change, he noted, came in December 2018
when Cubans got access to mobile internet for
the first time via data plans purchased from
the state telecom monopoly. These days, more
than half of all Cubans have internet access,
Henken said.
Many Cubans now have real-time, anywhere-
you-are access to the internet and the ability
to share information among themselves,
he added. Since early 2019, this access has
facilitated regular, if smaller, events and protests
on the island. In response, the government has
periodically shut down access to social media,
mostly to hide its repressive tactics from both
citizens and foreigners, he said.
The Cuban government also restricts independent
media in Cuba and “routinely blocks access
within Cuba to many news websites and blogs,”
according to Human Rights Watch.
Cuba is going through its worst economic
crisis in decades, along with a resurgence of
coronavirus cases, as it suffers the consequences
of U.S. sanctions imposed by the Trump
administration. The protests now, the largest in
decades, are “absolutely and definitely fueled by
increased access to internet and smartphones
in Cuba,” said Sebastian Arcos, associate director
of the Cuban Research Institute at Florida
International University.
Social media posts from within and outside
of Cuba are “not the root causes of the
rebellion, but they are a factor in connecting
the desperation, disaffection that exists in the
island,” said Arturo López-Levy, an assistant
political science professor at Holy Names
University in California.