Cubans Denounce ‘Misery’ in Biggest Protests for Decades [Hashtag]

People in Cuba took to the streets to protest the country’s economic crisis and the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, in one of the largest demonstrations in decades. Social media posts in recent days with the hashtag #SOSCuba have been calling for a humanitarian intervention to address the critical situation on the island. Thousands of Cubans joined in.

 

During the demonstrations against the Communist government, one man has died and more than 140 arrested or scored missing.

 

 

Cuba’s Biggest Protests Since 1959

William LeoGrande, a professor at the American University explained that, “never since the triumph of the Cuban revolution in 1959 have anti-government protesters mounted large, simultaneous demonstrations in cities across the island like they did last weekend.”

He added Some of the demonstrations were peaceful; others were little more than riots and an excuse for looting. However, all were expressions of people’s economic desperation and frustration at the government’s inability to alleviate their current misery.

The anti-government protests began with a demonstration in the city of San Antonio de los Baños, south-west of Havana, but soon spread throughout the country.

Posts on social media showed what appeared to be security forces detaining, beating and pepper spraying some of the protesters.

 

One clip circulating on Twitter showed protesters overturning a police car in Cardenas, 90 miles east of Havana. Another video showed people looting from one of the much-detested government-run stores, which sell wildly overpriced items in currencies most Cubans do not possess.

 

 

Coronavirus Worsens the Economic Situation

The rallies, widely viewed as astonishing for a country that limits dissent, were set off by economic crises worsened by the pandemic.

Sunday's protests appeared to be the result of societal exhaustion stemming from acute economic and health crises. The pandemic and economic measures taken by the government have made life in Cuba increasingly difficult.

Cuba's economy is struggling. Tourism, one of the most important sectors, has been devastated by the restrictions on travel during the Coronavirus pandemic. 

The country broke records for daily infections and deaths, pushing health centers to the point of collapse.

Several videos and pictures of the overwhelmed hospitals went viral.

With tourism - the engines of the Cuban economy - practically paralysed, the coronavirus pandemic has had a profound impact on the economic and social life of the island.

 

As a result, the government's reserves of foreign currency are depleted, meaning it cannot buy in imported goods to supplement shortages, as it would normally do.

Economists such as Pavel Vidal, from the Pontificia Javeriana University of Cali in Colombia estimate that prices could rise between 500% and 900% in the next few months.

 

Diaz-Canel with “Castronian” Discourse 

In a four-hour-long televised discourse, the President Miguel Díaz-Canel slammed protestors as "counter-revolutionaries" labelling them as "mercenaries". While his foreign minister alleged the demonstrations by being financed and instigated by the United States.

 

"The order to fight is given, the revolutionaries are ready to take to the streets," President Miguel Diaz-Canel said accusing the demonstrators of being enemies of socialism.

According to Laura Tedesco, it is still the "talk that those in the streets are counter-revolutionaries, that they are paid by the United States, that the embargo ... The people are very tired of 'hear this_ ".

Miguel Diaz-Canel's main problem is that he is not Castro. "In 1994, Fidel told the demonstrators to calm down and they all went home. If Díaz-Canel went there, they would throw eggs at him ... because Díaz Canel is not charismatic and has no not been elected ", estimates the specialist of Cuba.

 

US Sanctions & Trump’s Policies Aggrave the Crisis

The Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel also blamed the US sanctions for the country's economic difficulties, including medicine shortages and regular power outages, causing the unprecedented protests.

 

During his presidential campaign, Biden promised to reverse Trump’s sanctions that hurt Cuban families, restore travel to the island, and reengage diplomatically with the Cuban government. Thus far, he has done none of those things. His administration appears paralyzed by a fear of political repercussions in Florida, where Democrats took a beating in 2020, and by the need to keep Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Robert Menendez happy.

 

The Biden administration’s response to Cuba’s social unrest has been predictable, expressing solidarity with the demonstrators and urging the Cuban government to meet peaceful protests with restraint. 

No US official has expressed any recognition that the United States is exacerbating the current crisis by continuing Trump’s policies of blocking remittances and suspending the issuance of immigrant visas. 

 

Allowing Social Networks Big “Mistake” 

"In Cuba, the independent associations are illegal, so the social networks occupy this space," explains William Leogrande. "Thanks to them, people angry with the government can come into contact with other people, feel less isolated and be encouraged to take action," adds the professor.

 

At the end of 2018, the government allowed Cubans to access social networks on their mobile phones. According to Professor Tedesco, this was a "mistake" of the government because it really "undermined its monopoly on information, and ultimately, it destroyed it".

On social networks indeed, change seems within reach. Messages like #SOSCuba or videos like that of Yotuel, one of the instigators of the movement with his song "Patria y Vida", have helped to mobilize young people.

William Leogrande added that the police made "limited use of force" on Sunday, which is explained by the fact that "the government seems well aware that an immediate crackdown on demonstrators risks bringing more people down to the streets. However, I would not be surprised to see a wave of arrests of dissidents". He concluded.