Cubans reject the initiative to applaud the UNE: "Enough with the distraction"

After the synchronization of the National Electric System (SEN) following the collapse that occurred last Friday, the official journalist Lázaro Manuel Alonso attempted to promote an initiative for Cubans to applaud at 9:00 PM in gratitude to the workers who achieved the reconnection. However, the "proposal" was harshly criticized on social media.

In his Facebook post, Alonso urged to make "the initiative tonight, at 9, to applaud those who, despite the blackout, managed to reconnect the National Electric System," go viral.

The official journalist aimed to revive a similar practice implemented in Cuba during the COVID-19 pandemic, when applause was given in gratitude to doctors for their dedication despite the collapse of the healthcare system.

Although Alonso does not allow comments from people who are not his friends, these latter expressed their disagreement. Erlan Pupo Carmenaty said: "I believe it is not the moment to applaud, there is still much to be done, especially in Guantánamo."

"But well, that's their job, now it turns out that they did us a favor or it turns out that they fixed the problem caused by someone else when electricity should never be lacking, because it is a necessity, not a privilege," pointed out Gregor Darroman.

José Angel Zambrano mocked: "Let the people of Havana applaud because I'm still in the same situation."

"I understand the commendable efforts of those men and women: it's something unheard of in the world to generate electricity from the scraps and old contraptions that Cuba has! The truth is, the workers of the Electric Company deserve pity. But asking for applause from a people that has had six or seven hours of light in an entire week seems to me the most absurd thing I have heard in a long time. To what extent have we arrived, God!" Eduardo Grenier Rodriguez emphasized.

Those who could not express their disagreement on Alonso's profile chose to do so on their own accounts. The Cuban activist Yamilka Lafita, known on social media as Lara Crofs, responded undeniably: “Do you know why I have nothing to applaud? Simple: in Guantánamo, 7 people died, including a 5-year-old child, and there are more missing.”

“To the workers of the electricity company, my congratulations for fulfilling your work,” he said. And he finally stressed: “Coherence. Enough with outdated and decadent triumphalism, there is nothing to celebrate in Cuba.”

The Cuban critic of contemporary art, Jorge Gómez de Mello, also responded emphatically to Alonso's initiative: "There is nothing to applaud in a country that has just collapsed. To the workers in the electric sector, all my respect for their sacrifice, but they are not heroes; they are victims just like the rest of the Cubans, and victims are not applauded."

Furthermore, she considered that the "proposal" of the officialist journalist is a way to "divert attention towards meaningless triumphalism."

In addition, he added: "You should be ashamed. Carry out your profession with dignity because we are tired of so much slimy manipulation, and above all; a little respect, kid, as this country is suffering."

The Camagüey journalist José Luis Tan Estrada also condemned the initiative: “I am not going to applaud anyone, nor am I going to join this circus.”

"If I have to applaud, I will do it for the Cuban people who have been inventing how to survive on an island in total darkness for 65 years," emphasized the activist.

In his response, Tan pointed out the heroes who have been made invisible by the Cuban regime: “I will do it for the more than ONE THOUSAND political prisoners, those brave individuals who, at a moment in their lives, risked their freedom for the sake of an entire country. I will do it for those independent journalists, activists, artists, dissidents, who, both inside and outside of Cuba, risk their freedom every day for the sake of an entire country. I will do it for those mothers, fathers, grandparents, who every day face the titanic odyssey of maintaining a home, a family, of breathing.”

Finally, he said: “Not only do the electrical workers deserve applause, but all workers in Cuba do, as they do it without resources, without protection, and without safety.”