“We will become a people of migrants and prisoners. But, at least, we can no longer say that the Cubans have done nothing to free themselves from this regime. “ With quavering voice and damp eyes, Lucia (the name has been changed), 29-year-old artistic producer, chains cigarettes nervously on her terrace in the Vedado district of Havana, in the muggy and overwhelming heat of this Monday, July 19. . For days, in the Cuban capital, opponents of the regime have been living with fear in their stomachs.
The unprecedented demonstrations of Sunday, July 11, which saw thousands of people spontaneously leave the streets of the island to the cry of ” We are hungry “ and “Down with the dictatorship”, were followed by a wave of repression. If the communist president, Miguel Diaz-Canel, recognized a death and dozens of wounded among the demonstrators, the human rights NGO Cubalex for its part recorded more than 600 arrests and disappearances, during the protests. then the following days, the police going to their homes to look for suspected dissidents.
Many have since been released. But others remain imprisoned, such as the 33-year-old protest artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara, leader of the San Isidro movement – a group of artists mobilized for three years against Decree 349, which requires them to obtain permission from the government to perform on stage or sell their works. How many others, anonymous, are still in prison? The authorities refuse to say so.
“Because I’m talking with you here, telling you what I think, the police can come and get me. But it doesn’t matter if I’m afraid: the country must change, says Lucia. For the first time on Sunday, we realized that there are not just a few of us who think differently. There is no reversing possible. The whole people are fed up. Its misery is the product of a failed system. Cuba is a country of pain. Everyone can now see the true face of this dictatorship. “
Summary trials
On July 20, the first summary trials began, with more than a dozen demonstrators sentenced to one year in prison for public disorder or disobedience. Among them, 25-year-old filmmaker Anyelo Troya, co-director of the music video for the Cuban rap song Patria y Vida, became an anthem against the regime, taken up in chorus by the demonstrators. He was accused of having wanted to film the demonstration with his cell phone.
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