Cuba sees surge in protests five years after 2021 social unrest

Five years after the July 11, 2021 nationwide protests, Cuba has experienced a marked increase in public dissent. Sociologist Cecilia Bobes reports at least 342 protest incidents recorded in 2026, more than the total from the previous three years combined. Demonstrations, often sparked by service shortages, have become increasingly politicised, featuring slogans accusing the regime and targeting officials.

Key recent actions include a university‑wide mobilisation against the state telecom monopoly ETECSA and a violent confrontation in Morón, where protesters entered and partially looted a party headquarters and set fires. Bobes’ study links the rise in protests to a series of socioeconomic stresses since 2013, such as economic reforms, intensified U.S. sanctions, the pandemic, and rising prices, noting a jump from one or two incidents a year before 2019 to around twenty annually by 2020.

The research also highlights the emergence of organised student opposition and the growing use of public spaces for political expression, signalling a shift from spontaneous street protests to more structured, though still leaderless, collective action.