The communist island has seen unprecedented protests in the last year as more and more citizens blame the one-party state for a variety of social and economic ills.

A younger generation of Cubans, the so-called “grandchildren” of the revolution, are demanding increased freedoms and rights, Western-style democracy and economic opportunities.

Bolstered by the recent arrival — in 2018 — of mobile internet and a social media explosion, younger Cubans have placed themselves in direct confrontation with a state that controls just about every aspect of public life and does not take kindly to dissent.

Unlike their predecessors, the new generation is not dazzled by the successes of “Fidelism,” including a social welfare system with universal healthcare and education, Arturo Lopez-Levy of the Holy Names University in California told AFP.