Miguel Díaz-Canel called the Cubans who took to the streets to protest the blackouts and the collapse of the national electric power system (SEN) during these energy emergency days drunk and indecent.
He did this during his appearance on Sunday at the National Defense Council (CDN), where he attended dressed in olive green and also exhibited a "hard hand" while making clear threats to repress with the full force of the totalitarian state those who protest.
"The only thing that contrasts with this determination of unity of our people, with these efforts to -together- overcome adversities, are some individuals, a minimal number of people, most of them in a state of intoxication, who have behaved in a… uh… indecent manner," said the ruler.
His statements referred to the protests led by Cubans in various parts of the territory, mainly since Saturday, which was the second day of total blackout experienced by Cubans since the collapse of the SEN last Friday.
The will to denigrate Cubans who exercise their freedom of expression and demonstration is a constant of the Cuban regime, but it is even more painful when it concerns the popular outcry in critical moments, when the population suffers the consequences of poor management and the indifference of the leaders.
The mandate to insult those Cubans who raise their voices despite the terrible consequences that such an act entails circulates among the leaders and ministers of Díaz-Canel. In an appearance before the international press, the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente La O Levy, allegedly also used the same epithets as the head of the executive.
Her appearance, which has not been disclosed by the International Press Center (CPI) of the Cuban Foreign Ministry, aimed to emphasize that the energy emergency the country is facing is a consequence of the American "blockade."
According to reports on social media, De la O Levy labeled those who have expressed their discontent as "indecent and cowardly." This publication has been unable to verify the words attributed to the minister, given the informational opacity of the CPI.
In any case, the strategy of disqualifying those who protest and demand their rights and freedoms is clear and has a purpose: to warn that those "are not part of the Cuban people" (divide) and that the so-called "revolution" will not hesitate to repress their actions (intimidate).
"There is all the willingness and all the capacity and all the deployment and scope of the systems we have organized from the defense councils, from the organizations, from the party, from the government of the administrations to respond to the population's concerns, as long as it is done in a civilized, organized, and disciplined manner," said Díaz-Canel on Sunday.
"But we are not going to accept or allow anyone to act provocatively causing vandalic acts, much less disturbing the peace of our people, and that is a conviction and that is a principle of our revolution," he concluded.
Far from achieving their objectives, the narrative from Palacio and the words of the leader appointed by Raúl Castro only exacerbated the discontent of Cubans, who increasingly perceive the inability of those who govern them, as well as their recurrent use of threats and violence to illegitimately maintain their power.
This is not the first time Díaz-Canel has called "indecent" the citizens protesting for blackouts in Cuba. In August 2022, the Cuban leader referred to them with the same label used this Sunday.
On that date, amidst a crisis of prolonged and frequent blackouts that sparked protests in the capital and other regions of Cuba, he addressed the official media to send a message filled with threats and insults to the protesters.
"All this situation has been exploited by the enemies of the revolution to create discouragement, uncertainty; to call for vandalistic and terrorist acts, to promote social disorder, disruption of order, and disturbance of public tranquility," he said.
"Unfortunately, there are people who, with a vandalistic and quite indecent behavior, lend themselves to these actions," added the ruler who, amidst the current crisis, uses the same arguments.
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