A propaganda billboard featuring the face of the dictator Fidel Castro, located in Yara, a municipality in Granma Province, was defaced in a symbolic act of resistance documented by the opposition figure José Daniel Ferrer on his X account.
The event is part of the campaign "Paint your graffiti, stain a communist fence", an initiative that has gained momentum in various parts of the island as a form of popular rejection of the regime. This is not the first time that symbols of Cuban power have been intervened in this manner: a giant poster of Díaz-Canel in Santiago de Cuba was found covered in black paint in a similar episode that also garnered significant attention.
According to recent reports, the interventions are not limited to a single leader of the regime. The official billboards and posters featuring images of Fidel Castro, Raúl Castro, and Miguel Díaz-Canel have appeared defaced or damaged in several provinces of eastern Cuba, suggesting a growing coordination among the opponents.
This type of protest has documented precedents. In 2020, a group of activists painted a mural of Fidel Castro red and a bust of José Martí in an action that was also recorded and shared on social media. More recently, posters against Castro appeared in San Antonio de los Baños with messages like Down with Fidel, highlighting that discontent extends beyond the eastern part of the country.
The symbolism of the place is significant: Yara is the municipality where the Grito de Yara on October 10, 1868, when Carlos Manuel de Céspedes initiated the first Cuban war of independence. The fact that a regime banner is defaced precisely in that municipality adds a historical and political weight to the act.
The deterioration of the regime's official image is not confined to walls. In another documented case, a propaganda poster featuring the image of the dictator ended up in the trash, which was interpreted as yet another act of citizen repudiation.
The context in which these actions are taking place is one of increasing tension. In recent weeks, a Communist Party headquarters was set on fire during popular protests, while the authorities responded with repression: there were at least 35 repressive actions and 15 arrests, including two minors.
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