MADRID, Spain.- This Wednesday, September 4, the official program Round Table The program was dedicated to the energy crisis in Cuba, an issue that affects millions of Cubans daily due to the constant blackouts that plague the country. Vicente de la O Levy, Minister of Energy and Mines, and Rosell Guerra Campaña, Director of Renewable Energy of the same ministry, attended the broadcast, who offered “explanations” and “solutions” to the problem. However, far from calming the concerns of the population, the minister’s statements have been the cause of mockery and indignation in the social networks.
During his speech, De la O Levy tried to justify the prolonged blackouts that Cubans suffer, referring to the maintenance of obsolete thermoelectric plantswhich, according to him, were carried out with the resources available in the country. The minister said that the power cuts during these maintenance works were planned, since the country does not have enough reserve units to avoid affecting the population. “These maintenance works anticipated about four hours of disruption because we do not have reserve units for generation,” he said, a statement that brought nothing new to Cubans, who have been suffering for years from the consequences of the inefficiency of the energy system.
According to the minister, many units have significant “limitations,” and he cited as an example a 100 MW unit that currently only generates between 70 and 80 megawatts. In addition, De la O Levy explained that the country’s energy deficit is around 400 MW, an alarming figure attributed to years of operation and the lack of spare parts. He also acknowledged that the maintenance carried out only allows them to “keep them alive” but not to make them work in optimal conditions. This type of explanation, riddled with ambiguities, only deepens the skepticism of an exhausted population.
What really sparked outrage and mockery on social media was the following statement by the minister: “We are convinced that at some point next year, with the introduction of renewable energies, with the further growth that gas will have and with the repairs we are doing on thermal units… at least we will have a minute next year where we will not consume imported fuel… And it will be the first minute. That minute, the goal and the mission is to start to fatten it up.”
The minister’s ridiculous optimism, when talking about “getting fat in a minute,” is generating a wave of sarcastic comments and memes. “Yes, everything that has to do with getting fat works in certain places,” wrote one user, while another ironically said: “A great achievement: a minute without imported fuel! Should we applaud?” Criticism was not long in coming, and many Cubans considered these words as yet another mockery by the authorities towards a population that has been enduring crisis after crisis for decades. “These people are making fun of the common citizen,” said another Internet user.
For her part, the presenter of the program and one of the spokespeople for the ruler Miguel Diaz-CanelArleen Rodriguez, did not escape the critical eye of Cubans either. In the middle of the debate, Rodriguez asked to “hold on a little longer,” a phrase that fell like a slap in the face to a population exasperated by the blackouts constant. For many, Rodriguez’s attitude is “cynical” because, as several comments point out, she is not part of the high percentage of Cubans who suffer from the blackouts. “Arleen, don’t be so brazen… you’ve never endured even an hour of blackout,” is one of the many comments circulating on the networks.
The minister’s statements and the tone of the program only served to highlight the disconnect between the Cuban authorities and the reality of the people. While the proposed solutions seem like an exercise in empty rhetoric, the population continues to bear the consequences of a decaying energy system with no signs of improvement.
