Hundreds of people demonstrated this Sunday, March 17, in eastern Cuba shouting “'Current and food!” The demonstrations are intended to protest food shortages and daily blackouts on the island. President Miguel Díaz-Canel assured that the “enemies of the revolution” take advantage of these protests for “destabilizing purposes.”
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Hundreds of people demonstrated this Sunday, March 17, in Santiago de Cuba, the country's second city, shouting “Power and food!”, to protest the shortage of food and the prolonged daily blackouts on the island, mired in a deep crisis for three years.
According to testimonies collected by the EFE agency, the protest was absolutely peaceful and started by a group of women with children, although political cries such as “Freedom!” were also heard. and “Homeland and life!”, the motto of the anti-government protests of July 11, 2021 (11J), the largest in decades.
Read alsoCuba suffers new streak of blackouts
The first provincial secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC, the only legal one) in Santiago de Cuba, Beatriz Johnsonwent to the scene to try to talk to the protesters and was received with skepticism, although she announced the immediate arrival of basic supplies to the bodegas (state stores of subsidized products).
This is one of the largest anti-government demonstrations recorded in Cuba since 11J, along with those of the eastern cities of Nuevitas, in 2022, and Caimanera, in 2023.
The president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, accused the “enemies of the revolution” of trying to “take advantage” of this Sunday's protests for “destabilizing purposes.”
Several people have expressed their dissatisfaction with the situation of electrical service and food distribution.
This context is attempted to be taken advantage of by the enemies of the Revolution, for destabilizing purposes.
— Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez (@DiazCanelB) March 18, 2024
He added that “terrorists based in the United States (…) encourage actions against the internal order of the country,” in reference to a list that Cuba released a few months ago in which it included opponents, activists and “influencers” based mainly in the Florida.
Lack of electricity
The demonstration in Cuba's second largest city began around 3:00 p.m. local time (7:00 p.m. GMT), when a group of mothers took to the streets with their children to demand food and milk for the minors in a popular neighborhood of the Morro highway.
Their complaints came after a six-hour blackout (from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. local time) and the power returned momentarily, only to fail again shortly after. People joined these mothers, including other women, neighbors and passers-by, until there were several hundred.
Several patrol cars also went to the scene, with agents who basically remained alert and waiting. Likewise, State security agents dressed in civilian clothes appeared.
Some police officers urged the protesters not to record videos with their cell phones (although several were spread on social networks) and also prevented the protest from moving towards Céspedes Park, as some of the mothers intended.
Some protesters reported seeing a drone flying over the area. There are no reports of arrests during the protest.
Johnson arrived when there were already several hundred protesters and tried to calm things down, although many rejected his presence and did not pay attention to what the PCC representative was trying to say between cries of “lie” and “drill” (a heavy and dull speech). interest).
She, accompanied by seven or eight other people and escorted by police, then climbed onto the roof of a nearby house and announced that starting this Monday, the March sugar and rice, still pending delivery, would arrive at the warehouses. by the supply book (ration card). She also had free milk for five days, the result of a donation.
The NGO Justicia 11J, which documents arrests in demonstrations, indicated:
“We highlight the relevant presence of women in the Santiago de Cuba protest, in the videos and photographs that we have been able to observe. And we especially ask for them, mothers of families, all the protection and support from the community.”
Johnson also offered to personally attend to the protesters at the adjacent local government headquarters and take note of their problems and concerns, but apparently no one came. The protest dissolved peacefully as the hours passed.
4/ This happened after Beatriz Jhonson Urrutia, secretary of the Communist Party in the Province, appeared in front of a crowd that rebuked her. In Santiago the main slogans were: “Current and food”, “Homeland and Life” and “Freedom”. pic.twitter.com/lxlan7izk9
— Justicia11J Arrests for Political Reasons (@justicia11j) March 18, 2024
More protests
Connectivity problems were reported in the countryespecially in Santiago de Cuba, a fact that opposition sectors considered a deliberate government action.
Similarly, mobilizations were also recorded in Palma Soriano (province of Santiago de Cuba) and Bayamo (Granma, also in the east).
Cuba has been immersed in a serious economic crisis for more than three years with shortages of basic goods (food, fuel and medicine), rampant inflation, prolonged daily blackouts and growing dollarization, which has caused unprecedented migration and strong social discontent.
The blackouts have worsened in the last two months due to the breakdowns of the obsolete Soviet-made plants and lack of fuel, with deficit rates of up to 45% at times of greatest demand. The outages total more than 10 hours a day in many provinces of the country.
With EFE
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