Carolina Barrero

Carolina Barrero is a Cuban human rights defender, author, and political leader whose work sits at the intersection of democratic theory, civic resistance, and international human rights law. She is the President and Founding Director of Ciudadanía y Libertad (Citizens and Freedom), an organisation dedicated to advancing freedom of association, peaceful assembly, and political participation in Cuba through legal research, civic education, and international advocacy. Carolina emerged as a prominent voice during Cuba's 2021 nationwide protests, where she played a visible role in articulating demands for democratic reform. Her activism resulted in repeated detentions, prolonged house arrest, and eventual forced exile in 2022. Since then, she has continued her work in exile, supporting independent civic networks on the island and engaging international institutions to address systemic repression in authoritarian contexts. Her current research and advocacy focus on the legal and institutional mechanisms used to suppress independent association in closed regimes, with particular attention to comparative constitutional and administrative frameworks. She regularly engages with policymakers, scholars, and multilateral bodies, and has presented her work at leading global forums including the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, the Human Rights Watch Annual Council, and the Oslo Freedom Forum. A multidisciplinary thinker and writer, Carolina's work draws on political theory, philosophy, and cultural analysis to examine democratic breakdown, resistance, and transition. Her contributions have been recognised through prestigious fellowships, including the Freedom Fellowship (2023), the IDREAM Fellowship (2023), the Sakharov Fellowship (2024), and the Mellon Fellowship (2024).