Hundreds of protesters took to the streets Sunday in Cuba’s second-largest city, Santiago, demanding food and power amid a worsening economic crisis that has left many everyday Cubans with scarce amounts of each.
In widely circulated videos on social media, Cubans in Santiago, in the east, can be heard chanting, “We are hungry,” as well as calling for electricity and food. Some residents have experienced power outages for 18 hours a day or more.
While there have been occasional outbreaks of protests in the past few years, they are still rare on the tightly controlled, communist-run island.
Videos circulated on social media also show protests in Bayamo, another city in the east.
Cuba has been grappling with a severe economic crisis with shortages in food, medicine, fuel and power. Inflation has risen sharply, making many products unaffordable for Cubans who depend on an average monthly state salary of $16.
Cuba has been under punishing U.S. sanctions for decades, which the Cuban government largely blames for their economic woes. The country’s Soviet-style, centrally planned economy has also affected Cuba’s economy negatively, according to economists.
Following the protests, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel posted on X that “mediocre politicians and terrorists on social media” got together in South Florida to try to fire up the streets.
The U.S. Embassy in Havana posted on X that it was aware of the peaceful protests in Santiago, Bayamo, Granma and elsewhere and urged Cuba’s government “to respect the human rights of the protestors and address the legitimate needs of the Cuban people.”
Cuba’s foreign minister, Bruno Rodriguez, responded, saying the “US government, particularly its embassy in #Cuba, should abstain from interfering in the internal affairs of our country and inciting social unrest.”
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