By Cemre Türkmen
Cuba witnessed the largest protests in decades under the communist rule in the country. Thousands of people took to the streets on Sunday with the slogans of "freedom" and "end dictatorship". President Miguel Diaz-Canel blamed the United States (US) for the protests and urged the revolutionaries to confront the activists.
The march, which started in the capital Havana with hundreds of people, mostly young people, grew in a short time. While some of the people who saw the action went down to the street and joined the march, some gave their support from the balcony of their houses.
With the 60-year era of the Castro brothers in Cuban politics coming to an end, Diaz-Canel called on the revolutionaries to take to the streets "to confront the activists". The biggest of the protests, which started in the capital city as well as in other cities of the country, took place in San Antonio de los Banos. In the demonstrations attended by thousands of people, the people expressed their demands by shouting slogans from Covid-19 restrictions to vaccines, medicine and food shortages and the end of power cuts. In the country where mobile internet came in 2018, some of the images of the demonstrations were reflected on social media, but it was stated that there was an internet interruption as the protests continued.
So why were these protests held?
· The first main reason is the "Coronavirus Crisis":
The actions seem to stem from the social exhaustion created by the economic and health crises. The pandemic and the economic measures taken by the government have made life in Cuba increasingly difficult.
In the country that kept the Covid-19 pandemic under control in 2020, there has been an explosion in infections in recent weeks. Last week, records were broken in daily cases and deaths, and health centers were on the verge of collapse. A few Cubans among the demonstrators said that their relatives died in their homes without even receiving any medical treatment.
While the #SOSCuba hashtag became viral on social media with the rapid filling of capacity in hospitals in the Matanzas region and the protests, the skyrocketing number of cases caused concern in the society. Thousands of Cubans shared videos that showed hospitals that could not cope with the number of patients came to the fore.
Even if Cuba managed to produce its own vaccine in the epidemic, the money transferred to studies in this direction caused the country, which is not in good financial condition, to be unable to supply other important drugs. For this reason, the public has become unable to find many essential drugs in pharmacies. According to official data, only 17 percent of the 11.2 million population is currently vaccinated. On the other hand, the rate of double-dose vaccines was announced as 15 percent.
Besides, the pandemic negatively affected tourism, one of the country's main sources of income, and interrupted the flow of foreign currency into the country.
In addition, many businesses and restaurants, which were already in trouble due to the lockdown measures implemented for months within the scope of coronavirus measures, went bankrupt, while thousands of people became unemployed.
· The second main reason is "Economy":
Due to the paralysis of tourism, one of the driving forces of the Cuban economy, the coronavirus pandemic has had a very negative impact on the economic and social life in Cuba. These difficulties have been exacerbated by rising inflation, power cuts, and shortages of food, medicine and basic consumer goods. Salaries were increased with the economic reforms announced by the government at the beginning of the year, but the increased salaries also triggered a large increase in prices. Some economists said that prices could increase by 500 to 900 percent in the coming periods.
While there were problems in the supply of essential drugs in both pharmacies and hospitals, even flour became unavailable in many regions. Speaking at the scene, Cubans stated that there was no aspirin in some medical centers, and that there was an explosion in scabies and other infectious diseases on the island.
The government announced last month that banks would temporarily stop depositing US dollars, the main currency used by Cubans abroad. This decision was seen by some economists as the most severe restriction on the US dollar since the Fidel Castro era. The government attributed the decision to tighter American embargoes, which made it harder for them to use the currency abroad. President Diaz-Canel described it as "the main problem threatening the health and development of the people".
· The third and last main reason is "Internet Access":
The widespread use of social media and the internet has been one of the important factors shaping the course of the protests.
The biggest demonstrations after Castro's communist revolution were held in the capital Havana in August 1994. At that time, many Cubans had no idea what was going on in the capital due to the lack of internet access. Under Raul Castro's leadership, liberalization steps were taken in Cuba that led to better internet access. Since then, Cubans have begun to express their dissatisfaction with the government on social media.
Social media has become the platforms that artists, journalists and intellectuals use to claim rights and call for protest. Sunday's protests were also partly organized on social media. The images of the action that started in San Antonio de los Baños region on Sunday were published on social media, and people living in the capital Havana saw hundreds of people take to the streets in a short time. The protests spread to at least 48 regions after the images were quickly shared on social media. In the evening of the same day, the government blocked access to social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp, while also restricting general internet use.
The protests were predictable, but what would happen next is uncertain. As Cuba experiences an unprecedented crisis, the world will be watching how the government and Cuban people will react.
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