03/15/2026

Samuel Clifford

What Is Happening?

Cuba has recently experienced a wave of protests across the island as citizens express frustration over the continual worsening of their living conditions. Demonstrations have occurred in several towns and cities, including Havana and Morón, where protesters attacked and set fire to parts of a local Communist Party office during a rare riot. Many of the protests occur at night, when residents bang pots and pans from their homes or gather in the streets to protest widespread power outages and shortages of food and medicine. In some cases, the unrest has led to arrests and clashes with authorities, as the Cuban government traditionally restricts public demonstrations. The protests are particularly notable because open dissent is uncommon in Cuba’s tightly controlled political system, where the Communist Party maintains firm control over political expression. The unrest has included student demonstrations, such as a sit-in at the University of Havana over the energy crisis disrupting classes, and increasingly bold public acts of frustration as the country faces deep economic and infrastructure problems.

Location of Havana and Morón:

Why Is This Happening?

The protests are largely driven by Cuba’s severe economic crisis and shortages of essential resources. A major cause is the country’s ongoing energy crisis, which has led to frequent blackouts that sometimes last more than 15 hours, leaving homes without electricity and disrupting hospitals, schools, and transportation systems. Fuel shortages have also limited the harvesting of crops, garbage collection, and public services, causing food scarcity and deteriorating living conditions. The Cuban government blames these problems partly on U.S. economic sanctions and an oil blockade that have restricted fuel deliveries to the island, while critics argue that decades of economic mismanagement and aging infrastructure have worsened the crisis. Rising inflation, shortages of medicine, and restrictions on political expression have further fueled public frustration. These factors together have created one of the most serious economic and social crises in Cuba since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, prompting thousands of complaints and protests across the country in recent years.  

What May Be The Outcome?

The outcome of the protests remains uncertain, but several possibilities exist. The Cuban government has historically responded to demonstrations with arrests, internet shutdowns, and police deployments, and similar crackdowns are already occurring in response to the recent unrest. At the same time, growing public dissatisfaction may pressure the government to implement economic reforms or negotiate changes with foreign partners in order to alleviate the fuel and food shortages. Some reports suggest that Cuban authorities have begun limited talks with the United States and have signaled potential economic adjustments, such as allowing more investment from Cuban expatriates. However, fear of imprisonment and past repression may prevent the protests from developing into a large-scale nationwide uprising. In the short term, the protests are likely to continue as long as shortages and blackouts persist, meaning Cuba could face prolonged instability while its leaders attempt to stabilize the economy and maintain political control.  

Previous Protests In Cuba:

This is not the first time protests have erupted in Cuba over living conditions. In March of 2024, protests broke out in several cities in Cuba, especially in Santiago de Cuba, as citizens demonstrated against severe food shortages, frequent power outages, and the worsening economic crisis. Hundreds of people took to the streets chanting for “power and food,” reflecting frustration with blackouts that sometimes lasted many hours each day and made it difficult to store food or maintain normal daily life. The government responded by calling for calm, promising to address shortages, and restricting mobile internet access in some areas while security forces monitored and detained some protesters. However, the continuing conditions seen today and the continual protests seem to indicate that the government failed to keep its promises.

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