The community of Bejuquero, located in the mountainous municipality of Guisa in the province of Granma, recently staged a public protest after being without electricity for more than three months.
Neighborhood outrage erupted upon realizing that, instead of progressing with the promised electrification, the authorities were removing electrical wires while providing evasive explanations.
A video shared by Facebook user Angélica María Aliaga Carrazana showcased the public discontent in the area, where dozens of residents gathered from the surrounding neighborhoods to protest upon learning that authorities were dismantling the wiring installed for the promised electrification.
"We have been left in the dark for over three months. Since 2000, they told us they would electrify us; they came, took down the cables, and while they were talking to us, they were cutting them," Aliaga Carrazana stated in his post.
In the shared recording, an officer (apparently a Lieutenant Colonel) in a Ministry of the Interior (MININT) uniform can be seen giving explanations that the neighbors reject with shouts and defiant expressions. "Take us to the dungeon if you want," is heard from one resident.
In the midst of the neighborhood commotion, a green truck (presumably military) can be seen with workers dismantling the installed wiring.
Protests that are recurring in the face of a structural energy crisis
This new episode of discontent is not isolated. In November 2024, another community in the same municipality —the Reparto Militar de Guisa— confronted local authorities after a faulty transformer left its residents without electricity.
The authorities then decided to connect the population to the National Electric Power System (SEN), a measure that was rejected by the residents, who feared increased instability due to the ongoing blackouts affecting the national grid.
In both cases, residents took to the streets to demand answers. Videos shared by neighbors show people firmly asserting their right to a dignified life, while local officials were confronted for their lack of concrete solutions.
In November, the visit of the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) in Granma, Yudelkis Ortiz, did not calm the spirits in the Military Neighborhood of Guisa. Her post on Facebook focused on general topics and avoided addressing the conflict, which generated even more criticism among those affected.
In 2017, CiberCuba reported the case of young Osmani Suárez, a resident of Bejuquero, who suffered from chronic bronchial asthma and whose life was seriously endangered due to the lack of electricity.
His mother then reported that they only had one generator available for four hours a day, and that without access to a medical clinic or quick access to medications, her son ended up in intensive care after a crisis. The village, home to about 600 people, relies on the town of Horneros—eight kilometers away—for any medical emergencies, and often even lacks ambulance transport due to fuel shortages.
“If my child dies, it will be due to the lack of electricity”, said the mother at the time, summarizing the daily tragedy faced by many rural Cuban families.
Official propaganda versus real abandonment
Meanwhile, the regime's propaganda apparatus continues to glorify alleged achievements in the electrical sector in the province of Granma.
Yolaine Ramírez Carrazana, currently the director of the Business Unit (UEB) 'Comprehensive Customer Service Center' (CIAC) at the Granma Electric Company (which she also served as general director), has received numerous recognitions for her “dedication” and “leadership,” according to Radio Bayamo.
In 2019, the UEB of Guisa was awarded the National Vanguard Flag, and in 2024, Ramírez Carrazana herself received the Ñico López medal for her “outstanding results,” as reported by the official media La Demajagua.
These awards stand in stark contrast to the reality of hundreds of families who live either completely or partially disconnected from the grid, or who rely on solar panels that lack maintenance and the capacity to meet their basic needs.
According to recent data provided to the newspaper Granma by the current general director of the Granma Electric Company, Geider Mompié Rodríguez, 587 of the 2,879 solar panels installed in the province were out of order in April 2023. At that time, the executive acknowledged that they did not have the necessary resources for their repair.
Between misinformation and frustration
The regime's energy policy has been characterized by a narrative of self-sufficiency and technological advancements, with promises of changes to the energy matrix and the expansion of solar parks.
However, officials have acknowledged that these projects do not address the structural deficit in electricity generation. Granma, for example, consumes between 100 and 120 MW at peak noon, but its largest solar park only delivers about 21 MW, which is 20% of the required amount, as acknowledged by Mompié Rodríguez himself to Radio Bayamo.
In that context, protests like the one in Bejuquero are becoming increasingly frequent, fueled by accumulated frustration and the absence of real solutions. Entire rural communities continue to await the arrival of basic services while authorities celebrate goals that only exist in speeches and official headlines.
The disconnect between triumphalist rhetoric and the everyday life of Cubans in these unelectrified areas reveals the profound wear of a system that has lost the ability to respond, even in the most basic aspects.
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