"It's about freedom": Cuban-Americans underscore scarcity doesn't explain protests

By Carmen Sesin - NBC News

MIAMI.– Now that Cubans are taking to the streets to protest in numbers not seen since before the 1959 Revolution, Cuban-Americans are challenging the view that the demonstrations are simply out of economic frustration.

While Cubans have voiced anger over food and medicine shortages, rising inflation, and power outages, made worse by the challenges of COVID-19, many of the chants across the island

call for political change

and include expressions such as "freedom", "we want change" and "down with the dictatorship."

Many Cuban-Americans say that should not be overlooked.

"For the first time in 62 years, they are risking their lives from one end of the island to the other to hold the regime accountable," said Carmen Peláez, a Cuban-American filmmaker and Democratic political consultant.

"I'm against the embargo. But it's not about the embargo right now. That's not what this fight is about."

Activists register more than 400 detainees after the July 11 protests in Cuba

July 16, 202 101: 58

In the United States, Cuban-Americans take different positions on US-Cuban relations, some of which align along partisan lines.

But while conservatives and Republicans are known for a tougher stance against Cuba, some progressives have denounced the Cuban government's tough stance against activists' calls for greater freedom of expression.

Many Cuban-Americans have grown up hearing calls for "freedom" for Cuba on the streets of Miami and other US cities, but it is rarely heard in Cuba.

Some Cuban-Americans have said that it

has been exciting to hear the word cried out by so many on the island.

["There is a lot of pressure so that we do not tell what is happening": the Cuban regime turns off the internet in an attempt to silence citizens]

“Putting political differences aside, Cuban-Americans totally agree and understand that these protests are not due to the embargo or even food shortages.

It's opposition to the regime, ”said Giancarlo Sopo, a conservative media strategist.

“It doesn't matter if you are a Republican or a Democrat.

We all recognize what these protests are about, "said Sopo, as the chants call for" freedom. "

Cuba has been run by a communist government, with strong control over society, for more than six decades.

Although the Government has received praise for its ability to provide primary care to its population, it also

determines many aspects of people's lives, including wages, food prices and the Internet,

as well as their freedom of assembly, expression and freedom. the possibility of electing a president who does not belong to the Communist Party of Cuba.

After the protests, the Government of Cuba announced that it

would temporarily lift restrictions on the amount of personal hygiene items, food and medicine that Cuban citizens can take home when traveling abroad,

but for many protesters on the island it is a minimal concession compared to your demands, disconnected from your basic needs.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel took some of the blame for the recent protests, saying that government failures played a role, though he

still says the United States is primarily to blame.

People hold Cuban flags in support of Cubans demonstrating against their government in Hialeah, Florida on Thursday.Eva Marie Uzcategui / AFP via Getty Images

Before the protests began on Sunday, public demonstrations of dissent had increased in recent months.

In November, the authorities broke up a hunger strike by members of the San Isidro Movement, a collective of artists, prompting

a rare protest by hundreds of artists and activists in front of the Ministry of Culture.

Those who protested formed another group, called 27N.

The leader of the San Isidro Movement, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, went on a hunger strike in May and was forcibly taken to hospital on the seventh day, which caught the world's attention and was condemned internationally.

Now, following the protests, the government faces more scrutiny for shutting down social media and messaging apps.

The person in charge of human rights at the United Nations, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, on Friday urged the Cuban government to address protesters' complaints and called for the prompt release of all detainees.

"I am very concerned about the alleged

use of excessive force against protesters in Cuba and the arrest of large numbers of people, including several journalists,

" Bachelet said in a statement.

"It is particularly worrying that people allegedly held incommunicado and people whose whereabouts are unknown are included."

Congressmen Demand Biden To Use US Capability To Reestablish Internet In Cuba

July 16, 202103: 03

The streets of the capital, Havana, have been quiet in recent days, but

a strong police presence remains

.

Since Sunday's protests, 55 of the 383 people who were detained across the country have been released, according to Cubalex, a US-based human rights group.

The words "Cuba Libre" were painted in large letters on the street in

front of the Cuban embassy in Washington DC

on Friday.

For the Cuban government, the challenge will be to manage the acute economic crisis and pandemic, while addressing human rights concerns and growing demands for "freedom" on the island and abroad.