Acts of repudiation (''actos de repudio'') is a term Cuban authorities use to refer to acts of violence and or humiliation towards critics of the government. These acts occur when large groups of citizens verbally abuse, intimidate and sometimes physically assault and throw stones and other objects at the homes of Cubans who are considered
counter-revolutionaries
A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "counter-revoluti ...
. Human rights groups suspect that these acts are often carried out in collusion with the security forces and sometimes involve the
Committees for the Defence of the Revolution or the Rapid Response Brigades. The amount of violence in these acts has increased significantly since 2003.
Amnesty International report 2006
History
Early origins
The first instance of something similar to an act of repudiation occurred in 1949 where journalist Alberto Rubiera and other leftist students pelted Spanish poets with rotten food in an "act of repulsion". In the 1950s politicians and intellectuals of various political leanings would be pelted with eggs by their opponents. These acts of political opposition were still uncommon as the governments of Gerardo Machado and Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (; ; born Rubén Zaldívar, January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who served as the elected president of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 and as its U.S.-backed military dictator ...
more relied on assassinations and torture.
One of the first "acts of repudiation" occurred at the anti-Castro newspaper offices of 'Diario de la Marina' in June 1959. Trucks full of Fidelistas circled the building and began insulting the workers at the newspaper. Journalist Luis Conte Agüero would flee Cuba after being publicly harassed by Fidelistas in 1959. In 1961 he would tour Latin America and give public speeches denouncing the Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in co ...
only to be shouted down by Castro sympathizers in the audience. Before 1980 the government of Fidel Castro relied more on institutional purges and televised shootings rather than acts of repudiation to solidify political power.
Mariel boatlift
During the Mariel boatlift
The Mariel boatlift () was a mass emigration of Cubans who traveled from Cuba's Mariel Harbor to the United States between 15 April and 31 October 1980. The term "" (plural "Marielitos") is used to refer to these refugees in both Spanish and E ...
the Cuban government ordered acts of repudiation against those who wished to emigrate from Cuba. In these acts mobs would target those deemed disloyal and beat them or force them to march around with an accusatory sign around their necks. These attacks would help solidify the image that those leaving in the boatlift were the undesirables of the island. It is believed at least three Cubans were killed in these mob attacks. The Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry.
Lists of current ministries of justice
Named "Ministry"
* Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia)
* Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan)
* Ministry of Just ...
organized public beatings and it was considered mandatory for officials to participate.
This campaign of mob attacks would eventually lead certain Cuban officials to question government policies and in the late 1980s attempt to defect to the United States.
After the Mariel boatlift
In 2006 acts of repudiation saw a drastic increase in Cuba. Fidel Castro would address the increased attacks on dissidents stating "And this is what will happen whenever traitors and mercenaries go a millimeter beyond the point that our revolutionary people . . . are willing to accept".
Method
Mob attacks
One of the two different methods for "acts of repudiation" began during the Mariel boatlift. Mobs of civilians would attack and insult those wishing to leave with the cooperation of Cuban authorities. Sometimes these attacks would become so chaotic that Cuban authorities would try to quell the violence.
CDR intimidation
An older model of one of the two different methods for "acts of repudiation" would be organized by the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution
Committees for the Defense of the Revolution ( es, Comités de Defensa de la Revolución, links=no), or CDR, are a network of neighborhood committees across Cuba. The organizations, described as the "eyes and ears of the Revolution," exist to h ...
and used during the Mariel boatlift. CDR officials would organize neighbors to intimidate or attack other neighbors who they deemed traitors, such as Cubans wishing to emigrate. Methods included crowds shouting at targeted people, egg throwing, homes defaced with insulting graffiti, or very commonly a doll could be hung from a string in front of their house symbolizing a lynching.
See also
* Human rights in Cuba
Human rights in Cuba are under the scrutiny of Western human rights organizations, which accuse the Cuban government of committing systematic human rights abuses against the Cuban people, including arbitrary imprisonment and unfair trials. Intern ...
* Whitecapping
Whitecapping was a movement among farmers that occurred specifically in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was originally a ritualized form of extralegal actions to enforce community standards, appropriate behavior ...
References
{{reflist
Society of Cuba
Crowd psychology
Political repression in Cuba
Vigilantism