A year after protests, Cuba struggles to emerge from crisis

By ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ
Associated Press

HAVANA (AP) — A year after the largest protests in decades shook Cuba’s single-party government, hundreds of people who participated are in prison and the economic and political factors that caused the demonstrations largely remain. Streets and public squares filled with protesters on July 11 and 12, 2021, some answering social media appeals, others joining spontaneously to express frustration with shortages, long lines and a lack of political options. Since then, a few things have changed: The Communist Party government has made its most expansive — if still limited — opening in six decades to private enterprise, authorizing small and medium sized companies.