In the midst of blackouts, shortages, and a crisis affecting every corner of the island, the Cuban regime once again took to the streets with its old narrative of resistance. This time, it did so from the Malecón in Havana, where hundreds of young people paraded on bicycles, skateboards, and electric scooters while chanting slogans against U.S. President Donald Trump.
“Trump asshole, remember Girón,” was heard during the mobilization organized in the context of the 64th anniversary of the Young Communist Union (UJC). The images, shared on social media by journalist Luis De Jesús, depict a scene that blends political propaganda with a harsh reality that is difficult to conceal: young people using alternative means of transportation in a country where fuel is scarce and public transport is collapsing.
The protest is not an isolated event. It comes just days after high-ranking leaders of the Communist Party began to openly invoke the epic of Playa Girón in response to the increasing tensions with the United States. In a recent message, the political apparatus called for days of “reaffirmation and patriotism,” reviving a historical narrative that the government has used for decades as a symbol of resistance.
Playa Girón, the site of the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, has been transformed by the regime into one of the pillars of its political legitimacy, portrayed as a victory against the United States following the defeat of a brigade of exiles in just 72 hours. However, more than six decades later, its continual evocation takes place in a radically different context.
Since January, the island has been the scene of military exercises, speeches about "the war of the whole people", and now youth mobilizations echoing slogans from the past. Even activities like bike rides have previously been used by the UJC to commemorate this historic date, reinforcing that symbolic link between youth and revolutionary epic.
But the image left by the Havana Malecón is different. It is not that of a victorious country, but rather that of a generation struggling amidst shortages, in the midst of a deep economic crisis, with prolonged blackouts, inflation, and a massive wave of migration that shows no signs of stopping.
While the official discourse insists on Girón as a symbol of resistance against external threats, many Cubans see in these scenes a growing disconnection between propaganda and real life. The slogan may be the same as it was over 60 years ago, but the context is different: one marked by uncertainty, fatigue, and a lack of concrete solutions.
Thus, amid bicycles, slogans, and recycled memories, the regime once again bets on the past to try to sustain an increasingly difficult present to justify.
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