14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 14 July 2021 — Despite government efforts to make people believe that the popular protests on Sunday, July 11, were organized from the United States and that they were only isolated incidents carried out by antisocial elements, most Cubans have a new perception about the prevailing level of disagreement with the government.
The images showing protesters in numerous cities shouting “we have no fear,” “we want a change” or the simple repetition of the word “freedom” made it clear to each individual that what they pondered and did not dare to say was not an extravagant personal thought but rather a shared feeling.
With the intention of discrediting the testimonies of what actually happened, the official media strive to give examples of the false news that some spread on the networks, but that only raises the suspicion that much of this fake news or hoaxes may have been manufactured precisely with the intention of affecting the credibility of what is disseminated on the networks.
It is enough to recall the time when State Security agent Carlos Serpa Maceira infiltrated the opposition behind the facade of an independent journalist who, at the time of his unmasking, appeared before the television cameras, calling Radio Martí by telephone to offer false information and thus “prove” that the independent journalists were lying.
It’s not just about what people have seen and shared on their Facebook accounts. What has more weight is the personal experience of having participated in a spontaneous demonstration, or at least having seen it from behind your window curtains. There are many who have a child, a relative, a friend, at least one acquaintance who shouted or who heard others shout.
This massive exit from the closets of fear will have consequences. The Cuban Foreign Minister may be able to say that on July 11 there was no social uprising, but what he cannot deny is that on that day an explosion in consciences was triggered: the awakening that occurs when it is discovered that it is possible to say aloud in the public square what until now could only be whispered into the ears of the most trusted friends.
Cuba changed and they know it.
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