The St. Petersburg City Council supports the protests in Cuba

ST. PETERSBURG – The city council has passed a resolution supporting the protests against the Cuban government that have broken out in the island state and in Florida.

Cubans took to the streets in early July to demand food and COVID-19 vaccines, calling for an end to the island nation’s decades-old dictatorship. Many Floridians followed, holding protests in cities across the state to rally behind protesters from overseas.

The resolution, tabled by Council Chairman Ed Montanari, was adopted unanimously in the absence of Councilor Deborah Figgs-Sanders.

“I wanted to send a message from the city of St. Petersburg that the demonstrators in Cuba would be heard. We heard their calls for freedom and democracy, ”said Montanari.

Related: Cuba protests demanding change spread to Tampa

Montanari said his grandmother, who lived in Cuba before the country’s revolution in the 1950s, knew Fidel and Raúl Castro as a child. His grandfather was buried in Cuba and his mother was born there, he said.

“I am glad that we can support the right of the Cuban people to the same freedoms that we have and enjoy here in this country,” he said.

Emotions flared up in Tampa City Council last week when City Councilor Luis Viera put forward a similar resolution in support of protests. The resolution that dissenting Councilor Bill Carlson called a “publicity stunt” was passed 5-2. A later one-sentence resolution put forward by Carlson expressing vague support for the economic and political freedom of the Cuban people was unanimously adopted.

Related: A debate about support for Cuba is still simmering in Tampa City Council

There was no disagreement among councilors over the St. Petersburg resolution.

“Cubans deserve openness, they deserve information, they deserve dignity, they deserve quality of life and they just deserve freedom,” said Councilor Robert Blackmon.

Lisset Hanewicz, a candidate for District 4 of the city council, asked the council to approve the resolution. The Cuban government killed her grandfather before her grandmother fled to Tampa before she was born, she said.

“What did you win here? Freedom, ”she said.

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