Miami Beach’s Democratic Mayor

Dan Gelber

Why Miami Beach’s decision to reopen

is cruel and undemocratic

Manuel Castro Rodríguez

 May 18, 2020

Dan Gelber

Miami Beach Mayor

Mayor Gelber,

“Remember, when people go to work, they go home, 
they could bring it home to their children or they could
 bring it to a senior living in their home. This is beyond 
just the individual at work,” said House Speaker Nancy 
Pelosi. Mrs. Pelosi is right.

Now it is very difficult for me to write in English 
because I am going blind and one year ago I suffered a 
stroke that damaged parts of the brain involved with 
memory. I am 71 years old. About 21% of Florida’s 
population is aged 65 or older. Without a vaccine, 
health experts warn COVID-19 will continue 
killing vulnerable Floridians as I am.

Florida has reported over 45,600 cases of COVID-19 — 
the eighth-highest among U.S. states — with the 
majority of those cases coming from the southern part 
of the state. Since Saturday, Florida has reported over 
780 new cases of coronavirus.

Reopening the country without ramping up testing, 
building an army of contact tracers or having a plan in 
place to isolate those who test positive for the virus is 
certain to result in a spike of new cases,
 numerous health experts have warned.

You cannot lead if people cannot trust you. What was 
your government’s initial response to the deadly 
coronavirus? It will never be remembered as a positive 
thing; quite the opposite, it is the denial of
 American Leadership. For example, according to 
The New York Times (emphasis mine),

The exact number of people who returned from leisure trips to Florida with the coronavirus may never be known. Cases as far away as California and Massachusetts have been linked to the Winter Party Festival, a beachside dance party and fund-raiser for the L.G.B.T.Q.

The first festivalgoer to die was Israel Carrera, a 40-year-old Lyft and Uber driver who spent several days in the hospital in Miami Beach before his death on March 26. His boyfriend, who also attended, got mildly sick and is now making plans to deliver Mr. Carrera’s ashes to his surviving family in Cuba.

Ron Rich, a 65-year-old festival volunteer, died over the weekend of March 28. 

Loc Nguyen, a software developer, felt exhausted from the time he returned home to Los Angeles from the festival on March 9. He went to work the next day but had to call in sick after that, feeling shortness of breath and such terrible shivers that he wrapped himself in three winter jackets to go to the doctor. 

“You’re coughing and gasping for air,” Mr. Nguyen said. “You are scared. You can’t breathe.”

His friend who went to the festival with him also tested positive. A third friend got sick but was unable to get a test.

What do you think of your behavior? Do you have repented? Do you have a message to relatives of COVID-19 victims in the United States? The reported U.S. death toll from COVID-19 is close to 90,000 people, but researchers believe there is a large undercount of fatalities.

Besides, the number of coronavirus deaths could surpass 100,000 by June 1, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said. The 12 forecasting models in the United States tracked by the CDC are predicting an increase in deaths in the coming weeks, CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield tweeted. 

“There's no doubt that even under the best of circumstances, when you pull back on mitigation, you will see some cases appear,” said Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease doctor and a key member of the White House coronavirus task force. (emphasis mine) 

Miami Beach’s decision to reopen without having the 
conditions for it — for example, without knowing 
which residents have the COVID-19— is cruel, and it will 
be an ongoing public-health threat to the South Florida 
communities, as I will demonstrate in my next emails.

It is very clear that the your government’s decision to 
reopen without prior consultations with the residents 
is the antithesis of democratic practices. It is 
disappointing but not surprising. On November 5, 2018, 
I said,

Castro’s Cuba — which has been an ally of the enemies of the United States since almost sixty years ago (for example: Russia, Iran, and North Korea) — and Trump’s GOP are the most threats to American democracy.

It is imperative reaffirm support for democratic values and ideals. Populist leaders like Fidel Castro and Donald Trump have shown no hesitation in sowing hate and division. From populism to authoritarianism there is only a step.

Your government’s decision to reopen without prior 
consultations with the residents is a threat to American 
democracy. If you are sorry should not you apologize? 
For instance, why you do not avoid more needless 
suffering and death to America? 

Sincerely,

Manuel Castro Rodríguez

7333 Carlyle Ave, Apt. 1A, Miami Beach, Florida 33141

A small sacrifice for the good

of the other persons

Manuel Castro Rodríguez

May 25, 2020

 “To see a crime calm is to commit it”

José Martí

“Silence is the wit of fools”

La Bruyére

Dan Gelber

Miami Beach Mayor

Mayor Gelber, I am surprised and outraged by the answer that you gave me last time,

Thanks for reaching out – and for being such an engaged member of our community. Every decision we make has polarized – with every measure we enact, some say it’s too far, some say it’s not far enough, and some say it’s just right but too late or too soon, or maybe that it’s right on the money.

That said, our decision making isn’t political, or capricious – it’s based on the best available science and medical recommendations from the team of experts on our health advisory panel. So thank you for reaching out, for your continued calm and patience, and for your conscientiousness in staying safe and healthy. Let me know if and when I can ever be of service.

Dan”

Mayor Gelber, I think that citizen participation is essential to democracy. The rest of my life I will be grateful to this big country because it has saved my life literally speaking, since I am a victim of Castroism because I denounce the crimes of the worst tyranny that the West has suffered.

Excuse me, but your answer — without any evidence whatever and without you having answered me any of my questions — denotes a total lack of transparency. How many Court cases did you win without evidence? I am convinced that you could have won many cases without any evidence, but I am sure that none of those cases represented the loss of humans live — that is the lei motiv of my emails, because I think there is nothing more important than the human live. Is there anything I can do about it?

I write when,

1- The United States is on track to surpass 100,000 
coronavirus deaths in the next few days. 

2- The New York Times marked the horror
 by devoting Sunday's entire front page to a long list of
names of those who have died in the pandemic in 
the U.S. under a headline that called it 
“An Incalculable Loss.” 

3- The commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration Dr. Stephen Hahn wrote in a tweet,

“With the country starting to open up this holiday weekend, I again remind everyone that the coronavirus is not yet contained. It is up to every individual to protect themselves and their community. Social distancing, hand washing and wearing masks protect us all.”

4- White House coronavirus task force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx warned, “critically important” that people wear masks as states reopen amid higher than expected death tolls.

5- Florida nears 51,000 coronavirus confirmed cases: 50,867. That is 740 cases more than Saturday, and an increase of 5,279 cases from one week earlier. And over half of the cases — 28,743 — have been confirmed in South Florida. Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties have had 1,238 deaths reported, an increase of 123 fatalities from a week ago.

Although current life in the two countries that have been widely held up as examples of how to handle a pandemic indicates that life after confinement due to COVID-19 is not what people think it will be, the Miami Beach commission voted Friday to reopen beaches and hotels on June 1, without even set strict rules that require people to wear masks for any outdoor activity. If 80% of Americans wore masks, COVID-19 infections would plummet, study says.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

“An above-normal 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is expected, according to forecasters with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service. The outlook predicts a 60% chance of an above-normal season, a 30% chance of a near-normal season and only a 10% chance of a below-normal season. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30.”

In the middle of a pandemic, the most consequential of disaster decisions become complicated by fears of contagion. What will your administration do to help the people if a hurricane hits during the pandemic and there are not strict rules that require people to wear masks?

Why does not your government set strict rules that require people to wear masks for any outdoor activity, even if no one else is around? Do you consider that there is a human basis for this? Would this not be putting into practice the concept of “love of neighbor”? The true definition of love is to sacrifice for the good of the other persons.

Besides, due to my academic and work background I could explain to you the importance of the Economy of Well-Being. According to OECD (emphasis mine),

It specifically highlights the need for putting people at the centre of policy and moving away from an attitude of “grow first, redistribute and clean up later”, towards a growth model that is equitable and sustainable from the outset.

As you know, Miami Beach is the denial of the Economy of Well-Being. For instance,

By any estimation, Florida is drowning. In some scenarios, sea levels will rise up to 31in by 2060, a devastating prediction for a region that already deals regularly with tidal flooding and where an estimated 120,000 properties on or near the water are at risk. The pace of the rise is also hastening, scientists say – it took 31 years for the waters around Miami to rise by six inches, while the next six inches will take only 15 more. At such a rate, many of Miami Beach’s landmarks, the world famous South Beach, and the picturesque art deco hotels of Ocean Drive, will be lost within three decades, according to some studies.

On November 7, 2017, you was elected mayor of Miami Beach. What have you done to prevent the destruction of your hometown?

I consider that the COVID-19 presents a genuine communication challenge for governments. Your administration has to tell people what as there is currently no vaccine to prevent the COVID-19, the only known way to reduce the spread is through protective measures. What is your government doing about it?

But as the government’s words do not always reflect its actions, your administration’s communication can fall into a basket if the people feel that your government is lying to them. How difficult it is to judge whether someone is lying or telling the truth, although as said Abraham Lincoln,

You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.

You cannot lead if people cannot trust you. What was 
your government’s initial response to the deadly 
coronavirus? It will never be remembered as a positive 
thing; quite the opposite, it is the denial of
American Leadership.

Is your administration doing enough to combat the
COVID-19? Why you do not avoid more needless 
suffering and death to the United States? 

Sincerely,

Manuel Castro Rodríguez

7333 Carlyle Ave, Apt. 1A, Miami Beach, Florida 33141