2021 Cuban protests
The 2021 Cuban protests were significant demonstrations that erupted across the island, driven by widespread discontent with the government's political control and economic hardships. The protests emerged in a context where the Communist Party of Cuba has maintained strict authority since Fidel Castro's era, leaving little room for political dissent and suppressing opposition. Citizens faced exacerbated challenges due to food and medicine shortages, worsened by the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Initial dissent began to form in the late 2010s, primarily through the efforts of artists and activists leveraging the Internet to voice frustrations.
In July 2021, small protests in towns like San Antonio de los Baños grew into larger demonstrations as people openly rallied against the regime. The government's response was swift and forceful, deploying police and counter-protesters to quash the unrest, framing the demonstrators as pawns of Western interests. Although the protests garnered international attention and sparked solidarity movements in places like Florida, the Cuban government successfully repressed the demonstrations through arrests and further restrictions on free speech. Despite attempts to reignite protests later in the year, the government's increased vigilance effectively stifled dissent, leaving many Cubans longing for change amidst ongoing struggles.
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2021 Cuban protests
The 2021 Cuban protests were widespread demonstrations that took place across the island of Cuba. The protests were in opposition to the political state of the country, which has been controlled by the Communist Party of Cuba since the reign of dictator Fidel Castro. Opposition to the government has not been tolerated, and the people of Cuba have had few political freedoms. These frustrations were exacerbated by continued food and medicine shortages, as well as the economic strain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the past, the government engaged in a successful campaign of suppression against political dissidents and protestors. Because of this, widespread protests against the government have been rare. During the late 2010s, a small group of artists began to publicly protest the government using the Internet, inspiring others to do the same. In 2021, open protests broke out against the government in small towns across Cuba.
Because they could share their actions through the Internet, the protest movement unified, and larger protests were organized in July 2021. However, the Cuban government rallied the police and pro-government counter-protestors to dismantle such demonstrations, purporting that the protests were controlled by western agents seeking the downfall of a Communist nation. The government successfully broke up the protests, then instituted a campaign of political suppression to stop future demonstrations.
Background
The Communist Party of Cuba, also known as the Partido Comunista de Cuba (PPC), was founded in Havana in 1925. It was originally led by Ruben Martinez Villena and heavily recruited from Cuba’s youth. The movement quickly grew, with its members offended by the rampant inequality in Cuban society. It was legitimized in 1940, when the Communist Party influenced the election of Cuban President Fulgencio Batista.
Unlike previous regimes, Batista was willing to cater to the political left, allowing the Communist Party of Cuba to continue growing and recruiting. In 1944, the group changed its name to the People’s Socialist Party and begin pushing for equal rights for all people in addition to left-wing economic policies. This included advancing legal and societal rights for women and racial minorities.
When the revolutionary Fidel Castro began working against the Batista administration, the People’s Socialist Party did not immediately associate themselves with Castro. However, throughout the course of the revolution, Castro slowly allied himself with the communists. Additionally, Castro knew that in deposing the Batista administration, he would be placing himself in conflict with the United States. By declaring that his revolution was against leftist politics, Castro was able to court the protection of the Soviet Union, preventing America from openly combatting his revolution.
On May 1, 1961, Castro officially declared Cuba a socialist state, with all political power concentrated in the hands of the party. This caused Cuba’s relationship with the United States to rapidly deteriorate. During the Cold War, Castro’s authoritarian Communist regime continued to consolidate power and align itself with the Soviet Union. However, when the Soviet Union collapsed during the early 1990s, Cuba’s economy crashed. Fearing rebellion from a population experiencing a sudden drop in its standard of living, the Communist government slightly loosened its economic system. However, the government refused to budge from its authoritarian Socialist policies.
After Castro transferred political power to his brother, General Raul Castro Ruz, the island nation underwent significant reforms, experiencing technological advancements, with many of its people gaining access to the Internet. This allowed many citizens to express their discontent with the one-party political system and the economic difficulties that plagued Cuba. However, repeated crackdowns by police and military officers made protesting within the authoritarian regime dangerous.
Overview
Though the Communist Cuban government has remained unchallenged by political opponents since it secured its inception, political dissent has been a consistent part of Cuban history. However, unlike in Western nations, many Cuban citizens have been reluctant to engage in open protests. Because the government controls both the police force and the military, open opposition to the Cuban government has sometimes resulted in violent reprisals against citizens. Because of this, many Cubans who have been unhappy with their economy or political representation have found alternative routes to voice their opposition. Others who refused to take such indirect routes have fled the country, immigrating to nearby nations.
In 2018, a group of Cuban artists and musicians founded the San Isidro Movement, which openly protested the government’s censorship of artistic expression. These protests involved public hunger strikes and widespread Internet protests. Members of the group were persecuted by the government, and rapper Denis Solis was arrested and sentenced to eight months in prison for his part in the demonstrations.
The discontent felt by the Cuban people was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which spread throughout the world in 2020. The virus was extremely contagious, causing a large number of hospitalizations and overwhelming medical systems. To contain the spread of the virus until a vaccine was developed, many countries shut down, ordering citizens to stay in their homes for weeks or months.
Cuba suffered under the pandemic, with its medical system strained until it collapsed. Some patients died of COVID-19 in their homes because hospitals were too full to accept new patients, even if those patients were severely ill. Cuba created its own vaccine, Abdala, to combat the virus. Though there were doubts about the safety of the vaccine, as it was not tested in medical facilities outside Cuba, Abdala was later approved for emergency use in Mexico.
Another driving factor behind the protests was an increase in the economic difficulties faced by Cuban citizens. Because of its authoritarian Communist government, the island nation had continually suffered shortages in food and medicine. These issues were exacerbated in 2021 when the government instituted a series of economic reforms, which were intended to help people by suddenly increasing wages and allowing the use the US dollar. However, the reforms unexpectedly caused a sudden spike in inflation, making the prices of necessities rise beyond what Cuban citizens could pay. Additionally, a significant portion of the Cuban economy is based on tourism. Because of the economic shutdowns and travel restrictions caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism industry was temporarily halted.
Unhappy with all these problems and believing that the government was doing little to address their struggles, citizens in San Antonio de los Baños and Palma de Soriano took to the streets. These small towns are far from Havana, which gave the protests time to grow before being shut down by Cuba’s military. Additionally, Cuba’s access to the Internet meant that small acts of protest could be shared across the country, inspiring others. Cubans began sharing images on social media of overcrowded hospitals and other struggles faced by Cuban society. Capitalizing on this discontent, Cuban activists complained about the nation’s lack of political representation, food shortages, lack of freedom of expression, and deteriorating infrastructure.
Initially, Cuban President Midguel Diaz-Canel blamed economic sanctions put into place by the United States for the hardships upsetting the Cuban people. As the protests spread, activists across the world praised the movement and its use of social media, arguing that the Internet and modern communication tools could be used as a powerful force for nonviolent change. However, President Diaz-Canel began depicting the protestors as counter-revolutionaries, arguing that the true revolutionaries were those who supported the Communist government against Western capitalist powers. He urged true revolutionaries to travel to the protests and shut them down to protect Communism in Cuba. The president also alleged that many of the protestors were agents of Western powers and resisting the protest was a means of stopping the West from manipulating Cuba.
Throughout the month of July, the Cuban government continued to condemn the protests as they spread across the nation. Protestors clashed with government agents, police, and counter-protestors who followed the requests of President Diaz-Canel. Later in the month, the president noted that some of the protestors were legitimately frustrated Cubans, while others were criminals and Western counter-revolutionaries. Many Cubans were arrested by the government, prompting international outrage in worldwide Latin communities. However, by the end of August, severe government crackdowns had eliminated many of the protests. These were coupled with further restrictions to free speech, including the criminalization of sharing any information that the government considered fake news.
In November 2021, protestors planned another wave of protests, including a nationwide march. They wanted to incite the same level of activity that had occurred during the summer, hoping that these demonstrations would result in tangible change in Cuban society. However, in the weeks leading up to the government, state security agents, police officers, and large numbers of pro-government counter-protesters patrolled the streets often surrounding the homes of suspected protest leaders, arresting dozens. The government’s tactics were successful, and the second wave of protests failed to develop.
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