In a Cuba where people are imprisoned for sharing memes against the government and where political humor is grounds for threats and repression, the Ministry of Culture is inaugurating the first edition of the International Biennial of Political Humor this Friday in Havana. This event features 66 cartoonists from 24 countries competing with 225 works, according to the official newspaper Juventud Rebelde.

According to the organizers, the event “will use art to promote social justice and freedom of expression,” the same freedom of expression that the regime punishes when it is used against them. The biennial also aims to “playfully explore the impact of globalization and its associated phenomena, as well as to reject the new rise of fascism and intolerance in the world through a humorous and critical lens, enriched with diverse proposals and perspectives on the topic.”

During the biennial, which promises to be a platform for expanding the regime’s propaganda, there will be the inauguration of a collective exhibition with works inspired by Fidel Castro, and the Museum of Humor in San Antonio de los Baños will open the National Hall of Humor and Satire. “Concerts, gatherings against neo-fascism, theater performances, and editorial proposals are also planned,” the organizers highlighted.

Arístides Hernández, a member of the biennial’s organizing committee, mentioned during the press conference announcing the event that “there are always limits in humor.” “In Cuba, there are limits in humor concerning the historical figures of the Revolution and the formative concepts of Cuban national identity; there will be space for social criticism and satire as long as these aspects are not touched disrespectfully or degradingly,” he noted.