His fellow dissidents state Otero Alcántara was shot for treatment against his will and they have not heard from himother than through videos released by Cuba`s social media.
Cuban health officials said when he was admitted, Otero Alcántara did not seem to have been deprived of water or food and on Tuesday said he`s drinking and eating, raising the question of why he remains hospitalized and incommunicado.In one of the movies that was released, Otero Alcántara seems in good health, joking with a hospital secretary whilst affirming”I am likely to keep demanding my rights as an artist.”Cuban health officials state Otero Alcántara is undergoing testing and is being treated willingly.While the Cuban government grapples with the economic consequences of the coronavirus and rougher US sanctions, Otero Alcántara and his little group of tech-savvy”artivists” are increasinglya source of frustration for officials around the communist-run island.Back in tweets and movies uploaded to societal media, Otero Alcántara along with other members of the San Isidro Movement have documented their campaign in real time against official censorship and the Cuban police and security officials that frequently shadow their every movement.”We`re connected,” is a regular refrain and hashtag within his messages, a reference to the recent arrival of mobile internetto the nation, which has enabled many Cubans to bypass social media and communicate directly with rest of the planet and their fellow Cubans.
Some Cuban officials claim the self-taught Otero Alcántara is not actually a performer, which speaks to his assertion that government bureaucrats should not determine what qualifies as art on the island.Sometimes Otero Alcántara has threatened to push a wedge between the government and Cuban artists, who lately have enjoyed a special status that enabled them to criticize the government, albeit indirectly, and legally earn hard currency by selling their job to tourists and consumers overseas.In November, police arrested Otero Alcántara and supporters during a hunger strike, alleging they had violated health restrictions set up to block the spread of the pandemic.Within hours, several hundred Cuban artists and students staged a rare sit-in protest beyond the Cuban Ministry of Culture and some of the island`s most best-known cultural figures lent their support for Otero Alcántara and increased freedom of expression.
Cuban officials immediately released Otero Alcántara and claimed he was a part of a US”soft coup” against the island.”The series is quite like those staged on other occasions by other mercenary bands and puppets at the support of the U.S. government,” an article stated in the Cuban communist party newspaper Granma about Otero Alcántara days after the demonstration. “The new show, orchestrated from Washington and Miami, is a part of plans for subversion against Cuba.”However, Otero Alcántara, an Afro-Cuban millennial who resides in a downtrodden area of Old Havana that tourists rarely venture into, doesn`t fit the conventional image of an anti-Castro militant fighting to return the island to the days before the revolution. And he`s particularly adept at leveraging the obstacles Cuban officials throw him as a kind of performance art that generates more attention because of his movement.While his activism, up to now, does not seem to be an existential threat to the Cuban government, it`s nonethelessproved unnerving to officials. The video for the tune, which has become an anthem for anti-government resistance, has received five million viewpoints on YouTube.Back in April, when police surrounded his house, he put on an exhibition at which he sat controlled with a garrote around his neck.After he accused State Security representatives of seizing his art, Otero Alcántara demanded $500,000 in compensation and said he was, again, going on a hunger strike.”I shall fight to the last breath because of my artistic freedom,” he wrote in a widely seen message. “If my body dies, I hope it will be a spark for the freedom of Cuba.”When Otero Alcántara was taken to the hospital in May, doctors released a statement saying the activist”showed no signs of adultery,” attempting to cast doubt on his hunger strike, but said he would stay”under observation.”Cuban state-run media have published regular updates on Otero Alcántara, a rare acknowledgement of anti-government dissent. But save one video where he accidentally speaks, he hasn`t been heard from and his supporters say they have been obstructed by police from seeing him in person.
As Cuban officials attempt to adapt to Otero Alcántara`s new brand of activism, the government runs the risk of threatening potentially enhanced relations with the Biden government, which so far is moving slowly on engaging with the island. “We`ve seen reports that he`s in hospital and his state is stable. We urge the police to protect his well-being in this challenging moment.”Some Cuban artists assert that if greater freedom of expression were permitted, the strain with the musicians and state would ease.”These little scandals will end the day they legalize protests,” famed singer Silvio Rodriguez, a long-time supporter of the Cuban revolution, according to his blog. “Authorized protests. Democratic socialism. Along with the police protecting those who exercise their rights,” he continued.But best Cuban officials warn a harsher crackdown may be on the horizon.”Into the mercenary lumpen who earn money from everybody`s destiny, to those who request an invasion, to those who always offend with deeds and words,” Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said in a televised speech in April while taking the powerful post of head of the Cuban communist party,”know that the patience of these people has limitations.”