First Secretary of the Party in Granma to Río Cauto Protesters: "My Children Also Go to School Without Sleep"

Yudelkis Ortiz Barceló, the first secretary of the Communist Party in Granma province, addressed the protesters in Río Cauto on Friday. These residents had gathered to demand the release of local mother Mayelín Carrasco Álvarez, who was detained for protesting in the town square. "My children also go to school without sleep," Ortiz Barceló declared to the frustrated crowd.

A video recorded by a local resident captured the official's attempt to downplay the situation, claiming that she and her family endure the same hardships as the rest of the community. Despite a heavy police presence, the sole legal party representative spoke to the crowd after the municipality demanded the release of the detained mother exercising her right to free speech and assembly.

"We are experiencing the same power shortages. My children go to school without sleeping because, in my area, the electricity goes out for the same number of hours," Ortiz Barceló stated condescendingly, urging resignation. She defended her role in the Party with a rhetoric of sacrifice: "We took on public service responsibilities not to live off them, but to die for them. Otherwise, we wouldn't have accepted them. I come from a humble, rural family, and my mother still lives in a very modest little house."

However, her most controversial remarks came as she warned the protesters that further expressions of discontent would not be tolerated. "Therefore, I cannot allow anyone here to express themselves or speak with those they don't know," she asserted, reiterating the argument that protests arise from external influences.

In an effort to quell the protest, the official attempted to persuade the crowd about existing legal mechanisms to express grievances. "Sometimes we have the right, because it's a constitutional right, to complain (...) What you don't know is that you are legally protected by the right to complain," she told those gathered.

The Rhetoric of Sacrifice and Censorship

Ortiz Barceló's statements are a typical strategy of the Cuban regime: appealing to collective sacrifice while justifying repression. Her claim of sharing the same difficulties with the protesters contrasts with her role in a system that punishes dissenters.

Previously, she had posted on social media that Carrasco Álvarez was "deeply regretful of her actions." Ortiz Barceló also claimed that the woman was manipulated by opposition figures and that her arrest resulted from her own actions.

The case of Mayelín Carrasco Álvarez, who remains detained after her peaceful protest, and the authorities' response in Río Cauto highlight the regime's true message: in Cuba, raising one's voice has consequences, and any sign of dissent will be silenced, even forcefully if necessary.

The contrast between the supposed "legal protection" Ortiz refers to and the reality of Mayelín's detention, public shaming, and portrayed repentance, reveals the regime's strategy to suppress any sign of social unrest.