At least three protests, in different provinces of the country, took place this Saturday night demanding the restoration of the electrical service. The cast La Minina de Bauta, Artemisa; the Central Australia community, in Jagüey Grande, Matanzas; and the Covadonga neighborhood in the municipality of Aguada de Pasajeros in Cienfuegos were the scene of these popular demonstrations.
The protests in the Central Australia popular council, in Jagüey Grande, in the province of Matanzas, they are the second in less than a month that take place in that community. On this occasion, also after suffering a long blackout of more than ten hours, hundreds of residents took to the streets with their saucepans and shouting “Freedom!” and “Turn on the current, pinga!”, the latter launched for the first time by the students of the University of Camaguey last June.
In several videos that have spread through social networks, protesters are seen walking through the streets in the dark, some lighting themselves with the light of their mobile phones. Cries of support can also be heard from inside several houses and several neighbors managed to broadcast live during the popular demonstration.
In Bauta the scenes were similar. In the La Minina neighborhood of that municipality in the province of Artemisa, residents took their saucepans out into the street in the middle of a long blackout. Shouting “Turn on the power!”, the neighbors also demanded the reestablishment of the electrical service.
No official source has commented on these protests, although several Internet users reported the arrival of several police officers, when the demonstration had already ended.
A very similar protest also occurred in the Covadonga neighborhood in the municipality of Aguada de Pasajeros, Cienfuegos. Submerged in darkness, the residents protested in the streets of this community that this Saturday also suffered a power cut for several hours. Several reports from the place detail that in the middle of the demonstrations they broke the windows of a freely convertible currency store and took part of the products for sale.
This type of business has been the target of popular indignation in several popular demonstrations and in the protests of July 11, 2022, several of these establishments were stoned and their merchandise looted. Since the sale of food and cleaning products in foreign currency was inaugurated, this commercial network has had to deal with criticism, even from those who support the system.
So far, no official source has commented on these protests, although several Internet users reported the arrival of several police officers, when the demonstration had already ended. The uniformed officers asked about the possible participants in the protests and, especially, about who had “touched the cauldrons”.
The Government continues to ask for patience in the face of the problem of the lack of electricity, which is reaching unusual levels. The population is aware that there is no short-term solution, since the authorities themselves have said so, but insists that, at a minimum, the burden be shared equally among all.
Last week it was announced that power cuts will also begin to be implemented in Havanaa city that until now had benefited from the privilege of having fewer blackouts than other areas of the country.
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