Cuba Protest 2021 – What Is The Real Reason Behind It – Free PDF Download

The News

The News

• July 2021 marked a critical moment for post-revolutionary Cuba. It saw an unprecedented outpouring of hundreds of Cubans on to the streets shouting slogans across 40 towns and cities.
• The Cubans were registering their protests against the communist government’s handling of the pandemic and some even asked for a change in regime.
• Cubans protesting chanted popular slogans including “Patria y Vida” (’Fatherland and Life’) inspired by by late President Fidel Castro — “Patria o Muerte” (’Fatherland or Death’), in response to the embargo imposed by the U.S.

 Where is Cuba?

Why the Protest?

• Immediate reasons:
  • Cuba saw, more than 24,000 COVID-19 cases and 200 plus deaths in the just five days in second week of July 2021.
  • Cuba is also mired in a severe crisis after its economy shrunk 11% following the pandemic.
  • Thousands of Cubans have been protesting food, vaccine and medicine shortages. Economy is reeling under high inflation, structural issues, like health care and poverty, and the extended electricity outages.

Irony Alert

• The protests came right after Cuban scientists announced development of two indigenous COVID-19 vaccines
  • Abdala
  • Soberana-2
• Soberana-2 registered more than 90% efficacy in phase-3 trials.
• Abdala had already been deployed for emergency use, but only 18% of the Cuban population has been vaccinated so far.

Government Excuse

• Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said, the U.S. “politics of economic asphyxiation” was having a “cumulative effect” on Cuba.
• Basically, Cuban government blames the economic crisis squarely on the decades-old S. trade embargo on Cuba, which was tightened by the Trump administration, as well as on the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Is it true?

• To some extent..!!
  • Covid-19 has impacted almost all the economies adversely and Cuba is no exception..!!
  • Cuba has been mired in a severe crisis after its economy shrunk 11% following the Covid pandemic.
  • The contraction in the economy was largely due to the collapse in the tourism sector due to travel restrictions last year. Cubans closed their borders for almost 8 months.

The Real Reasons

1. US Embargo

• United States embargo against Cuba prevents American businesses and businesses with commercial activities in the United States from conducting trade with Cuban interests.
• It was imposed after Cuban Revolution in 1960 that led to the deposition of the Batista regime. Cuban Communist government nationalized all American-owned Cuban oil refineries without compensation.
• The U.S. placed an embargo on exports to Cuba except for food and medicine.

2. Disintegration of USSR

• In 1970s & 80s there was little scarcity in Cuba, thanks to subsidies from the Soviet Union.
• After the collapse of the Soviet Union, subsidies dried up, and Cuba struggled with extreme deprivation and massive food shortages, its economy contracting by over 35 percent.

3. Failure to Adapt

• Cuba has failed to bring economic reforms post the integration of USSR.
• Cuba has not heeded the advice of China and Vietnam in adopting economic reforms.
• Since the 1990s, many opportunities have been lost to reform the economy. Even today, Cuba’s government owns and operates most industries, and most of the labor force is employed by the state.

4. Legitimacy of Leadership

The Real Reasons

What next?

• The Current Cuba’s government does not have the charisma or the historic legitimacy of the revolutionary figures of Fidel and Raúl Castro.
• The people today are protesting, Migel Diaz Canel needs to find legitimacy through his governments results.
• The best start would be to handle the Covid-19 situation effectively and bring Cuban economy back on positive track.

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