Rare protests erupt in Cuba over food shortages and blackouts

Rare mass protests have broken out in Cuba as citizens demand an end to widespread power cuts and shortages of food and medicine.

A group of women, some with children, launched the peaceful demonstration in the second city of Santiago. The crowd soon swelled, according to images on social media, and began chanting: “Food and electricity.”

Some are also reported to have shouted: “Freedom.” There were unconfirmed reports that the demonstrations then spread to other cities on the Caribbean island, including Bayamo, but not the capital, Havana.

Cuba has been undergoing a severe humanitarian crisis since the Covid-19 pandemic, triggered by the Communist regime’s inability to maintain a functioning economy and the loss of Russian aid, and aggravated by the longstanding US embargo.

An estimated 400,000 of Cuba’s 11.2 million population has since fled in a historic exodus, most of them for the United States.

In recent months, most of the country has experienced rolling power cuts, some lasting more than 18 hours a day, and Havana was forced to ask the United Nation’s World Food Programme for powdered milk for children under seven.

The Internet also appeared to go down in much of Cuba on Sunday evening, a sign, observers say, that the regime was trying to prevent the demonstrations spreading.

On paper, Cubans have the right to protest. But, in practice, anyone questioning the dictatorship is arrested and often given jail sentences on charges such as sedition and vandalism.

According to witnesses, the head of the local Communist Party, Beatriz Johnson visited the protest in Santiago, accompanied by unarmed police, and promised that March rations of rice and sugar would be arriving soon.

Cuba’s leader, Miguel Díaz-Canel, acknowledged the protests on X, formerly known as Twitter, posting late on Sunday: “Various people have expressed their disapproval of the situation with the electricity service and food distribution. In this context, the enemies of the revolution and destabilizers are trying to profit.”

In a separate post, an hour earlier, he had expressed his “sincere congratulations” to Vladimir Putin for his “reelection,” adding that it was “irrefutable proof” of Russians’ appreciation for his government.

Mr Díaz-Canel’s emollient tone towards the protesters may be a recognition of the pent-up anger and desperation triggered by the economic crisis – and an attempt to preempt larger, system-threatening mobilisations.

The US Embassy to Cuba also posted about the demonstrations on X, saying: “We urge the Cuban government to respect the human rights of the protesters and address the legitimate needs of the Cuban people.”