*By Jaime Suchlicki
Cuba’s new penal code introduced in the island this December, increased to 24 violations sanctioned with the death penalty to 24. The harsh new penal code follows the growth of opposition in Cuba and the massive demonstrations in July of last year. The Cuban regime fears a repetition of these demonstrations and is clamping down on the population in an attempt to solidify the regime and prevent new popular challenges.
Article 120-1 of the new penal code increases to several years in jail the penalty for any demonstrations against the government. It also penalizes with up to 10 years in jail accepting financial contributions from foreign governments, organizations or individuals.
This policy of fear introduced by the Cuban dictatorship hopes to cool down the popular opposition and the growing desire for change. A new generation born during the revolutionary period wants freedom and change. The Cubans are living under an era similar to the one experienced by East Europeans in the 1990s. That era led to the collapse of numerous communist regimes. Perhaps now is Cuba’s time.
| * Jaime Suchlicki is Director of the Cuban Studies Institute, CSI, a non-profit research group in Coral Gables, FL. He is the author of Cuba: From Columbus to Castro & Beyond, now in its 5th edition; Mexico: From Montezuma to the Rise of the PAN, 2nd edition, and Breve Historia de Cuba. * This report was previously published by the Latin America Advisor, Inter- American Dialogue, on December 20, 2022. |
