- US-China progress sparks hope for COP29, says Azerbaijan
- Zelensky says Russia planning attacks on Ukraine nuclear plants
- Film legend Bardot, nearing 90, enjoys her 'silent solitude'
- Walking on the Moon in Cologne: Europe's lunar life simulator
- Google files EU complaint over Microsoft cloud services
- Finnish zoo to return pandas to China early
- At last! China's Zhang Shuai ends 24-match losing streak
- Global stocks trade mixed tracking China stimulus
- EU backs plan to downgrade wolf protection status
- Jacks says new-look England need time to master ODIs
- Madrid's Mbappe suffers thigh injury before Atletico derby
- Russian MPs back adoption ban on countries allowing gender reassignment
- France minister vows new immigration 'rules' after student murder
- EU states back plan to downgrade wolf protection status
- Unions vow 'bitter resistance' as Volkswagen talks begin
- Naomi Osaka wants 'no regrets' after hiring Serena's former coach
- Lady Gaga plants lipstick smile on 'Mona Lisa' in Louvre clip
- Man City confirm Rodri knee ligament injury
- Hezbollah's Fadi rockets: More power, little precision
- Naomi Osaka wants 'no regrets' after teaming up with Mouratoglou
- New Zealand flanker 'Braveheart' Sititi relishes his 'crazy' rise
- OECD calls for higher property taxes to fight debt
- Environmentalists smear Finland's parliament in red paint
- World Cup winner Varane retires
- Britain's Rightmove rejects higher £6.1-bn Murdoch bid
- Stocks rally stutters but Hong Kong, Shanghai up on new China move
- Cuts, cash, credit: China's latest bid to jumpstart flagging economy
- Hezbollah fires missile at Tel Aviv in Israel
- Zelensky to take UN stage in plea to sustain support
- Leftist Sri Lanka leader stuck with painful IMF deal: analysts
- Cryptocurrency platform boss urges tighter regulation
- 'Crazy' tree planter greening Sao Paulo concrete jungle
- French champagne makers bid to protect seasonal workers from abuse
- Atletico Madrid president splits time between football and film
- Japan ruling party to hold 'toss-up' vote for next PM
- Alcaraz says 'a lot of players' agree after schedule 'kill us' comments
- Outdated rules, limited metro collide for 'unbearable' Athens gridlock
- Ninth body recovered in flood-hit Japan region
- Sirens sound in Tel Aviv after fresh air strikes reported in Lebanon
- China launches intercontinental missile into Pacific in rare test
- The EU vs X: How big could the fines be for Musk?
- Hefty Australian penguin chick 'Pesto' becomes star
- Fashion's fun 'Frankenstein' flies after Olympic triumph
- Volkswagen crisis pits homegrown leaders against each other
- Princess Zelda takes the lead in 'Echoes of Wisdom'
- Astros clinch division title, Yankees kept waiting
- Asian markets boosted again after another Chinese rate cut
- The struggle to keep track of Gaza war deaths
- China cuts another key interest rate to boost economy
- Restarting nuclear power plants: the unprecedented gamble in the US
BCC | -0.38% | 141.25 | $ | |
JRI | 0.45% | 13.48 | $ | |
SCS | -1.63% | 12.91 | $ | |
NGG | -0.11% | 70.03 | $ | |
RYCEF | -0.43% | 7.04 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.24% | 25.06 | $ | |
RIO | 0.49% | 67.75 | $ | |
GSK | -0.15% | 40.92 | $ | |
AZN | 0.56% | 77.305 | $ | |
BCE | -0.33% | 35.015 | $ | |
RBGPF | -1.04% | 59.48 | $ | |
CMSC | 0% | 25.1 | $ | |
RELX | 0.35% | 48.7 | $ | |
BP | -2.43% | 32.05 | $ | |
VOD | -0.3% | 10.06 | $ | |
BTI | -0.44% | 37.932 | $ |
Madrid rivals Miami as haven for Latin American dissidents
Well-known faces of Cuba's protest have in recent years gone into exile in Madrid, which is rivalling Miami as a haven for Latin American political opponents.
"Miami has always been the destination of those who suffered from Latin American dictatorships," Cuban dissident and playwright Yunior Garcia, who went into self-imposed exile in Madrid in November, told AFP.
But now "many Latin Americans are choosing to come to Spain," added Garcia, one of the organisers of a failed mass protest last year in the Communist-ruled island.
The Spanish capital is especially attractive for an artist and dissident fleeing a dictatorship because of its "bohemian" atmosphere, Garcia said.
Spain has long drawn migrants from its former colonies in Latin America who have often sought work in low-wage jobs as cleaners or waiters -- but in recent years prominent exiles have joined the influx.
Award-winning Nicaraguan writer and former vice president Sergio Ramirez and Venezuelan opposition politician Leopoldo Lopez, a former mayor of Chacao, an upmarket district of Caracas, are among those who have moved to Madrid.
"Madrid is the new Miami, the new place where so many hispanics come fleeing dictatorship," said Toni Canto, the head of a Madrid regional government body charged with promoting the region as the "European capital of Spanish".
Many Latin Americans are able to establish themselves easily in Spain because they have double citizenship, in many cases because their ancestors came from the country.
Others like Garcia arrive on a tourist visa and then request asylum.
Sometimes, especially in the case of prominent Venezuelan opposition leaders, the government has rolled out the welcome mat and granted them Spanish citizenship.
- 'Good option' -
Contacted by AFP, Spain's central government declined to comment.
But shortly after Garcia arrived in Spain, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told parliament that Latin Americans "share our values, they look naturally to Europe".
For Cubans, getting a visa to enter the United States has been even more complicated in recent years since Washington closed its consulate in Havana in 2017. It only partially reopened in May.
"Spain is a very good option," said Cuban journalist Abraham Jimenez, who fled to Spain in January when he finally was able to obtain a passport after years of being denied one.
Spain has received previous waves of Cuban dissidents in the past.
Under an agreement between Cuba, Spain and the Catholic Church, in 2010 and 2011, more than 110 Cuban political prisoners arrived in Madrid, accompanied by dozens of relatives.
There are now about 62,000 Cubans officially registered in Spain, with Madrid home to the largest community.
Cuba is "a pressure cooker, and ever time pressure builds" Havana eases it by forcing dissidents into exile, said Alejandro Gonzalez Raga, the head of the Madrid-based Cuban Observatory for Human Rights who fled to Spain in 2008.
- 'Lost everything' -
Cuban independent journalist Monica Baro said she left Cuba for Madrid in 2021 because she said she could no longer bear the "harassment" of Cuban state security forces.
Madrid shares the same language and has a "shared culture", as well as a well-established network of Cubans, that has helped her overcome the "traumas" she brought with her, Baro added.
But not knowing if she will ever see her parents, who remained in Cuba, again saddens her.
"When you leave like I did, you have the feeling that you buried your parents," said Baro, who faces arrest if she returns to Cuba.
Garcia said he welcomed the absence in Madrid of the deep "resentment" and "rage" towards the Cuban regime found in Miami among its much larger community of Cuban exiles, which he said was "natural".
These are people "who had to leave on a raft, who lost everything they had in Cuba, whose family suffered jail time and sometimes death," he said.
Madrid on the other hand, provides "tranquility to think things through," he added.
"I don't want anger, resentment, to win me over," Garcia said.
J.Fankhauser--BTB