This summer, waves of protests and cries for freedom rang out across Cuba and Miami. Sunday, July 11 began as a normal day: humidity in the air, long lines at the local grocery store, and uncertainty for the future. Then, live videos of protests from the quaint town of San Antonio de los Baños flooded Facebook. Unafraid and unabashed, thousands crowded the streets, chanting for freedom, international help, and the fall of the dictatorship. The protests spread to different neighboring towns, amounting to the largest uprising in recent Cuban history. Above it all, there was one unifying cry: “patria y vida” — homeland and life.
These recent protests signal a building frustration against a Cuban government that fails to address the needs of its people. Many Cubans no longer fear risking their lives in the streets because their alternatives are not much better. Cuba experiences frequent power outages, political oppression, and dwindling food supplies, which have mounted to a deteriorating quality of life. These protests are a new development in the narrative of previous riots and rebellions. Cubans no longer want to flee their motherland for destinations abroad. Rather, they want to see substantive and positive change at home.
“Patria y vida,” a defiant reclamation of the slogan “patria o muerte” (homeland or death) popularized by Che Guevara and Fidel Castro during the height of the Cuban Revolution, is a bold example of this loss of fear. The song, a collaboration between Cuban musicians in exile, calls for a change in Cuba, demanding an end to misery and ruin for the common people while the politicians in Havana live in pompous luxury. In a poignant metaphor of the traditional game of dominoes, the artists assert that the Cuban government might have the 59 domino, a reference to the triumph of the Cuban Revolution and the start of the Castro dictatorship in 1959. But “we,” or the people, have a double-two, which is the play that ends the game. Full of calls for a better future and tangible hope, it is no wonder the song became the rallying sound of the protests and the Cuban diaspora abroad.
Unfortunately, the dictatorship met protesters’ efforts with violent resistance. The Cuban authorities immediately responded by blocking social media sites and restricting internet access. It was a clear effort to stop the flow of information, preventing the turmoil from spreading at home and abroad. Soon after, Miguel Díaz-Canel, the current president and the first president outside the Castro family, rolled out security forces to quell the protests. Police officers and special forces rounded up and detained an estimated 700 individuals from the streets and from conducting door-to-door interrogations and investigations.
In most cases, families went days without knowing where their loved ones were being held; in some cases, according to human rights activists, protesters were convicted in short and unlawful trials. In televised nationwide addresses, Díaz-Canel blamed the United States government for Cuba’s dire economic crisis, distinctly ignoring humanitarian concerns and urging Cuban “revolutionaries” to hit the streets and confront their fellow citizens in defense of the government.
The protesters have very legitimate complaints. Obvious government failures include the recent wave of COVID-19 cases and the ensuing terrible conditions at hospitals, which lack both resources and infrastructure. Recent pandemic outbreaks exposed how truly decayed the entire public health system is. Too many doctors sent abroad by the state to work for different regimes, too few hospital beds and supplies, dirty and deteriorating buildings, and overall medical negligence have led to over 8,000 deaths and a surging number of infections. Frustration with poor medical treatment and facilities during a time of dire need is certainly one of the causes behind the protests. Besides medical concerns, the pandemic caused further economic detriment. Critical tourism dollars have been essentially cut off. Taxi drivers, street vendors, and others who interact with tourists daily are struggling more than ever. The citizens of Cuba were frustrated and for good reason.
The protests were not just about pandemic conditions or lockdowns. Instead, they were spurred by an intense desire for freedom in a country that silences even the loudest of dissenters. Today, the Cuban government continues to conduct arbitrary detentions to intimidate and thwart activists and opponents. In a country where you can be fined for “contempt for the figure of the maximum leader,” it is no surprise that citizens yearn for change and the right to speak freely. All media access and outlets are strictly controlled, reflecting only what the government wants its citizens to know and see. Journalists unaffiliated with the regime who dare critique injustices are subject to harassment, home raids, and state-sanctioned violence.
For instance, Camila Acosta, a correspondent for the Spanish daily ABC, was arrested when leaving her Havana home on July 12 after covering the protests the day prior. She was held for four days without communication, then placed under house arrest where she remains awaiting trial on the charges of inciting crime and disturbing public order. Acosta has been detained in the past and even changed her place of residence due to intimidation from state security forces. The economic crisis in Cuba has undoubtedly contributed to the island’s miserable deterioration, but it is not alone. No country can flourish with such human rights violations. It is essential to rebuild the island through change and “libertad” or freedom. Democratic reform is needed in the shape of greater freedom of speech, elimination of censorship, destruction of the one-party system, and free elections.
It is quite telling that this summer’s protests were spearheaded by young Cubans who do not want to become the victims of a failed revolution like the revolution of their forefathers. Democratic change is not only wanted in Cuba; it is also needed for the social and economic prosperity of an island that has remained chained by injustice and rampant, suffering under the false title of “equality” for too long. No longer can citizens be forced to agree with a misguided government under threat of torture, imprisonment, or exile. No longer can Cubans in Cuba and abroad stand by and watch our beloved homeland crumble economically with no consequences for corrupt officials. No longer can Cuba be a place where its citizens see a good life as a gift to be bestowed upon them by a dictatorship, rather than as an innate right. Ultimately, Cuba can no longer remain in the hands of only the wealthy and politically powerful. To quote “Patria y Vida,” “Who told you that Cuba is yours? Cuba belongs to all its people.”
Image Credit: “2021 Cuban government protest in Naples Florida” by P,TO 19104 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
