“This town can’t stand one more lie,” there is nothing to cook with, say residents of the area, amid the unrest due to the continuous blackouts.
MADRID, Spain.- Neighbors of the El Cano neighborhood, in the Havana municipality of La Lisa, took to the streets this Wednesday night to protest against the prolonged blackouts that affect the area, in the middle of a day marked by extensive power outages in much of the country.
In a video shared on social networks by journalist Mario Pentón banging pots and protest slogans are heard in complete darkness. In the recording, a woman states: “From 5:59 they turned off the power,” and adds that the service was not restored “until 8:00 at night.” The images also show a bonfire lit in the middle of a public street, around which several neighbors remain gathered as part of the protest during the blackout.
In the comments to his publication, Pentón assured: “I just confirmed by video call that they turned on the power a few minutes after the demonstration.”
The protest generated numerous reactions from users who described similar situations in other municipalities of Havana. Betsy Hernández Diéguez, for example, wrote: «This can’t take any more pressure. We need change. In San Miguel del Padrón we have 14 hours without electricity. It’s abuse and it doesn’t hurt anyone. Freedom for Cuba. “It is a silent death.”
For her part, Tania Muy commented: “It’s too much and people don’t even have anything to cook with.” J. Lesliee Herrera Núñez stated: «Down with that dictatorship. Those who want to use them as cannon fodder, go to the house of Canel and the Castros and they will see that they have light… Homeland and life.
Ivet Nodarse Delgado pointed out: “We have been cutting off the power for a week or more for many hours, we cannot cook with electricity because there is no power and we do not have gas. We returned to the era of coal and oil, worse than the Special Period. We do not know when it is day or night because all of Cuba lives in the dark. How long will this be? It’s sadeeee.” Along the same lines, Marian Ruiz Zaldívar denounced: “They have had us without power all day, without eating or anything, and this town can’t stand one more lie because they have everything in their homes.”
The demonstration in El Cano occurs in a context of constant electrical failures, prolonged shortages and growing social unrest. The combination of endless blackouts, rising prices and the absence of official responses has led many citizens to resort to nightly cacerolazos as a way of expressing their discontent, despite surveillance and censorship.
This Wednesday, Cuba recorded blackouts throughout the day, with outages that, according to official data, affected more than 60% of the country during peak demand hours, equaling the highest levels reported last December. According to the Electrical Union (UNE), eight of the 16 thermoelectric production units are out of service due to breakdowns or maintenance.
For this Thursday’s peak schedule, the UNE forecasts an availability of 1,455 megawatts (MW) compared to a maximum demand of 3,200 MW, which implies a deficit of 1,745 MW and an estimated impact of up to 1,775 MW at that time.
