The CDR: when the government lives on your block

In Cuba, even your block has an organization dedicated to defending the Revolution.

They’re called the CDR, Comités de Defensa de la Revolución. And part of that “defense” has involved keeping the authorities informed about neighbors whose activities are considered counterrevolutionary.

Think about that for a second. The person who says good morning to you can also help the government keep an eye on you. You don’t need to be organizing a rebellion to start wondering how much you should say in front of them.

That doesn’t mean every CDR member is an informer. But the possibility is enough to change how people behave around each other.

“Habla bajito.” Keep your voice down.

It sounds harmless until you realize someone is saying it because you’re discussing politics in your own home.

This is one of the things I find most disgusting about the dictatorship: the way it gets into ordinary relationships. You end up calculating who can hear you, who you trust, and whether a comment might come back to hurt you.

Apparently, controlling the newspapers wasn’t enough. They wanted the cuadra too.