Lessons Of Democracy: Cuba Protest Against Communist Government amid COVID-19 and Economic Struggles

What happened in the Protest?

On July 11th, thousands of enraged Cuban people took the street to protest for basic necessities like food, medicine and other essential products. In a country where almost every aspect of life is controlled and protest is illegal, this event marked Cuban people’s most extreme call for change within the political system. The protest started from a small town called San Antonio de los Baños, which recently suffered from power cuts, and quickly developed into a major uprising in more than 40 towns and cities, including the capital Havana. In addition to demanding change to cater for basic amenities, many also raised “Down with the Dictatorship” signs, chanted “Freedom” and “Patria y Vida” or “Homeland and Life”, which is a spin on the Communist Regime’s long standing slogan “Homeland or Death”. Many live-streaming videos and other footage of the unrest also went viral across social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter,... The Communist party responded by deploying the police force to tear gas and use violence on the protesters as well as shutting down the internet in an attempt to stop people from spreading awareness and calling for help. Several demonstrators were then captured, including famous figures such as visual artist Luis Manuel Otero, poet Amaury Pacheco and José Daniel Ferrer, the leader of Cuba’s most important opposition group, and whose whereabouts are now unknown. This uprising is considered the largest-scale protest in Cuba since the Cuban Revolution in 1953.

Background on the Communist Regime

The recent social unrest in Cuba is very alarming but not surprising. It’s a result of years of dictatorship under the rule of the Communism Party with President Miguel Díaz-Canel in charge. The Communist Party has been met with waves of protest way before this unrest. Since its establishment in 1959, this party has been a dictatorship system, putting Cuban people in substandard living conditions, limiting its people's freedom of speech and freedom on the Internet. In addition, the government has been operating an unstable economy that heavily relies on tourism and sugar exports. The paralysis of the tourism industry for a year due to COVID-19 restrictions and a significant drop in revenue from Azcuba, Cuba’s sugar monopoly, made the government unable to import basic goods with foreign currency. This protest can be considered the last draw as Cuban people have been living in deteriorating conditions for so long with electrical blackouts, food shortages and made even more miserable with the spread of COVID-19 cases. Within the weeks of protest Cuba saw a record spike in COVID-19 cases and death due to the slow roll out of vaccines by the government. As of July 13th there have been reportedly 245,000 cases.

International responses

US President Joe Biden called Cuba a “failed state”. He voiced his support for Cuban people, "The U.S. stands firmly with the people of Cuba as they assert their universal rights. And we call on the government of Cuba to refrain from violence in their attempt to silence the voices of the people of Cuba." The crisis has also been heavily condemned by the United Nations and other rights groups. Celebrities like Pitbull and Daddy Yankee have also been using their platforms to raise awareness about this humanitarian crisis. Camila Cabello, Cuban-Mexican singer posted a video on her Instagram to spread awareness about the crisis with the hashtag #SOSCUBA, which was then quickly spread on the Internet in support of protesters and to put pressure on local authorities.

What this protest means

According to Arturo López-Levy, a former analyst with Cuba’s Interior Ministry, major political changes are not going to happen in the short term. But he added that the protests do put pressure on the government and draw significant attention from the rest of the world. This could open the door for more than one candidate to run within their one-party system by allowing an independent candidate to run, similar to how Iran allows moderate and conservative candidates to run in their elections. This can potentially break the dictatorship and strengthen the nation’s fragile democracy. Other possible changes are the delegation of power from the central government to provinces and clarification on the arrests and charges of demonstrators.