According to social media and official reports, hundreds of people in Santiago, Cuba's second-largest city, protested publicly on Sunday, prompting Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel to call for dialogue in an "atmosphere of tranquility and peace."
Protesters chanted "power and food," as shown in footage shared on social media, while several regions on the island experienced blackouts lasting up to 18 hours per day.
Cubans Protest Over Blackouts, Hunger
The Communist-run Caribbean island has seen a sharp increase in tension in recent weeks, along with worsening shortages of food, gasoline, and medical supplies.
Diaz-Canel confirmed the demonstration on X, formerly Twitter, and said several people had expressed dissatisfaction with the electrical service and food distribution situation.
He continued that the disposition of the party, the state, and the government authorities is to attend to their people's complaints, listen, dialogue, and explain the numerous efforts to improve the situation, always in an atmosphere of tranquility and peace.
He also said that American "terrorists" were attempting to incite other riots, and this context would be taken advantage of by the enemies of the revolution for destabilizing purposes.
According to a social media post by the government-run CubaDebate, authorities had come to Santiago to "avoid violence."
Although extremely unusual, protests have become increasingly frequent on the island in recent years due to the economic crisis.
Cubans have the right to protest under the 2019 constitution, but the legislature is now debating a bill to clarify this right in more detail.
The United States, the European Union, and rights organizations have criticized Cuba's handling of the July 11, 2021, protests, which were the largest since Fidel Castro's revolution in 1959, as oppressive and heavy-handed.
Cuban authorities said the inmates had committed assault, vandalism, and sedition.
Cuba Seeks UN Food Aid
The well-known Brazilian liberation theologian Frei Betto expressed grave concerns about Cuba's current economic state following a recent visit to Diaz-Canel in Havana.
Betto is employed by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), and the recent announcement that the government in Havana, led by the Communist Party, was requesting food assistance from WFP.
WFP has operated in Cuba since 1963, but Havana has only asked it to provide food in the wake of natural disasters like hurricanes.
According to the WFP, Havana issued an unprecedented appeal for food assistance at the end of 2023, and the Program has already started sending skim milk powder to Cuba.
In a report published last week by the Spanish news agency EFE, 144 tons were shipped out, or roughly 7% of the nation's monthly requirement of 2,000 tons.
The Cuban government usually provides a monthly quota of significantly subsidized milk to children and others with chronic illnesses requiring special diets.
Furthermore, additional necessities, including rice, beans, cooking oil, and chicken meat, are distributed to the underprivileged through a state-run program, Libreta, which costs the government over $1.6 billion annually.
However, recent problems in the milk supply provided by the state have resulted in distribution delays and complications.
Some provinces have reduced delivery, while others have switched to instant soda with added vitamins or syrup instead of milk.
