Havana/The streets of Marianao, in Havana, are they filled This Monday, they were outraged by more than 12 hours of blackout. A dozen videos have left testimony to the discomfort of a tired population that yesterday faced another night with “insufficient generation capacity,” as journalist Bernardo Espinosa called the deficit of 61% of national electricity production for the night (more than 2,000 megawatts for a demand of 3,300 MW).
Omar Ramírez Mendoza, an engineer at the Unión Eléctrica, explained in the Noticiero Estelar that three of the four largest units of the national electrical system (SEN) were “outside the base generation” and a total of ten, between broken down and receiving maintenance, that were not providing service either. Added to this is the lack of availability of about 1,000 MW in distributed generation. A panorama that has been settling in on the Island for months, but that afflicts the capital like never before, more prone to an outbreak.
The highest tension was experienced in Zamora, one of the poorest neighborhoods in Marianao, where not only banging with pots was seen and heard, but improvised bonfires were lit in the middle of the street, garbage containers were knocked down and screams were uttered that showed the population’s fatigue. The police soon arrived at the protest area, and although there were no clashes or arrests at first, there were many who speculated that there would be arrests later.
The highest tension was experienced in Zamora, one of the poorest neighborhoods in Marianao, where not only were banging pots heard and seen, but improvised bonfires were lit.
“Normal, the same vicious circle: now they catch three or four ringleaders, [porque] The neighborhoods are full of insurance, and the blackout gives money to the regime, which saves thousands of dollars with the electricity cuts, and also to the gossipers on social networks, shameless people who are profiting from the misfortunes of the poor Cuban people,” wrote a user on social networks.
Some videos show how in the course of the protests, light ends up reaching the area. “It worked,” writes a user who has shared images of the moment. “It didn’t work. They know how to keep the slaves happy. Give them a couple of hours of power,” another responded.
The protests spread to other municipalities, including San Miguel del Padrón, Diez de Octubre, Alamar and Regla, where cries were also heard against the abandonment of the population due to the lack not only of electricity, but also of water and sanitation.
The unrest is growing at a time when, a short distance away, the Film Festival, in El Vedadowhere they try to maintain normality. Havana residents have expressed their discontent at seeing how the lights illuminate the event’s cinemas while they have their homes in permanent blackout. “In El Vedado there are lights, music, screens. In my house, they can’t even charge the phone,” a neighbor told this newspaper over the weekend. In reality, it is nothing more than a mirage. More than one screening has been left in the middle due to a sudden blackout.
This being the case in the capital, the east of the country was in a worse situation. From Bayamo, a user on social networks stated that there had been no power for more than 20 hours, also facilitating thefts and the spread of viruses, with mosquitoes active in the dark. “It should be the entire country, the blatant abuse that this has had on the people is already too much,” he cried.
The protests also reached Baracoa, in Guantánamo, where it has been an official account who has most echoed the event, precisely to affirm that it was a spontaneous concentration “to express concerns related to the water supply and the electrical service, both affected by known and objective causes.”
The account maintains that the authorities spoke with the population, that they did not utter “any offensive slogans” and that, after that, the neighbors left “peacefully.”
The information, disseminated by the Primera Trinchera account, argues that it is not a protest against the Government, as “some media and profiles linked to anti-Cuban propaganda have disseminated” to “sow distrust, foster disorder and create an image of chaos that does not correspond to reality.” The account maintains that the authorities spoke with the population, that they did not utter “any offensive slogans” and that, after that, the neighbors left “peacefully.” “The population of Baracoa, characterized by its civility and attachment to the Revolution, does not allow itself to be carried away by these smoke campaigns or by those who live off discredit and lies,” they wrote.
In Las Tunas, residents of the El Marañón de Yarigua neighborhood took to the streets on Saturday, shouting with pots and pans “Schedule! The people respect each other!” Those affected, who walked along the Central Highway, partially blocking the road, stated that in the last week they were having on average about 25 minutes of light a day.
The promises of the Minister of Energy and Mines for a coming year in which no substantial improvement is expected and the recent announcement by Qatar to contribute four and a half million dollars through the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to help alleviate the situation come too late to an exhausted population. If they arrive.
