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Cuban dissident movement

The Cuban dissident movement, also known as the Cuban democracy movement or simply the Cuban opposition, is a political movement in Cuba whose for aim is to start a democratic transition in Cuba. It differs from the early opposition to Fidel Castro which occurred from 1959 to 1968, and instead consists of the internal opposition movement birthed by the founding of the Cuban Committee for Human Rights in 1976. This opposition later became an active social movement during the Special Period in the 1990s, as various civic organizations began jointly calling for a democratic transition in Cuba. The movement is made up of various actors, from conservative democrats who favor free market economics to left-leaning social democrats and democratic socialists. All activists typically agree on the need for expanding democratic rights, and some level of legal free enterprise.

Background
Democratic decline Soon after the Cuban Revolution in 1959, Fidel Castro announced in a speech given on April 9, 1959, that the elections which were promised to occur after the revolution were to be delayed. On May Day, 1960, Fidel Castro would outright condemn elections as corrupt, and cancel all future elections. In the beginning of 1959, Cuban printers unions began demanding that newspapers which were critical of the government add a "coletilla" ("clarification") next to articles that rebuked critical comments in the articles. By the end of 1960, according to political scientist Paul H. Lewis, all opposition newspapers had been closed down and all radio and television stations were under state control. Homosexuals as well as other "deviant" groups who were excluded from military conscription, were forced to conduct their compulsory military service in work camps called "Military Units to Aid Production" in the 1960s, and were subjected to political "reeducation". The military of Cuba is a central organization; it controls 60 percent of the economy and is Raúl Castro's base. == History ==
History
Old opposition Emergence While an anti-Castro opposition had existed since 1959, it concluded around 1968, with the total consolidation of political authority by Fidel Castro. The rise of a human rights focused opposition within Cuba occurred later with the founding of the Cuban Commission for Human Rights in 1976. Black Spring against the "Black Spring" crackdown During the "Black Spring" in 2003, the regime imprisoned 75 dissidents, including 29 journalists. with major protests taking place on 17-18 March and 18-22 October. On 3 January 2026, the United States kidnapped Nicolás Maduro, President of Cuban ally Venezuela since 2013 and successor to Hugo Chávez, and enforced a blockade on Cuba the following month, leading to the start of a fuel shortage and economic crisis. As of March 2026, protests have resumed on the island, but have been primarily aimed at the power outages and diminishing quality of life since the beginning of the crisis. In the meantime, opposition leader Ferrer was exiled from the Cuban prison to the United States on 13 October 2025, following a brief release from prison on 16 January and rearrest on 29 April. == Dissidents ==
Dissidents
Independent bloggers The Foreign Policy magazine named Yoani Sánchez one of the 10 Most Influential Intellectuals of Latin America, the only woman on the list. • Félix Navarro Rodríguez, one of the prisoners of the Black Spring, arrested multiple times. • Oswaldo Payá, considered dissident leader until his death in 2012, former chairman of the Christian Liberation Movement. • Rosa Maria Payá, daughter of Oswaldo Payá, chairman of the Christian Liberation Movement. • José Daniel Ferrer, considered dissident leader since 2012, chairman of the Patriotic Union of Cuba. • Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, known performance artist and dissident • Canek Sánchez Guevara, grandson of Che Guevara. • Jorge Mas Canosa (1939–1997), founder of the Cuban American National FoundationJesús Permuy, human rights activist, founder of the Human Rights Center of Miami • Gorki Águila, musician • Guillermo FariñasOrlando Zapata Tamayo, activist • Pedro Luis Boitel, poet who died on a hunger strike • Berta Soler, leader of Ladies in WhiteÓscar Elías BiscetRaúl RiveroFélix BonneRené Gómez ManzanoMarta Beatriz RoqueVladimiro Roca Political organizations There are a number of opposition parties and groups that campaign for political change in Cuba. Though amendments to the Cuban Constitution of 1992 decriminalized the right to form political parties other than the Communist Party of Cuba, these parties are not permitted to engage in public political activities on the island. • Center for a Free Cuba, based in the United States and supported by the US government. • Christian Liberation Movement, a movement and group of Catholics that was founded by Oswaldo Payá. They are notable for starting the Varela Project. • Cuban Democratic Directorate, a non-governmental organization aligned with the Centrist Democrat International and International Democratic Union. • Ladies in White received the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought from the European Parliament in 2005. • Lawton Foundation, an organization to promote the "study, defense, and denunciation of human rights inside Cuba". The group was formed by Oscar Elías Biscet. • Patriotic Union of Cuba – Founded by José Daniel Ferrer, a former member of the Christian Liberation Movement, it has defined itself as a civic organization that advocates for a peaceful but firm fight against any repression of civil liberties in the Republic of Cuba. • Rosa Parks Feminist Movement for Civil RightsSan Isidro Movement, a group of writers, artists, academics and journalists protesting restriction on freedom of expression, beginning in 2018. • Yo No Coopero Con La Dictadura (), a civil resistance organization. • Assembly of the Cuban Resistance ==Hunger strikes==
Hunger strikes
, a poet who died on hunger strike On 3 April 1972, Pedro Luis Boitel, an imprisoned poet and dissident, declared himself on hunger strike. After 53 days on hunger strike without receiving medical assistance and receiving only liquids, he died of starvation on 25 May 1972. His last days were related by his close friend, poet Armando Valladares. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the Cólon Cemetery in Havana. Guillermo Fariñas did a seven-month hunger strike to protest against the extensive Internet censorship in Cuba. He ended it in autumn 2006 with severe health problems, although still conscious. Reporters Without Borders awarded its cyber-freedom prize to Fariñas in 2006. Jorge Luis García Pérez (known as Antúnez) has done hunger strikes. In 2009, following the end of his 17-year imprisonment, Antúnez, his wife Iris, and Diosiris Santana Pérez started a hunger strike to support other political prisoners. Leaders from Uruguay, Costa Rica, and Argentina declared their support for Antúnez. Orlando Zapata Tamayo, an imprisoned activist and dissident, died while on a hunger strike for more than 80 days. Zapata went on the strike in protest against the Cuban government for having denied him the choice of wearing white dissident clothes instead of the designated prisoner uniform, as well as denouncing the living conditions of other prisoners. As part of his claim, Zapata was asking for the prisoners conditions to be comparable to those that Fidel Castro had while incarcerated after his 1953 attack against the Moncada Barracks. In 2012, Wilmar Villar Mendoza died after a 50+ day hunger strike. == Funding ==
Funding
Cuban dissident groups have received millions in funding from the USA government and are considered by the Cuban government to be part of the United States strategy for Cuba to destabilize the country. Vice Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio told Reuters in 2022:"In any nation, [having people who act as foreign government agents] is illegal, That is precisely what the United States is trying to promote in Cuba today . [The U.S.A is] depressing the standard of living of the population and at the same time pouring millions of US taxpayer dollars into urging people to act against the [Cuban] government," ==See also==
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