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The march on May 1st, 2026 in Cuba took place this Friday with a significantly lower attendance than in previous years, at an event that the regime moved from the historic Plaza de la Revolución to the José Martí Anti-Imperialist Tribune, in front of the United States Embassy on the Havana waterfront, under the pretext of "austerity" and the "cruel energy blockade."
The commentator Mag Jorge Castro summarized on social media what many observers noted: “They went from filling squares with parades and endless speeches to timid marches at dawn to avoid burning in the sun”, adding that the regime, “even while exercising blackmail and pressure over millions of state workers, fails to conceal the collapse.”
The event was led by Miguel Díaz-Canel, accompanied by Lis Cuesta, Bruno Rodríguez, and Roberto Morales Ojeda, with the presence of Raúl Castro, who presided over the political event of the day.
The organizer Osnay Miguel Colina Rodríguez justified the change of venue by appealing to "austerity" and the "cruel energy blockade," but critics and observers interpreted the decision as an implicit acknowledgment of the regime's inability to mobilize crowds as it had in the past.
The unusually early schedule —in the early hours of the morning— was cited as a strategy to avoid both the heat and the low turnout, in an event that began with a strong security presence on the streets of Havana.
The contrast with previous years is striking: in 2024, the regime claimed that four million Cubans paraded across the country on the same date.
To ensure attendance, the regime resorted to usual pressure tactics: days before the event, it was reported that children were taken out of schools to participate in local marches in San Miguel del Padrón and Santiago de Cuba.
Additionally, independent journalist Ángel Cuza, a collaborator with CubaNet, was arrested on April 30 in front of his daughter by State Security agents, in what has been described as a systematic pattern of preemptive detentions ahead of politically sensitive dates.
The event was framed under the official slogan "The Homeland is Defended" and 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 Workers' Organization of Cuba.
In a video circulated by the regime, an official from the Ministry of Energy and Mines attributed the severe crisis the country is facing to the "worsening of the blockade and the energy siege imposed by the U.S. government," avoiding accountability for 67 years of dictatorial management.
Cuba is experiencing blackouts lasting between 10 and 25 hours daily, a collapse in transportation, and widespread shortages, with a projected economic contraction of 7.2% for 2026. This context makes it increasingly difficult for the regime to maintain the illusion of massive popular support, even on its most emblematic mobilization date.
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