Why protests broke out in Cuba and what to expect in the coming days: “The regime threatens its permanence”

Tens of thousands of Cubans took to the streets in different cities across the country to protest against permanent power cuts, water shortages, and food shortages. All this in the middle A crisis that becomes unsustainable For its long-suffering residents, who see their daily lives becoming more difficult day by day, subsistence seems like an impossible mission.

“Some people have expressed their dissatisfaction with the state of electricity service and food distribution,” the dictator said. Miguel Diaz-Canel At the same time in your social network account, he warned that “enemies of the revolution are trying to take advantage of this context for destabilizing purposes.”

The regime did what it always does: Blame someone else. The truth is that blackouts exist, food shortages are noticeable, and despite the threat of possible repression, the population has run out of patience.

in dialogue with Infobay, Javier Larondo, president of the NGO Prisoners’ Defenders, took stock of what had happened in the last few hours. “We have recorded four arrests so far in El Cobre, Santiago de Cuba. This means that it is possible that the number of arrests made in El Cobre will be multiplied by four or five. means, It is easy that a dozen arrests have been made in El Cobre. There was repression in Bayamo too“

And he continued: “Therefore, We have a protest in Santiago de Cuba, Bayamo, Santa Martain Other small towns and in various places. We have militarized Holguin, Havana with a strong device…means, Cuba is in a state of emergency. And The regime knows that its sustainability is at stake And the way to act in this situation.”

Larondo surmised that, considering the experience of 11J (Massive protests of July 11, 2021), the aim of the dictatorship “Attempts to calm people down without causing excessive repression To avoid international rejection because the regime’s image has been completely discredited and its narrative is not only being distorted by the Cuban people, who have already distorted it; But also internationally. The narrative of the regime is very damaged and all are watching“, analyzed the owner of Prisoner’s Defenders in a conversation with this medium.

“The regime is between a rock and a hard place. If you press on, your internal and external narrative will fall to the ground; But if it doesn’t press, it creates more and more demand for necessities because people will know that in Santiago de Cuba, after the protests, they gave people food. So, in other places they are saying: ‘We are going to do the same.’ That is, they are creating demand, not suppressing it, without realizing it. In fact, it is the ideal situation, that when people complain about something, they have reasons to do so, the government should respond. But it goes against the principles of a A totalitarian dictatorship It cannot allow dissent nor can it allow public demonstrations against the government,” Larondo pointed out.

Asked what he expected to happen in the coming days, he was specific: “I think specifically, and it’s not the Prisoners’ Defenders but my opinion. If the repression is not brutal then at the end of the week we are going to have successive and increasing demonstrations in different parts of the island.. If repression is rampant, the regime is also digging its own grave. therefore, Two regime conditions provide impossible solutions for its existence. Which will mean that, after some time, the regime will have to take the option of sacrificing the leader or even Miguel Díaz-Canel to try to provide a vision of change because the situation is not sustainable,” he concluded.

For his part, the worker Rosa Maria PeyaThe daughter of a Cuban dissident was murdered by the dictatorship Osvaldo Payasummary Infobay: “The context is as follows: In the last few hours, thousands of Cubans have peacefully taken to the streets in more than 10 cities and towns across the country, demanding freedom and system change. It is time for the democracies of the world to side with the Cuban people” he asked.

“The situation is dire, the regime has plunged the Cuban people into a deep humanitarian crisis, marked by hunger, systemic failures in virtually all public services, from health to transport and energy. Total incompetence and negligence of the state, political repression and violence prevail,” he stressed.

Finally, he said, since Cuba decides (the NGO he chairs) and “responding to the call of the Cuban people,” he issued three invitations: to the military, to the international community, and to all Cubans and non-Cubans.

• “We remind the Cuban military that there will be no impunitythat they do not raise their hands against their brothers and have time to take the side of the Cuban people”;
• “For the United States and the rest of the world international community, remember that dictatorships only respond to pressure and it’s time to side with the Cuban people. That they prevent all achievements of authoritarianism and coercion so that the regime submits to the sovereign will of the citizenry: impose personal political, financial and diplomatic sanctions on regime leaders, their families and all those involved in serious violations. Human Rights. use all available tools to influence those with the capacity to make the necessary decisions to accept the people’s call for a transition to democracy”;
• “For all Cubans and non-Cubans In support of Cubans’ right to self-determination, our roadmap is clear. We, the Cubans, are ready for a democratic transition. And the only way out of the national and hemispheric crisis is the way out of the dictatorship,” he concluded.