Uproar in Cuba: Why is the Island nation witnessing its biggest anti-government protests in 30 years
In a historical move, thousands of people in the island nation of Cuba took to the streets to protest and vent their frustrations against its Communist government, from the western city of San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba’s capital Havana and 40 other cities.
The protests were propelled by social media and the proliferation of the internet which the Cubans have had access to in the last 3 years. The protests have been hailed as unprecedented and the largest since the Cuban revolution, which witnessed Fidel Castro overthrowing the dictator Fulgencio Batistain to install the communist regime. Prior to this, all forms of protest had been quickly stifled by the political powers. This time, however attempts to silence the protests have proved futile.
Causes for deepening discontent amongst the citizenry
The reason for the protests are multi-pronged, from pandemic Induced collapse of health services including lack of medicines, lack of availability of basic goods and services, soaring food prices, falling wages which contributed to deteriorating living conditions, to government’s poor response to covid-19 pandemic, and last but not the least United States embargo and the failings of the island’s long-standing communist government to address its economic challenges. Against this backdrop, citizens are now demanding an end to the 62 year old communist regime, labeledby the people as nothing short of dictatorship.
The Cuban economy contracted by more than 11% amidst the pandemic, which landed a harsh blow to the tourism sector - one of the key revenue earning sources for people as well as vitalsource of US dollars for the Cuban government. The economy of Cuba is a command economy, i.e. a system where the government plays the principal role in planning and regulating goods and services produced in the country. While this communist economy comes with its own advantages, it compels continuous monitoring and checks to ensure that the inefficiency of bureaucracy, mismanagement and corruption don’t find roots. Unfortunately, the Cuban economy seems to have exposed all these shortcomings.
What is the government doing?
On the 11th of July, the state-run telecommunications company Etecsa which has a monopoly over all communications and social media networks halted internet service, because of its ability to fuel the protests. On the 12th of July Etecsa cut off most of the nation's communications with the rest of the world and deployed security forces across the nation’s territory. The forces cracked down harshly on the protestors. According to lists compiled by both Amnesty International and the San Isidro Movement (a national dissident group led by artists and academics), atleast 150 persons have been identified as missing and the number maybe much higher, the police too have detained huge number. Further, the President called on the government supporters to fill the streets as the top authorities sought to regain control.
Did US embargoes exacerbate the crisis?
Since 1962 when the Cuban blockade was officially imposed through an executive order by the Kennedy government, the blockade has been tightened and lightened according to the changing US foreign policies. What fueled uproar in the recent years was the Trump re-imposing economic embargo and travel restrictions that had previously been repealed by Obama. Cubans have termed blockades as “cruel” and “genocidal”, because the unfortunate truth remains that the bans on food and medical supplies have led this nation to the brink of hunger, starvation and induced economic crisis in the past decades.
The Cuban President Miguel Diaz Canel called out the US politics of “economic asphyxiation” which had a “cumulative effect” on Cuba. In a statement published recently he claimed that blockades definitely pose hindrances to the policies and reforms the country seeks to implement,slowing down the speed of any advancements.
Whilst Biden has publicly shown support for the protestors and their clarion call for freedom, his administration has yet to announce any substantial relief with respect to sanctions and strained diplomatic relations.
Government’s admission of fault
Initially President Diaz blamed the US embargoes for the economic crisis resulting in protests, but for the first time in a nighttime address on state television, he was self-critical and acknowledged that failings by the state had played a role. “We have to gain experience from the disturbances,” he said, and “We also have to carry out a critical analysis of our problems in order to act and overcome, and avoid their repetition.”
Distressing human rights violations
Even though the citizens undertook peaceful protests were met with brutal repression by the top government authorities, with widespread reports of police beatings, arbitrary arrests and forceddisappearances as hundreds of protestors were taken into custody with the whereabouts of many remaining unknown. On July 13, while the Cuban officials claimed that only one protester had been killed, independent journalists have reported many more. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called on Cuba on Friday, 16th July to release protesters and several journalists arrested at demonstrations and denounced alleged excessive use of force against some of them. One of the protestors Mora, a poet who was detained for denouncing government repression on social media argued that the country’s rulers “sneered at Articles 54(Freedom of Expression) and 56 (Freedom of Demonstration) of the much vaunted Constitution. More than 500 people were still missing two weeks after the anti-government protests, activistssaid. Following the protests on 22nd July, the US imposed sanctions on Cuba’s Defence Ministry and a special forces unit for repressing peaceful protests under Magnitsky Act, which authorisesthe US President to impose sanctions in case of human rights abuses or contraventions. Biden further stated that it would continue to be imposed if the pro-democratic protests continued to be quelled.
Conclusion
It is unfortunate that the danger to the freedoms of citizenry have originated from those tasked to govern. This government found its way to stifle even little squeaks of dissent in the past, but this time the furor erupted uncontrollably with all legitimate reasons and without any fear of the government. The government is facing wrath from multiple human rights organisations for flouting the rule of law, with demands of immediate release of the dissidents. The economic conditions are worrisome and the island has seen its sharpest contraction in the economy since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Plus the slow vaccine rollout has added to the economic woes. The embargoes have had huge ramifications in the past and continue to torment the nation. And unless the US government looks at it more emphatically, who has yet again been called out for the 29th consecutive year by the UN General Assembly to end the Cuban embargos, Cuba's future shall stand compromised.
Yashi Santosh Kumar Bajpai is an Associate of Policy Engagement at Swaniti Initiative in New Delhi, India, as well as a recent graduate of the Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala, India.