Cuba suspends May Day parade in Revolution Square
HAVANA, Apr. 25th The Cuban government suspended the traditional May Day mobilization in the country, including the parade in the Plaza de la Revolución in Havana, and announced this Tuesday that acts will be held in communities and workplaces instead.
This sudden decision is due to “the complex economic situation that the country is going through and in particular the limitations with the insurance of fuel,” the General Secretary of the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba (CTC), Ulises Guilarte de Birth.
The worsening of the energy crisis in Cuba, according to the official, “has led us to reformulate the initial conception for the celebration of International Workers’ Day on May Day.”
He said that under the “maximum austerity,” it was approved to promote “a day of celebrations”, which began this Monday, to make up for the traditional great mobilization that the regime usually carries out to date.
He specified that “there will be no parade in the Plaza de Revolución,” and instead “an act will be held on the Havana Malecón,” to which only residents of the four central municipalities of the capital who can move on foot are invited: La Old Havana, Centro Habana, Playa and Plaza as headquarters.
That day, in the rest of the country, events will be held in “emblematic places” of municipalities, communities, bateyes, labor and student centers, he explained.
The fuel crisis in Cuba has forced the regime to suspend and/or ration sales at gas stations, to resume remote work and to suspend face-to-face classes at various universities.
The Villa Clara University of Medical Sciences was the first to announce the measure last Saturday, but other educational centers followed, such as the Agrarian University of Havana, the University of Holguín and the Cienfuegos University of Medical Sciences.
Cultural activities, such as the National Symphony concert, scheduled for last Sunday, were also suspended for the same reason.
However, the Cubans believed that the regime would maintain the traditional parade at any cost, since it constitutes one of the few moments in the year to boast of “popular support”, despite the fact that many workers denounce workplace harassment to force them to attend.
In 2020 Cuba suspended the event for the first time since 1959 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
