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The Cuban comedian Ulises Toirac spoke out strongly following the new protests recorded in Havana and other cities across the country, expressions of a growing social discontent that keeps pace with the economic decline and the collapse of essential services.
In a post on Facebook, he openly questioned the government's response to the outbreak of citizen discontent and warned of the consequences of maintaining repression as the only tool.
Toirac recalled that behind every manifestation lies a reality that cannot be ignored: poverty is spreading, reaching social strata that just a few years ago were able to escape it.
Cuba experienced a new wave of protests and pot-banging amid massive blackouts and rising social despair on Monday night. In several municipalities, residents took to the streets banging pots, lighting bonfires, and demanding light, food, and freedom.
"The electrical situation—not only chaotic but devoid of any future solution—has further aggravated a very precarious survival scenario," wrote the actor.
In his reflection, Toirac also pointed to the government's management of the economy, a topic that, although the Government constantly tries to justify, has been marked for years by corrections, failed measures, and reforms that have not succeeded in alleviating the deterioration.
He explained that not even a hypothetical scenario of good management could sustain the tensions generated by the ongoing hostility with the United States, a confrontation that, he stated, has only contributed to keeping the country in an extremely vulnerable position against an immensely more powerful adversary.
"With intelligence, genuine creativity, a willingness to understand, and mutual respect, better outcomes could have been achieved," he warned.
Ulises recalled that the confrontation could be sustained during Fidel Castro's time due to his political weight: "He had image, relationships, respect at many levels on the international stage, attraction, charisma, history...". However, he emphasized that "there have been many changes from those days until today," referring to Díaz-Canel, whom he avoided naming.
The comedian questioned the insistence on a foreign policy that ignores the real consequences for the population and leads nowhere, instead of striving to find solutions.
He insisted that the desperation of the Cubans is inevitable, as "nothing suggests that things are going to get better." For that reason, he is concerned about the government's reaction to the protests of the people.
"It cannot be resolved by criminalizing and suppressing responsibility. It will only deteriorate further," he assured.
For Toirac, repression will only exacerbate the social conflict and could lead the country to more dramatic scenarios. "If that is the response, this will eventually become a river of blood," he warned.
The words of the comedian come at a particularly tense moment for Cuba, where the rise in spontaneous protests, widespread blackouts, and the overall collapse of the economy have put the government in a fragile position amid a citizenry weary of unfulfilled promises and a crisis that seems never-ending.
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