Legal Expert Claims Cubans Face Fewer Freedoms Now Than During Moncada Era

As the 73rd anniversary of the Moncada Barracks assault approaches, Cuban legal scholar René Fidel González García took to Facebook this past Saturday to share a powerful reflection. He boldly asserted that the Cuban populace today experiences fewer political rights and freedoms than they did in 1953 under Fulgencio Batista's dictatorship.

"On the eve of commemorating the assaults on the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes barracks in 1953, it is evident that we possess fewer political rights and freedoms in Cuba today than the Cubans of that era," wrote the Doctor of Legal Sciences and former professor at the University of Oriente in Santiago de Cuba.

A Broader Perspective on Cuba's Current Challenges

González García went beyond merely comparing freedoms, extending his critique to encompass economic and social dimensions. He highlighted that the social and economic issues that once shattered the dreams and happiness of people in both urban and rural settings have not only persisted but have intensified and expanded. These problems, he noted, are now evolving within a process of decline affecting Cuban society as a whole, along with its cultures and worldviews.

The jurist described this mutation as an opportunity exploited by a ruling elite: "a minority—and their minions and proxies—benefiting from privilege, despotism, arbitrariness, and the manipulation of public institutions to achieve their goals."

The End of an Era and the Call for Political Equality

According to González García, the historical cycle initiated by the Moncada event is nearing its conclusion. He emphasized the importance of restoring political equality and ensuring that all citizens have access to the same rights, preventing their exclusive and arbitrary use from remaining a privilege of impunity, whim, and unchecked power, passed from one minority to another, even more mediocre and trivial.

Central to his argument is the concept of the "right to the future," which he describes as "perhaps the least known and among the most crucial" of the rights denied to Cubans. He characterizes this right as "inalienable, inherent, non-negotiable, universal, indivisible, and interdependent" with all other rights.

"We must reclaim and exercise the right to the future, and the only way to do so is through political action," he concluded.

Cuba's Current Turmoil and Repressive Context

This statement comes as the regime commemorates the Moncada anniversary in Pinar del Río under the slogan "My Moncada is the Homeland," amid widespread blackouts, shortages, and overall deterioration in the country. The repressive environment is equally severe: Prisoners Defenders documented 1,281 political prisoners as of the end of May 2026, while the Cuban Observatory for Human Rights recorded 332 repressive actions in that month alone, including 55 arbitrary detentions.

González García was dismissed from his position at the University of Oriente in November 2016 for publishing critical articles in independent media. The university justified his expulsion by claiming his writings "lacked scientific character" and "negatively influenced the comprehensive training of professionals."

In October 2025, he filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court against Miguel Díaz-Canel and Attorney General Yamila Peña Ojeda, alleging constitutional violations. On April 19, he had already warned that there are "more reasons than in 1953" for a radical change in Cuba, and on May 1, he stated that "it's not about the people who parade, but about the people who cannot protest."

"Cubans must begin to reclaim our right to the future, to determine our future, in front of everyone and everything," he wrote on Saturday, marking his most direct declaration to date.