Abstract
For decades, Fidel Castro had essentially limitless power and a constant megaphone to accompany it; his voice and opinions on all topics have been projected and disseminated ad nauseam in Cuba. This thesis gives the podium to the dissenters (especially to Oswaldo Payá and Yoani Sánchez), their arguments against Fidel and Raúl Castro’s government, and corresponding fights to realize their goals. This thesis inquires: to what extent have internal Cuban human rights advocacy movements, organizations, and activists been successful in influencing change in the Cuban government’s respect for and protection of human rights?|This thesis proposes that while full protection of human rights for all in the Castros’ Cuba was and is not yet a reality, the work of internal Cuban human rights activists has not been in vain. This thesis examines treatment of human rights in the Castros’ Cuba by way of utilizing both quantitative and qualitative information. The collective conclusions about the lack of respect for and protection of human rights in Cuba identify these concerns as significant and worthy of international attention.