This Friday night another popular protest took place in Cuba motivated by power outages, this time in the Güira de Melena municipality in the province of Artemisa. To the cry of “Turn on the current, pinga!” and banging on their pans, dozens of residents from the El Pulguero area and the vicinity of Calle Real demonstrated against the blackouts.
“We were without electricity all afternoon, no one could cook or collect water during those hours,” he told 14ymedio Raudel Espinosa, resident in the neighborhood of El Pulguero. “People can’t take it anymore because every day they cut off our electricity, so first a few pans started to sound, but immediately more people joined.”
Espinosa details that the police arrived shortly after the most central area of Güira de Melena, in the vicinity of Calle Real where a protest also took place. “They arrived asking who had participated in the protest but the people did not want to collaborate with them, rather they kept yelling at them to turn on the power,” he says.
“They arrived asking who had participated in the protest but the people did not want to collaborate with them, rather they kept yelling at them to turn on the current”
Since the first demonstrations against the blackouts, on July 15, in The palaces (Pinar del Río), protests are adding up throughout the island, which is suffering an unprecedented energy crisis. On August 5, the same day that the gigantic fire started at the Matanzas Supertanker Base, hundreds of people demonstrated at the Marti Park in Cienfuegosdemanding an end to blackouts, which in some areas last up to 14 hours.
Added to the popular claims for the long daily blackouts is the severe economic crisis that the Island is suffering. But in addition, the protests not only occur at night but have moved into broad daylight, such as the one that occurred on August 1 in the cast Luis Dagnes, of the Popular Council of Altamirain Santiago de Cuba.
“What they have with us is an abuse. The whole morning without light and the current went out again at 11 in the morning,” he explained that day to 14ymedio the activist Aurora Sancho.
Electricity shortages, however, are far from easing. The official media reported this Saturday morning that the current deficit is expected at 717 MW, while the previous day it reached 1,155 MW. Using the usual euphemism in these cases, the authorities described the situation as “very complex”.
________________________
Collaborate with our work:
The team of 14ymedio is committed to doing serious journalism that reflects the reality of deep Cuba. Thank you for joining us on this long road. We invite you to continue supporting us, but this time becoming a member of our journal. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.
