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The Cuban actor Luis Alberto García expressed his frustration this Sunday over the silence of the official media regarding the multiple protests that have recently taken place in the country and questioned the credibility of the state information system.
“I thought that at least yesterday, on Press Day, the press wouldn’t be as pressed as usual,” wrote the artist on his Facebook profile, referring to the contrast between official coverage and what was circulating on social media.
According to García, many Cubans learned about the protests from the night before through digital platforms, foreign media, or posts by citizens on their own profiles, while national media omitted these events.
The actor criticized the official press for limiting itself to covering historical events, institutional activities, or sports results while ignoring current events that impact Cuban society.
"Just because they don't like something that happened or find it inappropriate doesn't magically 'reset' the event," he stated. "It's not a world of zeros and ones. It's the history of the present moment."
In his reflection, García argued that the freedom of information and expression should have been a longstanding achievement in Cuba, as he believed it would allow for an open debate that would enhance citizen participation.
He also questioned the political control over ideas and public narrative. “Ideas cannot belong to a Ministry of Ideas,” he wrote. “When they talk about a battle of ideas, there is no such battle if different ideas do not coexist and confront each other.”
The actor's statements come in a context where the Cuban leadership has once again asserted the political role of state media.
During a meeting with journalists held this Saturday, in the context of Cuban Press Day, the Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, Roberto Morales Ojeda, defended the ideological role of the official press and called for strengthening the state media system.
In that same meeting, the leader Miguel Díaz-Canel participated, who described official media as a "trench" in defense of the regime's narrative.
The official statement comes at a time of significant difficulties for the state media system.
At the beginning of March, the Political Bureau of the Communist Party decided to drastically reduce the circulation of printed media due to a lack of paper, fuel, and financial resources.
Since March 2, the national newspapers Granma and Juventud Rebelde began to be published only once a week, while the provincial newspapers ceased to be printed in physical format.
Authorities have tried to offset this reduction by promoting the digital platforms of official media, although limited access to the internet and the lack of technological devices continue to be obstacles for many citizens.
At the same time, the Cuban media model remains under the direct control of the Communist Party, which defines the editorial guidelines and the legal framework for journalistic practice on the island.
The Law of Social Communication recognizes only the media linked to the State and the PCC, while independent journalism continues to be persecuted and subjected to pressure, interrogations, equipment confiscation, and digital blockades.
In this context, critics of the Cuban information system point out that the state media does not function as a counterbalance or as a space for public oversight, but rather as an apparatus subordinate to the political project of the regime.
This structure, according to various analyses of the island's media system, prioritizes the defense of the official narrative and reduces the editorial autonomy of journalists, resulting in informational silences, delays in crisis coverage, and a growing loss of credibility among the public.
In parallel, the coverage of the recent protests in cities like Morón, in Ciego de Ávila, has once again highlighted the gap between the official narrative and what is being circulated on social media and independent media.
In several videos shared on the internet, citizens can be seen marching, banging pots and pans, and chanting slogans such as “Freedom!” and “Homeland and Life!”, while the provincial newspaper Invasor described the events as mere “vandalistic acts.”
García's critique adds to a growing public question regarding the role of the official press in Cuba, whose credibility has deteriorated in recent years due to the perception that it responds more to the political directions of those in power than to the informational needs of society.
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