Cuba sees biggest protests for decades as pandemic adds to woes

People gather during protests against and in support of the government, amidst the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, outside the Capitol building, in Havana, Cuba July 11, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer

HAVANA (Reuters) -Chanting "freedom" and calling for President Miguel Diaz-Canel to step down, thousands of Cubans joined street protests from Havana to Santiago on Sunday in the biggest anti-government demonstrations on the Communist-run island in decades.

The protests erupted amid Cuba's worst economic crisis since the fall of the Soviet Union, its old ally, and a record surge in coronavirus infections, with people voicing anger over shortages of basic goods, curbs on civil liberties and the authorities' handling of the pandemic.