Residents of Baire (Contramaestre, Santiago de Cuba) have reported on social media that state officials installed a lamp on a streetlight on 15th Street in this area to illuminate an event attended by Miguel Díaz-Canel, and after taking the necessary photos, the same workers removed the light fixture, leaving the neighborhood in darkness.
Upon seeing a ladder propped against the streetlight, several neighbors began recording what was happening and protesting because they were being left in the dark again. They feel it is "a lack of respect" to bring a lamp so that Díaz-Canel can see that the street is lit and then take it away once the event is over.
Everything indicates that this is not the first time the lamp has been installed and removed after a political event. According to an official from the installation, who claimed to have ties to the military, this happens every time there is an activity of the Communist Party because there are no streetlights in the country. Therefore, the lamppost in Baire will not be illuminated again until new lights arrive, which are supposed to come from abroad, and under the current circumstances in Cuba, that is a rather unlikely scenario.
"Such a tremendous lack of respect! Here on 15th Street, they installed a lamp on the eve of February 24th, and now, after those days have passed, they're taking it away from us again! This is just too much!" wrote a user on Revolico Baire, on Facebook, sharing the video of the residents' complaint to the employee of the electric company.
The person in charge of the brigade responsible for cutting off the power on 15th Street in Baire clarified that they were not going to take the lamp itself but rather "the interior," meaning the lighting fixture.
"But how are we going to have light if they take away that lamp?" The head of operations clarified that they determined the lamp that was previously in that corner had a damaged transformer.
The official response is that the country does not have lighting fixtures. "The lighting is taken when there is an event. It has been explained to the delegates that we have certain proposals and there are no lamps to replace them. This lamp is going to be installed now in Los Negros and so on. Unfortunately, that's how it is. We have to take it away and put it back for another event," he noted in a conciliatory tone.
"I know it's not your fault, but that's not right, my love. I mean, you just turned it on for the event, and now we're back in total darkness. Look at all the children in this neighborhood, and we have to stay in the dark. It was all for Díaz-Canel to see that we had lights here. Now the president is leaving, and it's total darkness," a neighbor reproached.
The lamp was installed on the eve of the celebration in the municipality for the national event marking the 130th anniversary of the Grito de Baire, an occurrence that marked the restart of the wars for the independence of the Island on February 24, 1895. The anniversary, celebrated by the Communist Party of Cuba, was attended by Díaz-Canel and Roberto Morales Ojeda, who is responsible for Organization within the PCC. Both paraded through the town, carrying Cuban flags. At that moment, it was unknown that after this event, the lamp would be taken away from the neighbors.
"With this tribute, the Cuban people evoke one of the most glorious and significant chapters of their history," wrote the official site Cubadebate, in a propagandistic tone. The neighbors see it differently: they came, took the photo, left, and took the lamp with them.
Although there is no money in Cuba to buy streetlights for neighborhoods, the regime spares no expense in spreading its political propaganda to remote municipalities in the country. Four days after his visit to Baire, Díaz-Canel toured Niquero with a significant security detail, contrasting sharply with the austerity his government preaches. Amid the economic crisis, the caravan of Raúl Castro's successor consisted of seven vehicles and an extensive security presence. This seems to be an attempt to bolster the political leadership of a leader in a precarious situation.
Around the same time, Díaz-Canel visited the municipality of Calixto García, in Holguín, and the local authorities tried to impress the leader by filling a “forgotten” dairy farm with cattle, where the mechanical milking system has not worked for four years; placing four hearses outside a funeral home; cleaning the hospital; and putting a group of elderly people on a bus to create the illusion that they were part of a senior citizens’ circle... Local sources told CiberCuba that the municipality became unrecognizable for Díaz-Canel's visit and then returned to its usual state of neglect.
Only in Songo la Maya did a neighbor dare to tell Díaz-Canel what happens on the eve of his visit. This occurred on March 22, when a man interrupted the speech given by the Cuban leader to ask him if he was aware of the populist measures being taken before his arrival in localities across the country.
"Did you know that, thanks to your visit today, they painted La Maya a week ago?" they said amidst the crowd.
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