If you don’t already know, on Sunday, July 11th 2021, the world witnessed rare, massive, country-wide protests in Cuba, unequivocally the largest protests we have seen since Castro took power 62 years ago. And this time, it’s in more than just a city or two. It is across the entire island.
At first glance, it may seem like the protests are about the growing Covid and economic crises in Cuba. But if you take a closer look, you’ll notice that that’s not actually what the people are crying out for. They are demanding liberty (“Libertad!”), and demanding an end to the dictatorship (“Abajo la dictadura!”).
In pictures and video clips of the protests, you might start to recognize the slogan Patria y vida, which means “homeland and life.” It’s the title of a hip-hop collaboration released on Valentine’s day this year between rappers from Cuba and Miami that has become a rallying cry central to this week’s protests. It’s a rejection of the regime’s own slogan, patria o muerte, which means, “homeland or death.” One of the Cuban rappers, Maykel Osorbo, was arrested by Cuban authorities shortly after the song’s release.
These words, patria y vida, embody precisely what the Cuban people are asking for. They want their home country back. And they want to live in it freely.
Because the government shut down WiFi access and cell service across the island after the protests began, it has been difficult to keep track of what exactly has taken place since then. Cell service has started trickling back in, and we are seeing the protests continue into the week as of today, July 15th.
Though I am a Cuban-American born and raised in Miami, I have lived in other parts of the US for several years. While the events unfolding in Cuba are top of mind for me and my community back home, I can’t help but notice that they are going virtually unnoticed by the greater American population. While some news outlets have been putting out basic coverage, it seems to be shallow and lacking nuance. I can only imagine how foreign these events might feel to someone who is not as close to the cause.
So, I’d like to summarize a few things about these events, in hopes that it might bring some clarity to those not familiar with Cuba’s history and current turmoil.
As you take in this information, keep in mind that Cubans have undergone decades of political repression. Add to it the effects of the US embargo, the increasingly worsening economy, a Covid-fueled drop in tourism, a glacial vaccination pace, a fundamental lack of money for food, medicine, and basic needs, and no real freedom to voice these concerns without fear of retribution. Eventually, you arrive at the breaking point that occurred last Sunday.
An extremely abridged background of the modern Cuban struggle.
There is a lot to unpack when it comes to the Cuban struggle over the last 62 years, so I will try my best to relay a concise, but informative timeline.
In 1959, Fidel Castro forced his way into power after years of guerrilla warfare. He was not elected. Let that be very clear.
Sixty-two years later, the Castro regime is still in power, though for the first time, under someone outside the immediate Castro family, though he is still part of the inner circle. Migues Díaz-Canel was also not elected.
Over the years, there have been several waves of Cuban exiles leaving the country after periods of increased political turmoil. Castro would open the borders and exchange an opportunity to leave the country as a means of silencing the dissenting voices. The first major waves took place shortly after Castro’s “revolution”. First in 1960–1961, when my family left to the United States. Then again in 1965 with the Freedom Flights, which brought thousands of Cubans into Miami over the course of several years. Another major wave took place in 1980, known as the Mariel boat lift (“el Marielito”), then again in 1994 after the last sizeable protest (the Maleconazo) took place in Cuba and started the rafter crisis.
Before the start of 2021, public political dissent remained somewhat dormant in Cuba, though smaller grassroots anti-government efforts have existed for decades, such as las Damas de Blanco, or the Ladies in White. Since 1994, we hadn’t seen much in the form of widespread protests from the people. Still, quality of life in Cuba was anything but comfortable. Farmers’ only clients are the government. The government essentially controls all means of production, jobs, education, and media. Food was and still is rationed. Lines to buy basic goods are massive and exhausting.
Before 2019, people could not own any private property.
WiFi access was also a point of restriction for several years. It was only in 2015 that Cuba opened its first few WiFi hotspots, but access was largely restricted to public areas until 2019, when private, at-home WiFi finally became legal.
The Cuban people also experience frequent electrical blackouts, and often do not live with any air conditioning.
It is also important to understand Cuba’s complex and rigged currency system. Before January 2021, there were two Cuban currencies: the Cuban peso (CUP), and the Cuban convertible peso (CUC). Certain stores only took certain types of currency, depending on what types of goods were sold. This year, the government began deprecating the use of CUCs, leaving only the CUP as Cuban currency. The problem, however, is that the US Dollar is also an accepted form of payment in places in Cuba, and is often the only accepted form of payment, including in stores where food and essentials are sold. Keep in mind that most stores are owned by the government.
Most Cuban workers, however, receive their wages in Cuban pesos. Even Cuban doctors who get sent to other countries to work get paid in Cuban pesos, and only get a fraction of the large amounts the Cuban government charges. These days, the conversion rate is technically about 24 CUP per 1 USD. No Cuban or foreigner can exchange pesos to US dollars using the state CADECAS. It was once an option at the airport if you had a boarding pass, but that has since been removed. When you consider that the state has been short on US dollars to exchange for pesos, the actual conversion rate skyrockets. As you can imagine, it has become impossibly expensive to buy basic necessities in Cuba. One Instagram post mentions the most recent going-price of a small pack of 10 Advil pills costing $1000 (likely CUP). That’s astronomical!
Additionally, the government takes a large percentage of any foreign currency coming into the country, then converts it into Cuban currency before delivering it to its intended recipients. The entire system is set up to trap and rob the community.
Below are pictures from a friend who visited her family in 2017 in the capital, Havana. The lack of refrigeration and general uncleanliness of this public market presents a striking image, considering this is the biggest city in Cuba. Not to mention the musty, 90-degree heat in the middle of October.
For a more in-depth look at the failing economy, I encourage you to read this incredible, in-depth look at the current economic policies in Cuba.
These are just some examples of the daily economic struggles of life leading up to today. Consider these struggles against the backdrop of a repressive government known for throwing political dissenters into prison for years, and sometimes executing them. Fidel was known for periodically issuing waves of massive, arbitrary arrests against those who expressed “counterrevolutionary” views. One such wave occurred in March 2003. I personally know exiles who were in political prison for over ten, even twenty years. All because they were trying to exercise free speech. To peacefully protest. To dissent without retribution. To fight for freedom in a country they loved so deeply.
So, what’s happening now?
This week has been extremely challenging and emotional. Many of us in the Cuban-American (and extended Hispanic/Caribbean) community have been glued to our phones, yearning for updates from on the ground. We’ve been playing and replaying messages of desperation from shared Whatsapp voice-notes, screenshots and Instagram videos begging the world to pay attention.
What we are witnessing is the culmination of decades of repression and oppression at the hands of the Castro regime. If you listen to the cries of those protesting, you’ll notice that they are not demanding more food or medicine. They are demanding an end to the dictatorship. They are demanding their right to freedom: freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly — all rights that they have been denied for decades. And yet, they are so fed up that they are no longer afraid to speak up.
Unfortunately, we are also witnessing age-old tactics from the Cuban regime in an effort to discredit, shut down, and demonize the voices of the people.
Until today, the government had heavily restricted WiFi access and cell service on the island, impeding efforts to continue organizing protests, and limiting video and audio footage from being transmitted outside the island.
The government is blaming the protests on US interference, citing the embargo as the source of the country’s strife and dismissing the core role played by the dictatorship.
There are reports of police dressed up as civilians instigating violence to make it look like the public has taken a aggressive turn.
The police are inciting violence against their own people, even while in uniform.
They are arresting activists all over the country. Hundreds are thought to be missing. Amazingly, you can see an outspoken Cuban YouTuber get arrested in real-time as she is being interviewed live on a Spanish news broadcast. She has to end the interview early when she is summoned by police at her door. The video is in Spanish, but the fear that comes through needs no translation.
They are threatening to fire people from their jobs if they don’t take down any anti-government posts on social media and replace them with pro-government messages, instead.
Young, impressionable teens are reportedly being taken from their homes and being forced to enlist in the regime military, punishable by death if refused.
While only one death has been officially confirmed, there are countless reports from within Cuba of police torturing and killing several in the community for standing up in protest. It would come as no surprise if none of these deaths ever make it to the official count.
In short, they are showing us that the regime has not changed, and that they will stop at nothing to ensure the continued repression of the Cuban people.
Things to keep in mind
As I see coverage break about these events on news and social media, I am noticing a few trends that have started to become frustrating. I urge you to consider the following when forming opinions or reading information on Cuba:
1. This is about freedom. Not food or medicine.
I’ve seen several headlines claiming that food shortages and a lack of vaccines are the sources of these protests. While there is no doubt that these factors have pushed the Cuban community to a breaking point, this narrative is simply incorrect. As I mentioned earlier, you need only to listen to the chants of the protestors, themselves. The people are telling us exactly what they want: freedom, and an end to the dictatorship. The economic and health crises were merely a catalyst for unleashing decades of repressed anger from unmitigated oppression.
2. This is about more than just the embargo.
Many people have pointed to the US embargo as the root cause of Cuba’s issues, and, in fact, it’s exactly what the Cuban government wants you to think. But there is a lot more to the crisis than just the embargo. The people on the streets are telling us just as much.
For one, the US embargo does not prohibit Cuba from trading with other countries. For many years, the embargo did not actually exclude the import of food and medicine to Cuba. Additionally, the Cuban government itself imposes restrictions on the amounts of food the can be brought into the country — a restriction that was recently (and temporarily) lifted. There are also shortages of crops native to the island, such as yuca, despite Cuba having rich native soil. These factors have nothing to do with the US embargo.
The embargo did not imprison a popular local artist for creating music expressing dissent with the government. The embargo is not taking innocent people from their homes and forcing them to turn on their community. The embargo has not imposed a currency system set up to rob and fundamentally disenfranchise those who use it. These methods of oppression were exclusively the doing of the government, and any attempts to attribute them to the embargo are dismissive and ignore the bigger picture. Whether you are for or against the embargo, let’s not distract ourselves from the true root cause of this pain: the dictatorship.
3. This is not about American politics
I have been seeing maddening stances on both sides of the American political spectrum. Friends, I am begging you to stop using Cuba as fodder for whatever US political narrative you are trying to push.
On the far right, I see countless declarations that if Trump were in power, the US would somehow already have handled the situation. Or that fixing the Cuban problem is Biden’s sole responsibility. And that this is what we get for having voted for Biden. Or that the desire for socialist ideas such as universal healthcare in America is somehow the equivalent as opening the floodgates for communism to infiltrate the US.
On the flip, side, I’m seeing a triggered far-left bemoan our denouncing of a glaringly oppressive communist regime. I see lots of opinions conflating the Western idea of socialism with communism, and through the transitive property, giving this authoritarian government a pass. I’m not exactly sure when people started to forget that communism was oppressive, but I hope it’s something we can re-remember together.
No matter what side of the spectrum you are on when it comes to American politics, this is NOT an opportunity to take the very real struggles of an oppressed people and make it a poster child for a pro- or anti-socialist agenda. We can be anti-communist and pro-universal healthcare. We can want basic liberties for the Cuban people and want a better life for our communities here in the States. One does not cancel out the other.
4. This is a humanitarian crisis
All in all, this is a humanitarian crisis that requires international attention. People are being attacked, taken from their homes against their will, disappearing, and even dying at the hands of the Cuban regime. And something needs to be done about it.
I hope that I have been able to provide a more detailed view of what we are witnessing in Cuba, and I implore you to pass along whatever information you can to your family and to your friends. Cubans and Cuban-Americans are begging for the rest of the nation to pay attention.
The Cuban people are telling us exactly what they need. It is imperative that we listen to them.
