50 of the Olympic Charter, which prohibits “any manifestation of political, religious or racial propaganda in any Olympic scenario”.
However, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) told Around the Rings that Article 50 was not activated: “This topic was discussed with the Cuban team on-site and was resolved”.
When asked by ATR what the IOC meant by “the matter was resolved”, the Olympic body avoided elaborating: “We have nothing to add to our previous answer. Cuban boxer Julio César la Cruz will be competing tomorrow”.
Article 50 was, precisely, the subject of heated debate in recent times, following the athletes’ commission’s request that they be allowed to express themselves in competition venues.
The IOC reacted by saying that it would allow some demonstrations, but only “before the start of the competitions” and not on the podium. The IOC also gave freedom to international sports federations to decide how to enforce the bans, should they choose to do so.
The Olympic body is, however, looking into the case of U.S. shot putter Raven Saunders, who raised her arms and formed an “x” after receiving her silver medal at the Olympic Stadium on Sunday night.
The 25-year-old told the AP news agency that she made the gesture to represent “the intersection where all oppressed people meet.”
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