On the afternoon of this Saturday, the "Lidio Ramón Pérez" Thermoelectric Power Plant in Felton, Holguín, published a message on its social media that sparked a wave of mockery, outrage, and sarcasm among Cubans.
“A few hours before the 99th birthday of the Commander, ETE Felton contributing 205 MW for the people,” celebrated the plant, linking its electricity generation to the birth date of the dictator Fidel Castro.
The post was shared by the Electric Union (UNE) on its official Facebook page, and comments quickly flooded in, highlighting the public's frustration with the political manipulation of technical issues that should simply be part of normal service.
“What connection does it have that Felton produces what he must produce with Fidel's birthday? Is doing his job a gift?”, questioned one user, while another sarcastically remarked: “So tomorrow, when there is no birthday, does he leave the SEN?”.
Other comments directly pointed to the crude propaganda of the regime: "What shamelessness!… When power outages exceed 20 hours a day, who do they dedicate them to? We just experienced 28 a few hours ago and they weren't dedicated to anyone."
There were also those who recalled unfulfilled promises: "Pinar del Río remembers him with love since he said that 'it will never again experience blackouts'... liar."
Sarcasm played a central role in many messages: “It's until the 13th, so the creature doesn't get upset”; “When the birthday passes, a little tube from the heater is definitely going to leak”; “Felton is designed to generate electricity, and that's what it should do full-time”.
Beyond the jokes, the background reveals a precarious energy scenario. Although Felton is providing 205 MW today, the impacts from generation deficits have exceeded 2,000 MW several times this summer, causing power outages of more than 20 hours in some areas.
For many Cubans, the “coincidence” of less pressing deficits with the dictator's birthday is not coincidental, but rather part of a pattern in which the regime seems to ensure some electrical stability before official anniversaries, only to return to the usual crisis afterward.
Ultimately, Felton's publication is yet another example of how the "continuity" of Miguel Díaz-Canel and his state enterprises continues to use Castro's figure to disguise what should be a government obligation as a "tribute": to provide electricity in a stable and continuous manner.
But the popular response, sharp and massive, shows that fewer and fewer Cubans are swallowing the official narrative. In the words of an internet user: "You are a mockery and an insult to human intelligence... The only country in the world where what a dead person thinks matters more than the lives of millions of living people."
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