Protests have recently cropped-up on an island where public anti-government manifestations are rare and often violently suppressed.
For 2 days in Bayamo, horse carriage drivers have protested a five-fold increase in taxes while in Santa Clara hundreds of students brawled when a soccer match was replaced by a documentary.
And in Las Tunas and Granma, bicycle taxi drivers and truckers are refusing to work until their demands are met.
``These are regular people, real people,'' said youthful dissident Yoandri Montoya. ``People are taking to the streets because they are waking up to the new reality.''