A video shared on social media by independent communicator Yosmany Mayeta Labrada has reignited the controversy regarding the priorities of the Cuban regime.
In the images captured from a moving motorcycle, the city of Santiago de Cuba can be seen enveloped in dense nighttime darkness due to a prolonged blackout, while one of its most emblematic hotels, Casa Granda, remains fully illuminated.
The scenes show entire streets without electricity, residential buildings in darkness, and citizens moving through the shadows, in stark contrast to the bright light of the hotel, a symbol of the local tourism industry.
The video explores various areas of the historic center and reveals the harshness of a daily reality for the people of Santiago: the sacrifice of their basic needs in favor of an economy focused on international tourism.
This situation is not new, but it once again evokes outrage for what it represents. While the majority of Cubans suffer from power outages lasting for hours, the regime ensures a continuous power supply to hotels aimed at attracting foreign currency.
This disparity reflects a policy that prioritizes tourism revenue over citizen well-being, at the expense of exacerbating public discontent.
"This is not energy efficiency or planning; it's simply a mockery," commented one of the users who shared the video.
The case of Hotel Casa Granda, visible from various points in the center of Santiago due to its illuminated façade, thus becomes a symbol of the contradictions of the economic model of the Cuban regime, which seems to cater to foreigners while neglecting its own people.
Tourism Investment versus Public Services: A Policy that Deepens the Energy Crisis
The scene of Santiago de Cuba in darkness, with the Hotel Casa Granda shining brightly, symbolizes a state policy that prioritizes international tourism at the expense of the basic needs of the population.
Since Miguel Díaz-Canel took office as president in 2018, the regime has intensified investments in the tourism sector through the Business Administration Group S.A. (GAESA), while essential sectors such as public health and energy have faced significant neglect.
According to data from the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI), in 2024 investments in business services, real estate activities, and rentals reached 24.907 million Cuban pesos (CUP), making it the primary destination for capital expenditure in the country.
This is complemented by 11,936.5 million CUP allocated to hotels and restaurants, bringing the total to over 36.800 million pesos invested in activities closely related to tourism.
In contrast, public health and social assistance barely reached an investment of 1,977.4 million CUP, while agriculture, livestock, and forestry received 2,645.5 million, representing a meager 2.7% of the total national investment.
This disparity in the allocation of resources has had noticeable consequences. While luxury hotels like the K-23 Tower in Havana are being built, with an estimated cost between 226 and 565 million dollars, the country's thermal power plants operate with outdated equipment and insufficient maintenance.
In October 2024, a Cuban wondered how many thermoelectric plants could have been repaired with the money allocated for the construction of that hotel, highlighting that a 300 MW plant, similar to the CTE Antonio Guiteras, costs between 210 and 450 million dollars.
The energy crisis has worsened with power outages of up to 20 hours a day in some provinces, while tourist areas like Varadero and hotels in Havana remain lit, showing an unequal distribution of electrical energy.
This development model, which favors tourism at the expense of public services, has generated images of painful inequality in the country, where the majority of the population faces basic shortages while resources are allocated to infrastructures that do not directly benefit citizens.
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