In the middle of Tuesday night, marked by intense blackouts in Cienfuegos, dozens of residents of that city took to the streets to protest, banging their pots and pans and chanting and shouting "freedom".
Videos shared on social media show a crowd of people from Cienfuegos in the streets protesting against the government and demanding the restoration of the electrical service.
Shouts of "freedom" and "turn on the power" were heard during the protest, while others improvised a conga with sounds of pots and chants of "hey, police go..."
The first peaceful demonstrations were reported in Juraguá, a community located near the ruins of the Electronuclear Central (CEN) in Cienfuegos. This area is very far from the city center, but immediately the government deployed numerous black beret agents there to quell the protest.
There were pot-banging protests that same night in other neighborhoods in the urban center of Cienfuegos, such as Tulipán and Reina.
The non-governmental organization Justicia 11J denounced the detention of six people during the protests in Cienfuegos. They have asked the population for help in identifying the detainees.
"Due to the high levels of impact caused by a deficit in generating capacity in the National Electric Power System, taking into account that we are experiencing a 60 MW impact in the province and the forecast for the next few hours is an increase, it is necessary to interrupt approximately 11 hours from the moment the electricity service is disconnected," stated the Electric Company of Cienfuegos on its social media.
This Tuesday, the Cuban Electric Union (UNE) announced a record number of power supply disruptions, totaling a staggering 1,440 MW during peak hours. The day before, according to information from the state socialist company, the disruption reached 1,356 MW, exceeding its initial forecast by 316 MW.
The national power system (SEN) has been unable to meet electricity demand throughout the day for weeks, resulting in long and frequent power outages across the country, with regions more or less favored by the electricity dispatch.
With record temperatures for this time of year and official forecasts indicating that the situation will continue to be "complex" during the month of June due to the high number of malfunctioning and under maintenance thermoelectric units, Cubans are starting to show a growing discontent that is becoming more evident in the virtual space, but is also starting to spill over to the public square.
Close all educational and work centers, because without resting, no one can perform, it's impossible. Too much is being asked of this people and at any moment this pot is going to explode because it can't take it anymore. They have left us with nothing and all they know is to instill fear, and fear is what we should have of all this that we are experiencing. I am a woman and I prefer to die fighting for a better life, than to live in this hell that seems like a concentration camp. Homeland and Life," expressed a Cuban in the comments on the publication by the Cienfuegos Electrical Company.
Like her, almost three hundred Cubans left their comments expressing their indignation and weariness in the face of a situation that the Cuban regime has been promising to solve for years, and that, far from achieving it, it is increasingly evident the collapse of the SEN and the deterioration of the quality of life of Cubans, millions of whom are enduring up to 18 hours of power outage a day.
What do you think?
SEE COMMENTS (1)Filed under: