A dialoguero (roughly translating to "dialogue-seeker" in English)[1] is a label for a person who wants to open negotiations with the Cuban government. The label was coined as an epithet by hard-line anti-communist Cuban exiles.[2]
The first dialogueros to emerge in the United States were Cuban students in the 1960s and 70s. These students developed various student organizations dedicated to discussing Cuban identity, culture, and politics. Many of these students were influenced by social movements and radical politics in the United States at the time. Various politically diverse publications were formed from these circles such as Nueva Generación, Joven Cuba, ¡Cuba Va!, Krisis, and Areíto. While these journals generally focused on developing Cuban identity, criticizing violent anti-communism and desiring dialogue with Cuba, they often disagreed about the successfulness of the Castro government and the role of Cuban Americans in Cuban politics.[3] The emergence of dialogueros broke the staunch conservative atmosphere of Cuban exile politics, and opened the possibility of a Cuban-American left.[4]