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The Cuban journalist José Raúl Gallego stated that citizens should direct their protests towards the seats of state power, in response to the message published by the official account of the Presidency of Cuba, which urged not to block roads during the demonstrations in Havana.
“I believe it is time to listen to Díaz-Canel for the first time: the protests should be directed towards there. To the Party, to the Government, to the police stations. Occupy those spaces that rightfully belong to the citizens and force out those who have usurped power for six decades and are responsible for all the problems in Cuba,” Gallego wrote on social media.
The comment referred to the tweet published by the palace propagandists, which quoted the leader Miguel Díaz-Canel saying that “the demands of the population are legitimate, but they must be made in the established places: the Party, the institutions of the Government and the State,” and warning that “no one is authorized to close a public road”.
The official message came after several days of protests and pot-banging in neighborhoods of the capital, driven by prolonged blackouts, water shortages, and garbage accumulation. In response, Díaz-Canel chaired meetings with leaders of the Communist Party and military chiefs, ordering inspections of the private sector and controls on electricity and fuel consumption.
Gallego interpreted the ruler's words as a paradox: if the leader himself indicates where claims should be made, then those places—Party, Government, and police stations—should precisely be the venues for civic protest.
Protests against the power, despite the fear
Although state control and repression have stifled any visible attempts at dissent for decades, there have been several episodes in Cuba where citizens have brought their demands directly to the offices of political or administrative power.
Even under a system that punishes protest with imprisonment or violent repression, various social sectors—from mothers and self-employed workers to artists and activists—have defied fear and the control of the Communist Party.
In March 2020, dozens of self-employed individuals staged a protest in front of the Communist Party in Santa Clara, demanding labor rights and the reinstatement of licenses suspended by the Ministry of Labor.
The protest was unprecedented in its scale and took place in front of a government institution, forcing a public response from the authorities.
On November 27, 2020, more than a hundred artists, journalists, and young Cubans gathered in front of the Ministry of Culture (MINCULT) in Havana to demand freedom of expression, an end to censorship, and dialogue with the authorities.
The protest, known as 27N, emerged following the violent eviction of the San Isidro Movement in Old Havana and marked a turning point in Cuban civil society: for the first time in decades, a large group of citizens peacefully demonstrated in front of a state institution.
That night, the protesters succeeded in getting officials from the MINCULT to agree to a dialogue, although the regime soon failed to meet the commitments made and launched a campaign of harassment and surveillance against the participants. November 27th became a symbol of civic awakening, representing a generation that brought their demands to the very doors of power.
In February 2021, a group of young animal rights activists held a peaceful protest in front of the Ministry of Agriculture in Havana, demanding the approval of the Animal Welfare Law, which had been promised by the Government since the previous year.
The protesters carried signs demanding transparency and citizen participation in the drafting of the decree, and were briefly received by officials from the ministry before State Security intervened violently.
Despite the police blockade, the protest set a precedent: it was the first time a group of young people openly challenged the State from civic activism, and they did so at the doorstep of a ministry, highlighting the lack of genuine channels for citizen participation.
In August 2022, the rapper Omar Mena was arrested in Santa Clara after presenting himself at the headquarters of the PCC to demand the release of political prisoners. Two months later, a group of mothers desperate due to the lack of gas and electricity had set up makeshift stoves at the entrance of the Party's own building, turning domestic scarcity into a political protest.
Protests have also been documented in front of municipal governments. In Manicaragua (Villa Clara), in October 2024, residents gathered in front of the local government headquarters to demand food and electricity; in Camagüey, in August 2025, a mother stood with her children in front of the provincial government headquarters, demanding social assistance; and in Jagüey Grande, in 2022, dozens of people protested in front of the municipal offices during a night of blackouts.
Even on July 11, 2021, when thousands of Cubans took to the streets, large gatherings were recorded in front of the Communist Party offices in Holguín and Santiago de Cuba, with slogans that directly blamed the political power for the crisis.
These isolated yet recurring episodes demonstrate that even under a regime of surveillance and punishment, citizens have begun to shift their demands towards the true centers of power.
Party headquarters, municipal assemblies, and government institutions have shifted from being spaces of control to gradually becoming arenas of civil confrontation, particularly in areas where the political system is considered untouchable.
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