In recent weeks, the La Joven Cuba team has exhausted all its efforts to participate in the annual congress of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA), to be held in Bogotá, Colombia, from June 12 to 15. Even though the event will be held in a country governed by the left and the panel focuses on the dangers of the far right, our team has still not received the necessary visas to participate.
Initially the Colombian Consulate in Havana denied the visa applications in an error that was later clarified with its officials. For days we have been waiting for a response from your Foreign Ministry to lift the entry restriction to Colombia and be able to grant visas. Our communication with the Foreign Ministry has been unsuccessful.
LASA2024 seeks to explore contrasting trends in the Americas, with special emphasis on the advances of the far right in the region. LJC is a space that is committed to debate and research on Cuba, with work areas that cover sectors such as democracy, economy, inclusion, and that particularly studies extreme attitudes through its Observatory on Political Extremism. The thematic synchronization of this edition of the Congress with the focus of LJC is evident then.
Our panel, approved by the LASA academic commission, includes presentations on extremism around Cuba, the rise of the right in the debate on the Island, North American sanctions and their effect on the country, as well as media polarization and forms of counter extremist speech.
The difficulty in finding visas highlights the difficulties that persist for Cuban academics who are not recognized by the government delegation and do not have the possibility of applying for a visa in a third country. This team of professionals who work on issues linked to political extremism and intend to attend the Congress, has made a considerable investment of time and financial resources to participate. We consider the lack of a response from the Foreign Ministry in the host country a serious error.
The call for this edition of the event reads: «We hope that this LASA Congress in Colombia, where a new government attempts to implement a progressive political platform with the support of diverse social movements, will be a space for productive reflection on these contrasting trends and the challenges and hopes they present for imagining possible futures in Colombia. the Americas». It would be ironic and very regrettable if, due to a bureaucratic process, researchers concerned about the advance of the extreme right cannot attend a country like Colombia that has a left-wing government in power.
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