Current Affairs

Issue

Cuba is currently seeing massive anti-government protests in decades. The movement has turned into a problem for ruling party.

Background

Cuba is an authoritative state ruled by a single political party, the Cuban Communist Party. The country is already under US sanctions.

Details

• Such an intense protest is taking place after three decades. It has been fuelled by economic distress and government mismanagement during Covid-19 pandemic.

• The Cuban government has not imported any vaccines for inoculation. It has however tested its homegrown Soberna 2 vaccine.

• The vaccine will make Cuba the first Latin American country to have its own domestic vaccine. It has not been tested on newer variants.

• In the past few days cases of the infection have soared due to the new Delta strain. This has further aggravated the already degrading economic conditions.

• People have been forced to use white flags to seek financial help. The economic distress has been particularly high for tourism sector.

Situation in Cuba

• Cuba has been ruled by communist regime for more than half a century. Apart from the pandemic induced problems, US sanctions have put the country in peril.

• The growth of the country has fallen by more than 11 percent. There is shortage of food items such as rice in the country.

• Protestors are demanding for the resignation of President Miguel Diaz-Canel. They accuse the regime of failing to respond to people’s problems.

• The people are fed up with frequent power cuts. Private jobs such as taxis and hospitality sectors have suffered during past couple of years.

• The government has blamed US for backing the protests through social media and on-ground spies. It says that small protests are given high publicity.