Anti-government protests break out in Cuba

Large-scale anti-government protests were staged for the first time in 27 years since 1994 in Cuba, which is a communist country. The public sentiment worsened with ongoing economic difficulties and the COVID-19 pandemic. While the protests held 27 years ago were against the suppression of the opposition by the Fidel Castro regime and a ban on moving abroad, the recent protests have been caused by the shortage of essential items and worsening control of COVID-19.

According to Agence France-Presse, citizens of the country’s capital Havana, as well as Santiago and Santa Clara, marched through towns on Sunday, chanting, "Down with the dictatorship" and "We want liberty." A number of posts were made on social media under hashtags such as #SOSCuba and “Long live a free Cuba!”. Videos of protests led to more protests in other regions. A video of a woman crying out that children are starving was posted. Some protestors overturned police cars. The authorities deployed police forces armed with clubs and pepper spray, rising tension between the two sides.

Protestors criticized frequent power outages and the shortage of medical supplies and food. Power was out for six hours in Havana on Sunday. Cuba dealt with COVID-19 relatively well in the beginning, thanks to its abundant medical professionals and strict control but lately, the country has been breaking new daily infection records with 6,000 to 7,000 new cases per day.


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