Miguel Díaz-Canel will lead the International Workers' Day parade in Havana this Friday, where thousands of Cubans, mobilized since early morning, make their way through the streets of the capital towards the José Martí Anti-Imperialist Tribune, in front of the U.S. Embassy along the Havana waterfront.
The event began with an image that contrasts with the enthusiasm that the official narrative tries to convey: a heavy presence of military personnel, members of the Ministry of the Interior (MININT), and security forces deployed along the route, amidst one of the worst crises the country has faced in decades.
Deployment of control since dawn
According to the official media Cubadebate, the highest political and governmental leaders of the country began the march at the Plaza de la Revolución, from where they are heading to the platform where the central event will take place.
A photo shared on X by the Presidency of Cuba showed a serious Miguel Díaz-Canel, accompanied by his wife, Lis Cuesta, and other government figures such as Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez and Roberto Morales Ojeda; surrounded -as is customary- by a wide security detail.
The workers, organized into 15 unions, gathered from dawn at four locations in Havana: 23 and 2 (Plaza de la Revolución), Avenida Salvador Allende and Infanta, Parque Antonio Maceo (Belascoaín and Malecón), and Prado and Malecón.
However, the images at the beginning of the parade depict a scene characterized by control and surveillance, with security cordons and a visible presence of armed personnel, as well as the participation of workers from companies connected to military structures.
Change of scenery and doubts about participation
The relocation of the central event from the Plaza de la Revolución to the Anti-Imperialist Tribune marks a shift from the historical tradition of the event.
The organizer Osnay Miguel Colina Rodríguez justified it by appealing to "austerity" and the "cruel energy blockade," although critics point out that the change aims to disguise the expected low participation and avoid exposing the regime's logistical limitations.
Although the official narrative speaks of a "mass mobilization," for many Cubans attending is not optional.
In workplaces and educational institutions, absence can result in penalties or academic consequences, making participation a more conditional act than a voluntary one.
Rhetoric of confrontation and a call to "defend the Homeland"
The 2026 parade has a distinctly warlike tone. Díaz-Canel called on "workers, farmers, students, intellectuals, artists, athletes, Cubans both men and women, against the genocidal blockade and the blatant imperial threats to our country."
The day before, it had been declared: “The Motherland is defended in streets and plazas, this Friday at dawn,” while the Central Workers' Union of Cuba (CTC) called to defend the country “from every trench of combat,” reinforcing the political and ideological nature of the event.
The event is dedicated to the centenary of Fidel Castro's birth, the 65th anniversary of the Victory at Playa Girón, and the XXII Congress of the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba (CTC).
A country in crisis that contrasts with the official narrative
The regime called for the parade under the framework of the "Year of Preparation for Defense," declared by Cuba for 2026, with weekly military exercises and plans approved by the National Defense Council to transition to a State of War.
The warlike rhetoric directly responds to the statements made by U.S. President Donald Trump on March 28 in Miami, where he stated that "sometimes military force must be used, and Cuba is next."
However, this display occurs amidst a much harsher reality for the population: power outages of between 10 and 25 hours daily, a collapse of transportation, widespread shortages, and an economy that is projected to contract by 7.2% in 2026.
The CTC's own announcement implicitly acknowledged the limitations by requesting to hold the event "with the rationality we have had to adopt in light of the imposed restrictions."
Forced mobilization and social weariness
Days before the parade, students were taken from their schools in San Miguel del Padrón and Santiago de Cuba to participate in preliminary marches, a practice documented by independent journalist Yosmayne Mayeta Labrada.
Raúl Castro also published a message this Friday in which he stated that the regime remains "with one foot in the stirrup and ready for the charge with machetes," referring to the mambisa tradition. The Cuban regime has been intensifying its war rhetoric for weeks in response to the pressure from Washington.
Meanwhile, the population is facing an unprecedented crisis that has led more than a million Cubans to emigrate since 2021, in a context where the display of support in the streets reflects more control than enthusiasm.
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