Havana Cuba. – “We hope to have good news next week,” said the Cuban leader, Miguel Díaz-Canel, at the end of his visits to the paralyzed electricity plants, from June 17 to 19.
While luxury hotels were being built in the 70s and 80s of the last century, some thermoelectric plants had already required maintenance for 10 years. The Cuban oil used is highly corrosive, which decreases the useful life of the plants. Today its use is blamed on the US embargo, high international prices and lack of liquidity.
In 2022, Cuba will reach 84,906 hotel rooms, 5.7% more than in 2021. Between January and May 2022, 564,847 visitors have arrived on the island and the Government hopes to reach 2.5 million before the end of the year , a figure well below the 4.5 million visitors received in 2019. The competition with the Dominican Republic and the rest of the Caribbean to attract tourism in global recovery is very difficult.
Since mid-May, the thermoelectric plants have collapsed. Cubans alternate blackouts of up to 12 hours a day with queues to buy food in state stores, procure vegetables, tubers and other essential products at inflated prices thanks to the Ordering Task. Disgust, disbelief and the desire to emigrate encompass all social layers.
The lack of priorities and proportionality in investments was aggravated by the decline in the supply of Venezuelan crude oil. Since mid-2019, their allocations have been cut, which affects all sectors of the economy and imports of basic supplies to carry out productions.
The authorities had put all their eggs in the basket of volatile tourism, without being accountable to the National Assembly or the population. The catastrophe came with the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the total closure of world borders. However, the drop in tourism could have had many causes, such as great inclement weather in the issuing countries or the frequent hurricanes on the Island. So the sale of unprofitable hotels could happen in the futuretaking into account the pragmatism of the Cuban rulers and their ups and downs.
This year, in Cuba, the perfect storm occurred with the simultaneous breakage and shutdowns for maintenance of the largest thermoelectric plants. Faced with the energy crisis, Díaz-Canel made a special appearance on television on June 16. Blackouts are not inconvenient or inconvenient, but exasperating. Most Cubans were coming out of the trauma caused by two years of confinement in difficult conditions. Now more than ever, before the next anniversary of the spontaneous protests of July 11 and 12, 2021, the Government is trying to restore electricity in residential areas
OPINION ARTICLE
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