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 provoking 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, celebrated 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, José Antonio Echeverría's FEU did not hesitate: they organized a performance in protest at the University Stadium," wrote Morales Ojeda.
According to her recollection, around 20,000 people attended the event, which she described as "a trench in the fight against tyranny." Alicia Alonso performed The Death of the Swan and received a bouquet of red roses after her performance.
Morales Ojeda stated that, seven decades later, the ties between the FEU and the National Ballet of Cuba preserve that "happy marriage" that Alicia Alonso spoke of, and he reaffirmed the commitment to "defend art as a right of all the people."
But several Cubans found in the very history recalled by the communist leader a reason to question the present.
"Why was no young person arrested for that? And then?" wrote a user, using the commemoration to question the treatment currently received by those protesting against the Cuban government.
Another recalled the recent grievances among students: "Well, they raised the price of the Internet and almost jailed half the university."
The comments quickly shifted the discussion to the protests of July 11, 2021, after which hundreds of demonstrators received prison sentences.
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 11J.
In this way, while its publication this Tuesday emphasizes the historical significance of the student mobilization against the Batista government, several commentators used that very episode to question what space exists today in Cuba to protest against governmental decisions.
The criticisms also extended to the economic situation.
A user shared data from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL) regarding the outlook for the Cuban economy. The agency projects a 10.3% contraction in Cuba's GDP for 2026.
Another commentator reacted to the historical evocation with a critical assessment: "The sad thing is that the bright future that Alicia envisioned never arrived; the new government was worse than Batista's."
This is not the first time that a publication by Morales Ojeda, meant to exalt an official episode or message, has ended up becoming a space for questioning.
At the beginning of September, your message about the start of the school year also received numerous comments from Cubans who confronted the official narrative with the difficulties they face daily on the island.
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