Related videos:
While in various neighborhoods of Havana there are repeated pot-banging and small protests over the prolonged blackouts, many Cubans claim that the memory of the repression following the protests on July 11, 2021, continues to hinder the possibility of a new social outburst.
A report published this Tuesday by the agency Reuters, based on testimonies collected in San Antonio de los Baños and the Havana neighborhood of La Güinera, indicates that the fear of prison weighs more heavily today than the outrage over the crisis.
"I assure you that people will not protest in the streets because they are afraid," said Brian Jiménez, a 26-year-old baker who participated in the protests of July 11 and claims to have been beaten by the police and detained for several days. "Many of my friends are still in prison."
The protests in July 2021 were the largest recorded in Cuba in decades. Thousands of people took to the streets to denounce scarcity, blackouts, and the economic crisis. The regime's response included mass arrests and lengthy sentences.
Human rights organizations, the European Union, and the United States estimate that between 1,000 and 1,500 people were imprisoned for their participation in those protests, many of whom are still serving sentences.
This precedent continues to impact those living in areas where the social outbreak began. “When you protest, you can't find work. They act against you or your family,” explained Robert Pérez, a 27-year-old sociology student, when referring to the consequences faced by those who protested, to Reuters.
The report appears at a time when discontent is again being felt on the streets, albeit in a limited way. In recent days, pot-banging and nighttime protests have been reported in neighborhoods of Havana, where residents have been banging pots amid power outages and shortages.
In some cases, residents have taken to the streets in the dark, lighting bonfires or chanting slogans against the government to express their frustration over the electrical crisis that is affecting much of the country.
However, for many Cubans, the risk of facing the State's repressive apparatus once again remains too high.
"The people are not going to get involved because in real life, no one wants to be imprisoned again," said Yuniel Romero, a 37-year-old barber. "The people have no way to defend themselves."
Filed under: