By Matthew Hay Brown
Sentinel Staff Writer

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO -- As the child of exiles, Antonio Sadurní grew up on stories about Cuba -- his grandfather's arrival from Spain, his father's optimism during the revolution against Fulgencio Batista, the sense of betrayal by the communist regime of Fidel Castro. Now, as the first delegate to an unprecedented new assembly of exiles, the San Juan attorney is working to write the next chapter in Cuba's history.

"We are going to honor our parents and our grandparents," Sadurní, 37, elected Sunday to represent local exiles in the Free Nation of Cuba, said en route to a meeting to set up working committees.

"We're doing this for Cuba and for freedom."

The effort, which has the support of the influential Cuban American National Foundation but is independent from that Miami-based organization, is thought to be the first to bring the fractious exile community together in a democratically elected forum.

With similar elections planned for Miami, New York, Paris and other enclaves, organizers hope to create an assembly that will provoke regime change in Havana -- while providing the exile community with experience in representative government.

"We're practicing what we've been preaching," said Carlos García Pérez, a member of the committee that organized the San Juan vote. "We say we want democracy in Havana. We're creating a culture for democracy."

The project comes amid growing frustration about what some see as the inadequacy of measures by successive U.S. administrations to oust Castro.

"We need to solve the Cuban problem ourselves," García said. "We need to create an institution as Cubans that's going to transcend some of the arguments that have developed over the years."

The challenge appears formidable. By one count, there are more than 170 exile groups, united in their opposition to Castro, but in some cases bitterly divided on what to do about it.

"It could be positive," said Jaime Suchlicki, director of the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami. "[Or] it could create more discord within the community."

Luis Zuñiga, president of the Cuba Liberty Council in Miami, is skeptical.

"When everybody starts running for positions in an assembly, that's politics," said Zuñiga, whose group broke away from the Cuban American National Foundation two years ago. "It is not good to introduce politics into the case of Cuba, which is a patriotic struggle, not a political issue.

"I would like to listen, but I don't believe it's going to be welcome in Miami."

That's one reason organizers have started in Puerto Rico. This Caribbean U.S. territory is home to nearly 20,000 Cubans and their descendants. More than 3,400 voted in a referendum last year to back the project.

"We came to the conclusion that we have to get organized," García said. "We don't need to be united. But we need to have correct channels where political ideas can be represented."

Born of discussions within the Cuban American National Foundation, la Nación Libre de Cuba -- the Free Nation of Cuba -- was set up to be organizationally and financially independent from that organization. Rules prevent foundation members from occupying more than 20?percent of the organizing committee, and foundation officers may not serve as delegates.

"The purpose is to be inclusive, not exclusive," García said. "Because we need a critical mass."

Foundation President Francisco Hernández says the organization supports the effort.

"I am 67 years old, and I was never able to vote in Cuba," he said. "This is something that the Cuban people need not only as an experience but also as a way of coming to a common denominator, a consensus, a way of decision making.

"I don't know where this is going to go -- nobody knows -- but basically I think that we are going to learn from this exercise."

Sadurní, who practices civil law, is setting up committees to work with dissidents in Cuba and policymakers in Washington, raise money and promote cultural activities for the exile community.

He will promote elections in other exile centers.

"This is the first time we have tried this," he said. "I want to make sure that the structure we build is a solid one."

Matthew Hay Brown can be reached at mhbrown@tribune.com or 787-729-9072.