Why were there protests in Cuba on March 17?

The Biden Administration is pursuing a policy of “energy chasing,” where U.S. regulators put pressure on foreign-owned fuel supply companies, shippers and even financial insurers so that they back out of deals to bring “fuel to our ports.”

On March 17, there were significant protests in eastern Cuba against the blackouts. The president says the authorities have gone to dialogue with them and explain the country’s energy problems. 

“Two or three [protest] events that were fundamentally peaceful” in Cuba and the Western media creates a narrative of serious instability, says President Miguel Diaz-Canel. Meanwhile “in the world there are more severe protests” and in the U.S. there are protests violently repressed, but these get ignored.

 We are joined by Gloria La Riva, organizer with the Hatuey Project  to discuss the recent protests in Cuba and the ongoing crisis caused by the economic blockade. 

Then, with the possibility of a new invasion and occupation, we’re hearing the same story emerge from Western media and politicians about Haiti: something really bad is happening in Haiti and an invasion is necessary. We are being told that this is the worst ever humanitarian situation in Haiti. As the U.S. Canadian and French governments gathered recently to discuss Haiti’s political transition, Haitians get no say over this. When it comes to Haiti, it seems like everyone else gets to decide.

We’re joined by Kerbie Joseph, a Haitian organizer with the ANSWER Coalition, to talk about how Western colonialism and imperialism are the historical root of and current cause of the problems in Haiti, and what the resistance looks like.

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