Amelia Calzadilla, president of the Cuban Classic Liberal Party (PLCC), published a video on Facebook this Wednesday in which she directly holds the Cuban regime responsible for the outbreak of protests on the island and demands that it relinquish power.
"The protests in Cuba have a culprit and a reason. Do not hold any more meetings to undermine the resources of the Cuban people and leave now," stated the exiled activist in Madrid alongside the clip, which shows images of a protest against blackouts this Tuesday in Centro Habana.
The message from Calzadilla comes amid a sustained rise in popular protests on the island. The Cuban Conflict Observatory (OCC) counted 1,311 protests in May 2026, compared to 953 recorded in January and 1,133 in April, with a notable increase in in-person demonstrations on the streets.
In June, protests continued in Santiago de Cuba, Havana, and other cities, with residents demanding electricity, food, and freedom. In May, there were reports of pot-banging and street closures in various neighborhoods of the capital, including Miramar, La Lisa, Marianao, Guanabacoa, and Centro Habana.
Calzadilla has been emphatic in stating that the cause of the crisis is not the U.S. embargo, but rather the Cuban political system itself. "In Cuba, they are no longer asking for food; they are asking for freedom," she declared in April, framing the protests as a political demand for systemic change.
The activist did not come to the opposition through traditional dissident structures. Her public visibility was born between 2021 and 2022 when she reported the lack of manufactured gas for 58 family units in the Cerro neighborhood of Havana. "My fight started because I couldn't cook," she summarized.
It was the state's repression that drove her to take the leap: “They pushed me to become an opponent”, she stated, referring to the harassment, defamation, and threats she endured after her initial public complaints.
After seeking asylum in Madrid, Calzadilla got involved with the opposition organization Ciudadanía y Libertad and participated in efforts before the European Parliament to request the suspension of the agreement between the European Union and Cuba, as well as individual sanctions against those responsible for repression.
On May 19, 2026, the Cuban Classical Liberal Party was officially presented in Madrid, with Iliana Hernández as vice president, Lucio Enríquez Nodarse as treasurer, and Lesly "Havana" de la Torres and Emilio Arteaga as board members. The party advocates for classical liberalism, a market economy, the rule of law, and proposes the prohibition of communism in a future democratic Cuba.
The membership registration for residents on the island was announced as private and with limited access, for security reasons.
The protests in Santiago de Cuba recorded this month, where residents took to the streets demanding electricity, food, and freedom, illustrate the scenario described by Calzadilla: a citizenry that is no longer merely asking for material solutions, but rather for a fundamental political change.
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