“The economic, political and social situation in Cuba really couldn’t get any worse,” states prominent dissenter Vladimiro Roca. Since September 11th the tourism dollars have stopped flowing and over a third of Cuba’s hotels have closed. “There’s still enormous fear in Cuba but people are starting to criticise the government,” comments Roca. The young are leading the assault, using music to voice their concerns. Under pressure to act, Castro has opened his arms to corporate America. For Oswaldo Paya, organiser of the Varela project which collected 11,000 signatories demanding change, it’s not enough. He now faces constant harassment from the security services but remains unrepentant. “We’re basically saying we don’t want to submit to fear any more.”