2021 in communist Cuba was a year that saw inspiring and historic protests, but also one where the brutal and totalitarian nature of the Castro dictatorship manifested itself in ways never seen before.
Cuba 2021: a Tragic Year and an Uncertain Future
If the people who misgovern Cuba from the Plaza de la Revolucion were to sum up the year 2021, they might well use the phrase of Queen Elizabeth when she branded 1992 as annus horribilis because of a fire that destroyed much of Windsor Castle, its historical documents, tapestries, and valuable pieces of art.
It is impossible to analyze what happened in Cuba in 2021 without taking into account the following:
1. “The dog that did not bark.” Despite many predictions, Joe Biden did not ease the sanctions imposed on the Castroite regime by the previous administration. On the contrary, he branded Cuba’s rulers as “oppressors” because they pocket the remittances that Cuban Americans send to relatives on the island. The US president also announced he’s looking for ways to make sure the money reaches Cubans directly.
2. Tens of thousands of Cubans – men and women, whites and blacks, young and old – protested peacefully on July 11 on streets throughout the island. The streets are no longer only “just for revolutionaries,” in the shameful phrase of the late Fidel Castro. As the song Patria y Vida says, “Who told you that Cuba belongs to you? My Cuba belongs to everyone.”
3. As a result of the increased repression, many international organizations and democratic governments called on Havana to free all political prisoners. They include teenagers sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for daring to peacefully defend rights that appear in Cuba’s “socialist constitution.”
4. In the European Parliament, a resolution approved with an unprecedented 426 votes in favor and 146 against urging Cuba to “free all political prisoners, prisoners of conscience and people arbitrarily detained.” The resolution also calls on Europe to suspend all financial agreements with Cuba because it is not complying with a human rights clause that is an integral part of a cooperation agreement between the island and the European Union.
5. After 60 years in the catacombs, priests, nuns, and bishops came out publicly to defend the people. The bishops proposed an urgent national dialogue to seek solutions to the country’s moral, economic, and social crisis. And more than two dozen priests issued a widely distributed video urging police and soldiers to “not raise your hand against another Cuban.” That was in reply to the infamous order by President Diaz-Canel to his followers on July 11th to take to the streets and attack the peaceful protesters.
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