Cubans wonder what's next after antigovernment protests?

Less than a week after a rare series of antigovernment protests were met by police and government sympathizers, and even elicited self-criticism from President Miguel Díaz-Canel, things appear calm in Cuba

HAVANA -- Less than a week after a rare series of antigovernment protests were broken up by police and government sympathizers, and elicited self-criticism from President Miguel Díaz-Canel, things appear calm in Cuba. But many wonder for how much longer? Squares and parks were occupied by government sympathizers with flags on Friday, and the circulation of traffic and people was normalizing. But mobile internet data service – which authorities cut on Sunday – remained limited. “There is political and social erosion ... There is a lot of disgust, we must talk more, do more things and things that were done wrong should be rectified,” said Abel Alba, a 50-year-old civil engineer. “The president has tried to smooth things over a bit” but he waited “too long” to listen to the demands of the people in the streets. The protests began Sunday when thousands of Cubans marched on Havana’s Malecon promenade and elsewhere to protest food and medicine shortages, power outages and some even calling for political change. The protests continued in smaller numbers into Monday and Tuesday.