Testimonies gathered by ’14ymedio’ in several Havana neighborhoods demonstrate the low turnout at the tables where people could sign spontaneously
14ymedio, Havana, 26 April 2026 — The Observatory of Academic Freedom (OLA) denounced a “coercive pattern” in the island’s academic spaces to participate in the “process” called “My signature for the Fatherland,” initiated a week ago by President Miguel Díaz-Canel himself, with which the regime intends to counteract the pressures of the United States for a change in Cuba.
In a statement, the OLA reported that, “in Cuba, it is an institutionalized practice for political organizations to condition the permanence, evaluation and job stability of students and teaching staff in exchange for their participation in propaganda activities, in a flagrant distortion of the academic space.”
The NGO compiled a list of academic institutions where this modus operandi was replicated. It noted that at the Hermanos Saíz Montes de Oca University of Pinar del Río, a call was issued on April 19th for participants to “participate in an act of repudiation of the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States, and in favor of peace.” According to the Observatory, students and professors were instructed that, upon completion of the activity, each participant should “sign a form.”
According to the Observatory, students and teachers were instructed that, upon completion of the activity, each participant should “sign a form”
This event was repeated in other higher education institutions. In Havana, the Enrique José Varona University of Pedagogical Sciences published a post on its official Facebook page declaring that “Varona signs. On the 65th anniversary of the victory at Girón, we sign! In the centennial year of Fidel, we sign!”
Another similar case was reported at the Bauta Municipal University Center, which stated that its employees “demonstrated their loyalty to the nation.” On social media, it added that the signatures not only accompany a process, but also “show that universities are bastions of ideas, defense, and national dignity,” because “defending the nation also means teaching, serving, and signing when required.”
Other institutions, such as the Carlos Rafael Rodríguez school in Cienfuegos and the Oscar Lucero Moya school in Holguín, also joined the campaign, stating that their students and faculty participated in “support for the Revolutionary Government.”
During the closing of the V Patria Colloquium – an official world meeting of communicators in Havana, dedicated to the centenary of Fidel Castro’s birth – the head of the Ideological Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, Yuniasky Crespo, called for the collection of signatures in support of the Cuban Government.
The OLA emphasized that the Ministry of Higher Education and universities across the country have “echoed the campaign”
The OLA emphasized that the Ministry of Higher Education and universities across the country have “echoed the campaign.” It also stated that, although the ministry claims this is a “Cuban civil society initiative,” it was conceived within the PCC and launched at a political event.
“To understand why universities are required to participate in the collection of signatures, it is important to remember that their autonomy was abolished in 1962, with the Higher Education Reform Law, despite being an internationally recognized principle that allows higher education institutions to serve as spaces for critical thinking, free from external or internal ideological interference,” the OLA recalls.
The requirement to sign can be explained by the fact that, in many cities, there is little to no participation at the registration booths set up by the authorities. 14ymedio has gathered testimonies in several Havana neighborhoods that demonstrate the almost nonexistent turnout at the locations where people could sign more spontaneously.
State workers have also reported being coerced into signing , having received the order from the start of the campaign. “They didn’t set up signing points at workplaces, but rather at the library, the cultural center, and other locations. Now, companies are telling them they have to go there to sign,” an employee from the province of Sancti Spíritus, who preferred to remain anonymous, told 14ymedio last Monday.
“They set up points at the library, the cultural center, and other places; companies are already telling them they have to go there to sign up.”
Likewise, the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR) have mobilized to go house to house. “They came to my mother’s door, and she, being very old, signed. Who knows what they told her? I already told my husband not to even think about opening the door,” recounted a resident of Ciego de Ávila.
The woman compared it to what happened in 2002, following the Varela Project launched by Oswaldo Payá, when then-President Fidel Castro ordered the CDRs to force citizens to sign a “counter-project” that ended up crystallizing in the Constitution “the irrevocable and inviolable character of socialism,” which popular humor dubbed “constitutional mummification.”
The campaign comes at a time of crisis and criticism of the Díaz-Canel government, which is seeking to legitimize its continued rule. The fuel shortage has affected key sectors such as transportation, electricity generation, and water supply.
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