The countdown to the November 15 march in Cuba stresses social networks

The relative freedom offered by the Internet has led to the growing political polarization that Cuba is experiencing three days after the unauthorized dissident march of November 15 (15N) finds a space for expression and, increasingly, confrontation on the Internet.

The social network Facebook, the video portal Youtube and messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram They were already key in the gestation and dissemination of the protests of July 11, the largest in more than two decades, in which thousands of people came out to demand freedom and better living conditions.

But his role is now even more decisive. Monday’s march, having been announced in advance instead of being a spontaneous initiative, has allowed Cubans – on the island and abroad – to openly position themselves on the networks, a process in which tensions escalate as it approaches. the date.

“There is an increasingly pronounced polarization and aggressiveness in the networks”, He assures Ted Henken, university professor at Baruch College in New York and editor of the book “Cuba’s Digital Revolution”(The digital revolution of Cuba).

Cristina Venegas placeholder image, professor at the University of California-Santa Barbara and author of “Digital Dilemmas: The State, the Individual and Digital Culture in Cuba“(Digital Dilemmas: The State, the individual and digital culture in Cuba), goes further and speaks in statements to Efe of” an announced war. “

“As with everything related to Cuba, information about what is happening tends to be disseminated in a very partisan way.”, He assures.

Venegas sees from one side “a very strong American lobby“, Maybe”stronger than ever“, Hand in hand with exile and that”seize the moment”To put pressure on the Cuban government. On the other he places the authorities of the island, “reacting with harsh measures against the opposition“, Something he considers a”ill omen”In the face of the 15N initiative.

Henken believes that the tension in the networks is exclusively attributable to “the rigid and undemocratic stance of the Government” towards those who want to exercise their “most basic rights”, and affirms that only the pro-government side is “appealing to violence and repression ”.

“The government’s thing is to defame, sow hatred, violence and confusion using the networks, the same thing that it has been doing for decades with its use of a partisan monopoly of the mass media“Says Henken, who points out, instead, that activists”They are using the networks to communicate their vision of citizen rights and organizing so that there is a space for a civic and non-violent march”.

Internet and protests

The Internet began to spread through Cuba just a few years ago, with the thaw of relations between Washington and Havana during the Presidency of Barack Obama, and despite the limited implementation, its importance has not stopped growing, especially in the restricted political sphere of the island.

“The Cuban government and its citizens have become accustomed to using social media, and the government has been blocking access (to the internet) selectively for some time. It is clear that they are targeting both a global and open audience as well as a national one. But it is also evident since 11J that appealing to global audiences – especially private citizens – is key to creating support networks, alliances and strategies.”, Venegas explains.

Henken highlights the obvious “facilitating role”Of the networks in the 11J protests, as they showed“to the masses of users through direct broadcasts in widespread discontent“And encouraged many to”lose your fear of expressing yourself”. It also highlights the role of independent digital media, vis-à-vis the state press.

The comparison with the Arab Spring of a decade ago, where the riots were forged and spurred on from the Internet, can however lead to simplifications and misunderstandings, warns Venegas. In his opinion, and despite all the caveats, it is more interesting to investigate the campaigns against the Batista regime before the victory of the revolution in 1959 and the way in which they managed to attract the middle class.

For his part, Henken points out that dissent seems to be “winning“The struggle in the digital sphere, although he remembers that a”a large portion of the Cuban population is far from this area“And that the Cuban Government exercises control”almost total”About traditional media.

And according to this expert, although “everything is possible“In the current Cuban context with multiple interconnected crises, a revolt in the style of the Arab Spring”not likely”.