Strategy for a National Civic Movement: The regime "must be compelled to yield," reflects a Cuban academic

Cuban academic Ivette García González proposes a National Civic Movement based on nonviolent struggle to force a democratic transition in Cuba. Her strategy includes horizontal leadership, participation from the exile community, and six immediate demands that encompass amnesty for political prisoners and unrestricted access to the internet. The proposal arises in a context of record repression, with 1,260 documented political prisoners as of April 2026, according to Prisoners Defenders.



A National Civic Movement is needed, says historian Ivette García GonzálezPhoto © CiberCuba/Sora

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The doctor in Historical Sciences Ivette García González published this Friday on her Facebook profile a text titled "National Civic Movement: Strategy", in which she proposes a roadmap to articulate resistance and citizen action in Cuba through nonviolent struggle for transition.

The proposal is based on a straightforward premise: “The government must be compelled to yield. This is the moment,” writes García González as the third point in the foundation of his strategy.

FB Capture / Ivette García González

The scholar argues that "a coherent, solid, and effective strategy is essential for a Movement aspiring to end the dictatorship and achieve democracy, with the least possible social cost," and notes that there is now a consensus on the need for coordination, an internal civic struggle front, the participation of the exile community, and an alternative that prevents a power vacuum.

The document defines the Nonviolent Struggle Strategy through a National Civic Movement (MCN) as "the most effective way to fight, reach, and ensure the transition with horizontal leadership that maintains order, paves the way, and prevents any eventual betrayals."

García González also warns against what he calls "fraudulent changes": "The outcome may vary, but only civic struggle will make it possible, ensure the alternative, and protect us from 'fraudulent changes' from above, from the outside, or from certain complicit sectors."

The basic structure of the MCN includes a horizontal leadership with local coordinators at the provincial and municipal levels, citizen organization by provinces, presence in prisons where possible, and an active component in exile that must "support, amplify, and replicate internal actions, reveal the reality of Cuba, influence public figures, governments, parliaments, and international civil society, and counteract the work of Cuban embassies."

Among the six immediate demands —out of the 20 considered— are: amnesty for all political prisoners, rejection of Mandatory Military Service, cessation of repression, independence of civil society to receive humanitarian aid without state interference, freedom and democracy for Cuba, and unrestricted access to the internet.

This document is the second part of a reflection that García González began on May 21 on the CubaxCuba portal, where he already proposed the MCN as a response to the regime's maneuvers between February and May 2026. In that analysis, he argued that the MCN "would attract the desideologized solidarity of the world, and in any scenario, would be an actor impossible to ignore."

The academic also warned that "the aggressive climate and rhetoric from the U.S. are not helping as is believed" and that the silence of the European Union exacerbates the isolation of the Cuban democratic movement by leaving the conflict in the realm of the Monroe Doctrine.

The proposal is set against a backdrop of unprecedented repression: Prisoners Defenders documented 1,260 political prisoners at the end of April 2026 —an absolute historical record— including 35 minors and 142 women. Despite this, the Cuban Conflict Observatory recorded more than 1,133 protests, complaints, and expressions of discontent in April 2026, an increase of 29.5% compared to April 2025.

García González also pointed out the paradox that Cuba was chosen for the UN ECOSOC NGO Committee for 2027-2030, despite the fact that there are no independent non-governmental organizations on the island: “They have appointed a government to that specialized commission on Civil Society that only accepts organizations subordinate to the State in its country.”

The academic and writer concluded her previous reflection with a conviction that runs through both installments: "Neither Cuba is an exception, nor are dictatorships invincible," and asserted that "the Cuban dictatorship will come to an end, but for the transition to occur, for it to be real and sustainable, an intelligent combination of pathways is needed; less grandiose and with the involvement of the Cuban democratic sectors."

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CiberCuba Editorial Team

A team of journalists committed to reporting on Cuban current affairs and topics of global interest. At CiberCuba, we work to deliver truthful news and critical analysis.