Roberto Morales Ojeda, Secretary of Organization of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, recalled this Tuesday a historic student protest against the government of Fulgencio Batista, but the post ended up sparking a wave of comments that drew parallels with the repression of the 11J protests.
In a post published on Facebook, the leader commemorated the anniversary of the so-called Function of Redress for the Ballet of Cuba, held on September 15, 1956.
The event was organized by the University Student Federation (FEU), then led by José Antonio Echeverría, in response to the Batista government's decision to withdraw state funding for the ballet directed by Alicia Alonso.
"When Batista's dictatorship withdrew state funding from the Ballet that Alicia Alonso was tirelessly promoting with success, the FEU led by José Antonio Echeverría did not hesitate: they organized a benefit performance at the University Stadium," wrote Morales Ojeda.
According to her recollection, about 20,000 people attended the event, which she described as "a trench of struggle against tyranny." Alicia Alonso performed The Dying Swan and received a bouquet of red roses at the end of her performance.
Morales Ojeda affirmed that, seven decades later, the ties between the FEU and the National Ballet of Cuba maintain that "happy marriage" referred to by Alicia Alonso and emphasized the commitment to "defend art as a right of the entire people."
But several Cubans found in the very history evoked by the communist leader a reason to question the present.
"Why was no young person imprisoned for that? And then?" wrote Bárbara Álvarez Cuéllar, using the commemoration to question the treatment currently received by those who protest against the Cuban government.
Another user recalled the recent discontent among students: "Well, now they've raised the price of the Internet and they almost jailed half the university."
The comments quickly shifted the discussion towards the protests of July 11, 2021, after which hundreds of demonstrators were sentenced to prison.
Five years after the 11J, 338 individuals sentenced for their participation in those protests remained imprisoned.
The contrast takes on another dimension because Morales Ojeda himself described in July as a "popular victory" the government's response to the 11J.
In this way, while its publication this Tuesday highlights the historic significance of the student mobilization against the Batista government, several commentators used that very episode to inquire about the space available today in Cuba to protest against government decisions.
The criticism also extended to the economic situation.
A user shared data from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) regarding the outlook for the Cuban economy. The agency projects a 10.3% contraction of Cuba's GDP by 2026.
Another commentator, identified as Andrés Vila, reacted to the historical reference with a critical assessment: "What's unfortunate is that the bright future Alicia envisioned never arrived; the new government was worse than Batista's."
This is not the first time that a publication by Morales Ojeda intended to exalt an official episode or message ends up becoming a space for questioning.
At the beginning of September, one of your messages regarding the start of the school year also received numerous comments from Cubans who contrasted the official narrative with the difficulties they face daily on the island.
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