
A university student who was captured on video quizzing Cuban official Ricardo Alarcon about shortcomings in the communist system, has been arrested, according to a report posted at Payo Libre.
Eliécer Ávila Cicilia, 21, was picked up Saturday morning at his home in Puerto Padre, in Las Tunas province, by police and other officials — one of whom she identified as the son of Cuban vice president Carlos Lage. A day earlier, officials had warned Ávila to stay at home and to prepare for a trip to Havana, according to the report, written by human rights activist Juan Carlos González Leiva.
Elsa Cicilia said she worried that her son would be forced to retract questions and comments he made during the videotaped session with Alarcon, which became public last week. Cicilia said Lage's son mentioned that she should watch the "Mesa Redondo" program on Cuban television for more information, according to González's report.
Ávila, whom AFP identified as a "self-avowed government supporter," questioned Alarcon about restrictions on travel, Internet usage and other parts of Cuban life, during a session held during the nation's recent "election campaign."
AFP described the exchange between Ávila and Alarcon:
"Why don't the Cuban people have the real possibility to stay at hotels or travel to different places around the world?" Eliecer Avila, a self-avowed government supporter at the University of Computer Science, demanded of Cuba's top lawmaker.Alarcon tried to justify Cuba's policies controlling its nationals' travel, saying: "if everybody in the world, all six billion inhabitants, were able to travel wherever they pleased, there would be a tremendous traffic jam in our planet's airspace.
"People who travel are really a minority," he said.
And in implied criticism of Cuba's economic policy, Avila asked why staples such as food, cleaning products and clothing must be purchased with convertible pesos, when workers everywhere are paid in normal currency, which is worth 1/25th.
Alarcon, who reminded his audience of what the government maintains are the gains made in 50 years of Cuban Revolution, did not address the earning power/currency question, and sidestepped another question about the limits the government has on Internet access.
Ávila apparently got his answers, with a knock on his door.
Watch BBC's report on the video, which includes Ávila asking his questions, here.
(Cross-posted at Babalú.)

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