A Historic Cuban Uprising Against Communism: Thousands in the Streets Chanting Libertad
Enjoying this? Share it with someone who needs to see it.
Up Next
Cuban Exiles in Miami Share Their Stories of Loss and Survival Under Socialism
3:18
Charlie Kirk on How He Knew Erika Was the One and Dating Advice for Young Women
2:29
Charlie Kirk Dismantles Libertarian Socialist Arguments on Property Rights and Economic Systems at Campus Event
5:38
A Historic Cuban Uprising Against Communism: Thousands in the Streets Chanting Libertad
The July 11, 2021 Cuban protests, the largest anti-government demonstrations the island had seen since the 1994 Maleconazo, framing them as a popular uprising against communist failure. Thousands of Cubans took to the streets across more than forty cities, chanting Libertad and Abajo la dictadura as years of economic collapse, food and medicine shortages, rolling blackouts, and the government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the population past a breaking point. The collapse of tourism during the pandemic combined with tightened US sanctions had devastated the economy, leaving Cubans waiting hours in line for basic necessities and facing pharmacy shelves stripped bare. The communist government's response was swift and severe: President Miguel Díaz-Canel deployed riot police and state-sanctioned rapid-reaction brigades, the state telecommunications monopoly cut off internet and messaging services to suppress the spread of footage and information.
On July 11, 2021, thousands of Cubans took to the streets in over forty cities across the island in what became the largest anti-government demonstrations since the 1994 Maleconazo — and a moment with no real parallel since the 1959 revolution. The protests were spontaneous and nationwide, with demonstrators chanting Libertad — Liberty — and Abajo la dictadura — Down with the dictatorship. Charlie Kirk covered the events two days later, on July 13, treating them as a vindication of his long-standing arguments against socialism and communism as governing systems.
What Drove People Into the Streets
The immediate causes were economic and humanitarian. Cuba's tourism industry, a critical source of hard currency, had collapsed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tightened US sanctions compounded the pressure on an already fragile economy. The result was a cascading crisis: severe shortages of food and medicine, hours-long lines for basic necessities, pharmacy shelves that remained empty for days at a time, rolling power blackouts, and a healthcare system pushed to the brink by a surge in COVID-19 infections. For many Cubans, the protests were not a political statement so much as an expression of desperation that had built over months and finally found a public outlet.
The Government's Response
President Miguel Díaz-Canel moved quickly to suppress the demonstrations. Riot police and state-sanctioned rapid-reaction brigades — civilian militias loyal to the Communist Party — were deployed against protesters. The state-run telecommunications monopoly, Etecsa, cut off internet and mobile messaging services across the island to prevent footage of the protests from spreading on social media and to disrupt coordination among demonstrators. Hundreds of people were arrested and detained in the days following July 11, and exile human rights organizations later documented that many received lengthy prison sentences.
Kirk's Framing: Communism's Failure on Display
Kirk presents the Cuban uprising as exactly the kind of moment he argues Western audiences are not shown enough — people living under communism risking arrest and violence to publicly demand freedom, not because of outside provocation but because the system they live under has failed to provide basic necessities. His title for the video — Amazing: Cubans Are Rising Up Against Communism — reflects the tone of his coverage: enthusiasm at the sight of a communist government being publicly challenged by its own population, and an implicit argument directed at American audiences about what socialism produces when it is taken to its conclusion.
Lasting Impact
The July 11 protests did not produce political change in Cuba. The Communist Party retained control, the arrested protesters faced prosecution, and the economic conditions that drove people into the streets did not meaningfully improve. In the years that followed, the island experienced further localized protests, continued energy crises, and ongoing crackdowns on public dissent. The demonstrations remain the most significant popular challenge to the Cuban government in a generation — and for Kirk, a reference point in his broader argument against socialist and communist governance.
Video Transcript
0:00
[Música]
0:08
8 seconds
cualquiera rural
0:09
9 seconds
[Aplausos]
0:15
15 seconds
hay una poesía o si las miras en forma
0:25
25 seconds
y eso no me gusta ry esto pueda definir qué pasa aquí acá
0:32
32 seconds
no hay pocas que una vez nos dice
0:35
35 seconds
[Música]
0:36
36 seconds
a la policía
0:43
43 seconds
[Aplausos]
0:45
45 seconds
o no un animal
0:56
56 seconds
o no mire
1:06
1 minute, 6 seconds
[Aplausos]
1:40
1 minute, 40 seconds
no no no no
1:48
1 minute, 48 seconds
[Aplausos]
1:53
1 minute, 53 seconds
mira atrás pero necesarias para ti de gobierno
2:07
2 minutes, 7 seconds
la gente por qué
2:24
2 minutes, 24 seconds
[Música]
2:32
2 minutes, 32 seconds
[Aplausos]
2:36
2 minutes, 36 seconds
[Música]
2:46
2 minutes, 46 seconds
y está bien y
2:53
2 minutes, 53 seconds
para mí
3:03
3 minutes, 3 seconds
[Música]
3:04
3 minutes, 4 seconds
[Aplausos]
3:41
3 minutes, 41 seconds
[Aplausos]
3:55
3 minutes, 55 seconds
o no
4:06
4 minutes, 6 seconds
ya sabes con eso
4:10
4 minutes, 10 seconds
[Música]
4:21
4 minutes, 21 seconds
[Música]
4:23
4 minutes, 23 seconds
[Aplausos]
4:31
4 minutes, 31 seconds
[Música]
4:33
4 minutes, 33 seconds
[Aplausos]
4:37
4 minutes, 37 seconds
eibar y desastre licor de bandera en siguió con impulso like this video visiones él es grande o youtube ya no
