The Union of Communist Youth (UJC) published a 36-second reel on its official Facebook page promoting the campaign #MiFirmaPorLaPatria, explicitly describing it as "an action called by Cuban civil society," when in reality it was launched by the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC).
In the video, a young man challenges another by arguing that signing is "not because it's mandatory schemes," but "for you, for your mom, for your brother, for your neighbor, for everyone." The reel indicates that one can sign from the age of 16 at workplaces, schools, and in the community, and concludes with the phrase "it's a matter of life."
The claim that this is a civil society initiative is a documented fallacy. The campaign was launched on April 19 by the PCC in commemoration of the 65th anniversary of the Battle of Playa Girón, and aims to collect signatures in support of the Revolutionary Government's Declaration "Girón is today and always."
The very own Roberto Morales Ojeda, Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee of the PCC, was the main speaker at the launch event in Playa Girón on April 21, and later he presented the campaign on Facebook as a call from "civil society organizations."
The UJC, which features in the reel, is the youth wing of the PCC and is constitutionally subordinate to the single party.
The Cuban Constitution of 2019 defines the PCC as the "superior guiding force of society and the State," which makes the existence of a truly independent civil society in the island impossible.
The mass organizations —UJC, CDR, FMC, CTC— are not autonomous entities but structures controlled and directed by the party, so presenting them as expressions of civil society is a deliberate manipulation.
The campaign has generated a massive backlash on social media. Cubans responded to official posts with reports of blackouts, hunger, and shortages, as well as demands for free elections.
"Does the light come with the signature? Or the water? Does food arrive? Does misery end with the signature?" wrote a Cuban user in the comments on Díaz-Canel's post.
Another Cuban, Elexys Álvarez Molina, was more straightforward: “My signature is not for sustaining dictatorships”, she wrote in response to the national coordinator of the CDR, Gerardo Hernández Nordelo.
Pressures and coercion to sign have also been reported. Neighbors of Block 4 in Cárdenas, Matanzas, collectively refused to sign despite threats from state emissaries, according to activist Christian Arbolaez's report on Facebook.
The activist José Daniel Ferrer, leader of UNPACU, publicly urged not to sign, labeling the campaign as "supporting the oppressors."
Independent analysts rate the initiative as a smokescreen to divert attention from an economic crisis that includes a 23% contraction in GDP since 2019, prolonged blackouts, and shortages of food and medicine.
The regime's goal is to collect millions of signatures before May 1, 2026, a date when the PCC aims to showcase this support as a demonstration of popular backing to the international community.
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