The first national secretary of the Young Communist Union (UJC), Meyvis Estévez Echevarría, visited neighborhoods in Las Tunas to promote youth participation in the campaign "The size is to act," just a few months ahead of the 65th anniversary of the organization.
During the meeting with members of the Community Youth Network, Estévez called on students and workers to get involved in initiatives aimed at transforming their communities. The campaign launched on October 21 is part of the "Path to 25" process, which is focused on preparing for the celebration of the UJC anniversary on April 4, 2027.
"We are calling for participation, contribution, and transformation. This is precisely what we see here in Las Tunas, where young people from different sectors, students and workers, are getting involved to change realities," stated the leader, as reported this Friday by the digital portal Tiempo 21 of the provincial radio station Radio Victoria.
The slogan "Action is Creation" recalls the Martian principle that "the best way to express is to do" and aims to mobilize young people in schools, workplaces, communities, and digital spaces.
As part of the event, Estévez launched the Electro Joven project, a local initiative aimed at addressing the issues faced by families in vulnerable situations. Several young people also received a card certifying them as members of the organization.
The visit to Las Tunas takes place in a province that, in August, ranked alongside Guantánamo as one of the lowest in advancing the implementation of the Community Youth Network, while Granma and Cienfuegos led the results.
The network was introduced in April of this year as a "megaproject" of the UJC. At that time, official data indicated that it operated in 1,263 of the 1,410 popular councils in the country.
However, the leader Miguel Díaz-Canel acknowledged that and was primarily focused on middle school students.
Díaz-Canel's call to recruit young people for "higher purposes" comes at a time of deep generational disaffection; the UJC lost over 194,000 members between 2007 and 2024, decreasing from 609,000 to 415,000 affiliates, a 32% drop attributed to mass emigration and ideological disillusionment.
Independent surveys conducted this year indicate that 97.61% of Cubans aged 18 to 30 disapprove of the government's performance, and 93% state that they would emigrate if they could.
Mass emigration and ideological disillusionment are among the factors attributed to this decline. Researchers at the Demographic Studies Center of the University of Havana estimate that nearly 50% of the Cubans who emigrate are under 35 years old.
Related videos:
Filed under: