A Cuban identified as Michel Duran posted a video on Facebook in which he makes a direct appeal to his compatriots to overcome their fear and take action, with a question that summarizes the frustration of millions: What can they take from us if we have nothing?
The video, one minute and 13 seconds long, is aimed at those who are uncertain about whether to participate in any collective action in response to the deterioration of Cuba.
"There are many people who feel fear, many people who feel uncertainty... Thousands of sensations that make one think, make one doubt whether to enter or not, if they do enter what will happen, if they don't enter what will happen," Duran says at the beginning of the clip.
Its argument is as simple as it is compelling: those who have nothing to lose, also have nothing to fear.
"What can they take from us? If we have nothing, brother. We have nothing. It's about living or dying," he asserts firmly.
Duran calls for an imminent political change with images loaded with urgency: "The season has to end. This movie can't last a thousand years. Because we cannot die."
The video concludes with an unambiguous call: "We must see another dawn of a different color. We need to experience another dawn with a different flavor, gentlemen. Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid. Support. Support."
Duran's message is part of a growing movement of Cubans—both on the island and abroad—who are using social media to challenge the historical fear of the regime.
In February, a Cuban went viral with the phrase "I have nothing to lose" while criticizing the deterioration of infrastructure, openly challenging potential reprisals.
Shortly thereafter, the 21-year-old singer-songwriter Miguel Ricote went viral with the song "Viva Cuba Libre" and confessed, "If I post what I'm thinking, I feel like I'm a suicide bomber."
These messages arise amidst a collapsing Cuba: power outages of up to 20 hours a day affecting 64% of the territory, critical shortages of food, water, and medicines, and a 23% drop in GDP since 2019.
The most recent protests took place on March 13 and 14, 2026, in Morón, Ciego de Ávila, where citizens vandalized the headquarters of the Communist Party and at least 85 people were detained, including two minors.
In 2025, over 11,000 actions of protest, complaint, or criticism against the regime were recorded, according to data collected by human rights organizations.
The regime responded to the pressure with an announcement of pardon for 2,010 people on April 2, 2026, but Amnesty International pointed out a lack of transparency regarding the supposed releases and documented escalated repression and family coercion.
The young Cuban Christian David Espinosa succinctly summarized the spirit that permeates these testimonies: speaking ceases to be an option and becomes a duty.
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