A year after the protests that quelled the government, strong repression, with sentences of up to 25 years, has silenced demands for freedom
A year has passed since the biggest social outbreak against the communist regime that Fidel Castro put in Cuba six decades ago. On July 11, 2021, the protest that began in San Antonio de los Baños, a city of 50,000 people near Havana, as a complaint about the ongoing power outages and lack of drugs and vaccines amid the coronavirus pandemic sparked a second ” revolution” that spread all over the island and kept the government in check. It was the largest citizen mobilization of the past 63 years. They lasted barely two days, but they revealed the endemic diseases of the population.
Most of the demonstrations were peaceful, although there were also violent clashes. The president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, at the head of the country after the death of Fidel Castro and the step aside of his brother Raúl, gave the order to “fight” the protests. One person has died as a result of the shooting by the police. The Internet also played an important role: the messages quickly spread through Facebook and other social networks, forcing the Executive to close the service, which did not prevent ‘Patria y vida’, by artist Maykel Osorbo, being the anthem used by thousands. people sang. throats, along with the slogan ‘Down with the dictatorship’.
The uprising was severely suppressed. The government recognizes about 800 arrests. However, NGOs such as Humans Right Watch, Prisoner Defenders or the Justice 11-J Working Group estimate the number of detainees at more than 5,000. Of these, 1,235 were prosecuted and punished for public disorder, contempt, assault and incitement to commit a crime or other crimes of a greater magnitude, such as crimes against state security, sabotage and sedition. Some sentences exceed 25 years. The repression has earned the condemnation of the international community.
Without going further, the European Union yesterday again demanded the release of the prisoners. The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, denounced the “disproportionate sentences” and reiterated the call on Havana “to respect human rights and release all political prisoners and detainees to exercise their freedom of assembly and expression.” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed that the US will “continue to support the Cuban people in their quest for democracy and seek accountability from officials for abuses”, Washington announced on Saturday new sanctions against 28 senior officials of the regime.
For its part, “Granma”, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Cuba, on the same day published some statements by Díaz-Canel in which he stated that “what we are really going to celebrate, as a first anniversary of July 11 , is that the people and the Cuban Revolution dismantled a vandalistic coup.” He also denounced the “totally tightened” blockade of the United States.
A year has passed and the causes of that malaise are still there. Blackouts are daily bread and economic data remains bad. The country, heavily dependent on tourism, has not yet recovered from the blow of the pandemic. Now some of the visits have resumed and the Joe Biden government has allowed the return of remittances from emigrants, but it is not enough.
According to official Cuban data cited by the Efe agency, the island’s GDP has fallen by 10% in 2020. In 2021 it barely increased by 0.5%. The same sources indicate that inflation in the retail market was 70%. prices in the informal sector were between 500 and 700%. Many choose to leave. So far this year, more than 140,000 Cubans have arrived in the US by land, sea and air, according to official figures from the US Immigration Service.
On the positive side, the government has managed to bring the pandemic under control, thanks in large part to the development of three vaccines – the absence of which caused 11-J in part – that have drastically reduced the death toll. Currently, about 90% of the population is vaccinated.
Source: La Verdad
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
