Beatriz Johnson plants sweet potatoes in Santiago de Cuba: "The leader we need"

In a laughable display of leadership, the First Secretary of the Party in Santiago de Cuba, Beatriz Johnson, last Sunday joined in the planting of sweet potatoes during a recent tour of the municipality of Palma Soriano, a moment that was shared on social media as an "example to follow."

The governor of Santiago de Cuba, Manuel Falcón, shared on Facebook this Tuesday an image showing Johnson "bending his back" in a furrow in El Sitio, participating in the planting of sweet potatoes alongside the rest of the farmers, although the latter are not visible in the photograph.

“For over 12 years we have been working together, and I can attest that she has an unbreakable spirit and that there is no task too arduous for a woman like her,” said Falcón, emphasizing that the hardworking secretary of the PCC has been involved in sugarcane harvests, coffee picking, and voluntary work since she was a child.”

According to the governor, Johnson, "with her usual humility, got her hands dirty," highlighting the values of the leader, who a few years ago went to live in one of the few places in Santiago de Cuba that does not suffer from power outages or water supply crisis, very close to the Plaza de la Revolución and a military zone.

However, last March, Johnson, who is personally experiencing the problems of the population in Santiago de Cuba, urged people to "not despair" in the face of the water supply crisis.

The leader was caught in a work meeting asking to inform people about how everyone will have "their little bit of water" within a week.

During that same month, amid the protests in Santiago de Cuba, Johnson provided a series of explanations to the people which, according to her, were understood by the citizens. However, a few hours later, the demonstrations resumed.

During an appearance on the state-run channel TurquinoTeVe, the leader admitted: "We cannot deny that it was a situation of great tension," although immediately after she tried to downplay the magnitude of the protest: "But as always, the people understood it, because they also saw the highest authorities of this province always facing the problems."

The "response of Cuban leaders" to the protests that shook Santiago de Cuba last March unleashed a wave of memes that added to the social criticism against the handling of the crisis in Cuba.

Johnson led that flow of humor mixed with protest that showed broad support from the people and popularity among individuals.