First published 2022
Oswaldo Payá was seven when Castro seized power in Cuba, promising democracy but delivering dictatorship. As a teenager, Payá protested the crushing of Prague Spring and found himself in Castro's labor camps. A devout Catholic who believed rights come from God, not the state, Payá watched these rights destroyed daily in Cuba. He refused to stay quiet. Payá formed a pro-democracy movement and launched his boldest challenge to the regime: the Varela Project. This single-page petition demanded free speech, free press, free elections, and freedom for political prisoners. Over 35,000 Cubans signed it, creating an unprecedented wave of protest with nothing but pen and paper. Castro's government ignored the petition, arrested dozens of Payá's followers, and sent them to prison for years. After receiving death threats, Payá died in a suspicious car crash on a remote road. Pulitzer Prize winner David E. Hoffman tells the story of one man's courage, faith, and determination to fight for democracy against an unforgiving dictator.
Genres: biography, history, political-science, political-thriller, activism
Vibes: emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: courage, faith, fight-for-freedom
Setting: Cuba, Prague
Period: 20th-century
541 pages · Kindle Edition · Simon & Schuster