Residents of Nuevo Vedado in Havana staged a loud protest on Friday night, banging pots and shouting from their homes to express their discontent with the authorities responsible for the nearly 60 hours of power outages they have endured since the last total collapse of the national electric power system (SEN).
“A caceralazo took place in the Nuevo Vedado neighborhood of Havana, where the newsroom of the newspaper 14ymedio is located, after nearly 60 hours without electricity,” reported journalist and director of the aforementioned independent media, Yoani Sánchez, on her social media, sharing a video of the protest sounds.
Immersed in darkness, the residents of Nuevo Vedado erupted this Friday night, marking the third total blackout since Hurricane Rafael and the recent complete failure of the national electrical grid due to the country's deteriorated infrastructure.
Despite the recent announcement of the partial restoration of the SEN, authorities acknowledged that repairs would take time due to extensive damage to transmission lines and key electrical substations.
In light of the uncertainty left by their statements and the challenges posed by the power outages, the people of Havana erupted in protest, banging their pots and pans—a form of demonstration spreading throughout a country where the regime persecutes all forms of dissent and suppresses those who dare to claim their rights and exercise their civil and political liberties.
The independent media outlet CubaNet also reported on the protests this Friday in Nuevo Vedado through a video shared on its social media, where the sound of neighbors banging pots could be heard from the two 20-story buildings located in the central Havana neighborhood of Plaza de la Revolución.
Cacerolazos in the Dark: The Resource of Cubans to Protest Against Blackouts and the Regime's Repression
The announcement of a partial restoration of the system has brought little relief to Cubans, who continue to demand concrete and lasting solutions. Without tangible improvements in the electricity supply, the situation in Cuba remains a source of social tension and a reflection of the fragility of its infrastructure.
The collapse of the system and the recurring service failures have intensified an energy crisis that has been affecting Cuba for the past few years. The protests and pot-banging in neighborhoods like El Vedado, as well as in other areas, are a direct expression of the exhaustion and frustration of citizens who must cope with the consequences of an inefficient electrical grid and a management unable to provide lasting solutions.
These events are part of a context of frequent demonstrations that have been occurring in various parts of the island. Since the beginning of 2024, protests over power outages have multiplied, including pot-banging and spontaneous gatherings.
The lack of electricity directly impacts fundamental aspects such as food preservation, access to water, and the ability to work in an environment already marked by resource scarcity and economic limitations.
The situation not only reflects the discontent with the lack of electricity but also a deeper dissatisfaction with deteriorating living conditions and the regime's response, which has often involved repression and the imprisonment of protesters. Without tangible improvements in the electricity supply, the situation in Cuba remains a source of social tension and a clear indication of the fragility of its infrastructure.
The protests in Cuba over power outages are not a new phenomenon, but the current context gives them a different urgency. In recent years, living conditions on the island have worsened due to the economic crisis, with shortages of basic goods and relentless inflation.
The protests in El Vedado resemble the spontaneous mobilizations that have emerged in other areas of the island, where fatigue and frustration drive people to take to the streets.
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