The Cuban historian and philosopher Alina Bárbara López Hernández published a post on Facebook where she reaffirms her commitment to the monthly peaceful protest held on the 18th and anticipates that she will be detained this Sunday when she attempts to exercise that right in Matanzas.
In the post shared on Saturday, López Hernández defends the legitimacy of his action and frames it within the Cuban Constitution itself: "Since March 18, 2023, I have used this means to express my discontent. By doing so, I exercise the right to peaceful demonstration that is enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba."
The activist has been protesting individually every 18th of the month at the Parque de la Libertad in Matanzas for over three years now. This initiative began in 2023, coinciding with the centenary of the historic "Protest of the Thirteen," when the poet Rubén Martínez Villena and other Cuban intellectuals interrupted an official event to denounce the corruption of the government at that time.
In his text, López Hernández dismantles the accusation of "illegal propaganda against the constitutional order" that the regime uses to justify its repression: "It is not propaganda. Propaganda is what the Party and the State use to cover up their lack of social support and the general crisis that we are suffering."
He goes further and openly declares his position: "I want to clarify, in case there is any doubt, that I openly oppose a constitutional order that only recognizes the power of the State and not the rights of the citizens."
The activist accurately predicts what she expects to happen when she goes out to protest this Sunday: "Surely when they arrest me tomorrow, they won't even mention what I'm expressing. They lack the courage for that. Or ethics. They'll revert to the old routine of a warning citation because I violated the house arrest from a fake judicial ruling that they don't dare to pursue to its fullest extent."
This precautionary house arrest has been in effect since June 18, 2024, in the context of the so-called "case 40," a criminal process shared with sociologist Jenny Pantoja Torres. The Prosecutor's Office is requesting four years in prison for López Hernández on charges of assault, contempt, and disobedience. The trial, scheduled for January 30, 2026, was suspended by Judge Ysenia Rodríguez Vázquez without a new date being announced.
That indefinite suspension has turned the precautionary measure into a tool of permanent control. So far this year, the activist has been detained at least five times while trying to carry out her monthly protest.
López Hernández describes herself in the text as "a citizen and intellectual who understands that passivity and obedience have led us to our current situation," and she clarifies that she does not belong to any political party or organization.
The post concludes with a brief and powerful statement — "Tomorrow is the 18th" — followed by its usual slogans: "Freedom for our compatriots imprisoned for political reasons. Freedom and social justice for all Cubans."
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