More than a year has passed since the historic protests of July 11, 2021 in Cuba and a new wave of demonstrations continues to shake the island. The structural causes that triggered them not only lay beneath the surface, but have worsened as the political, economic, and social crises worsen. In 2022, blackouts have been aggravated by failures in thermoelectric plants, and the shortage of food and medicines has increased. New, bigger protests have emerged after Hurricane Ian left two days of blackout in Cuba in its wake. Cubans have participated in over 30 protests throughout the country since Sept. 29. This is deemed a “new social outburst” by local media. In 2021, people took to the streets to protest against the increase in inflation, the dollarization of the economy, and power cuts in the difficult context of the COVID-19 pandemic. After those unforgettable days deemed unprecedented in Cuba, which spread to the rest of the country, life has not changed much. The Cuban regime brutally repressed the protests and the failed civic march called for Nov. 15 of that year, imposing excessive prison sentences on many demonstrators. This context generated a migratory crisis with an exodus of Cubans from Nicaragua to the U.S. that exceeds the number of those from the Mariel boatlift in 1980. This civic spirit of resistance that was ignited last year has been present in the systematic protests that have taken place in the interior of the country during 2022, especially since June. Most of the protests have been focused in various locations in the provinces because these are the places that suffer the most from blackouts. Before Hurricane Ian, they have been small in comparison with the one that took place on July 11, 2021, in Havana, but they are a sign of the generalized discontent in the country due to the inability of the regime to find solutions to the country's energy problems. In recent months, protesters tended to speak out against blackouts and food shortages by banging pots and pans, known as cacerolazos. Many have their faces covered to avoid being identified by the regime's forces. The Observatorio Cubano de Conflictos (the “Cuban Observatory of Conflicts”) reports a total of 624 protests between July and August of this year, of which 263 occurred in July and 361 in August. Most of them took place in the form of cacerolazos and were concentrated in the province of Artemisa, followed by Cienfuegos, Holguín, and Camagüey. This is “an average of more than 11 public demonstrations per day,” the report states. #ULTIMAHORA en #Holguin el pueblo está en la calle por segunda noche consecutiva. La dictadura #cubana perdió a los jóvenes, al pueblo y la calle. #Cuba #CubaPaLaCalleYA pic.twitter.com/W5yUB4DxK9 — Daniel Benitez (@danielbnews) August 10, 2022 #ULTIMAHORA in #Holguin the people are in the streets for the second night in a row. The #Cuban dictatorship lost [the support of] the youth, the people and the street. #Cuba #CubaInTheStreetsNOW The first of the new wave of protests occurred on June 14 at the University of Camagüey in the center-west of the country. In the midst of a blackout, university students shouted the slogan “¡Pongan la corriente, pinga!” [Put the power back on, pinga!], which has gone viral on social media and continues to be heard in almost every corner of the country where these protests take place. “Pinga” is a colloquial Cuban expression that refers to the male sexual organ. Los jóvenes cubanos perdieron el miedo. Universitarios de Camagüey protestan masivamente por la falta de electrificad y agua. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/uW47HQCLGH — Yusnaby Pérez (@Yusnaby) June 15, 2022 Young Cubans lost their fear. University students in Camagüey protest massively for lack of electricity and water. 🔥 In many of these protests, Cubans are not satisfied with just the restoration of electricity. They cry out “Patria y Vida,” which was the most frequent slogan of the demonstrators last year, and advocate for the change in the political system. Despite the ruthless and systematic repression of the regime, many Cubans are fed up with Cuban socialism and now use social networks to denounce and express social discontent. The digital space also has a new element. Women in particular make direct messages on YouTube where they burst out in catharsis expressing their discontent with the crisis, even crying on social media. This usually has an impact online — for example, Amelia Calzadilla's video went viral in June. Amelia Calzadilla, an unknown young woman, caught the attention of social media when she demanded better living conditions for herself as a single mother because her salary was barely enough to support her family.