Residents of at least three municipalities in Havana took to the streets on the night of Saturday, September 21, to protest against the prolonged blackouts, amidst the fragile energy situation left by the fifth collapse of the National Electric System (SEN) in less than a year.
In videos shared on social media, residents of San Miguel del Padrón, in the Dolores neighborhood, and the Calabazar area, in the Boyeros municipality, can be seen blocking streets, banging pots, and shouting slogans against the regime and the energy crisis affecting the entire island.
According to the independent journalist José Luis Tan Estrada, protests were also reported in the Versalles area, in Matanzas.
The protests were recorded in darkness, with no visible presence of law enforcement in some of the videos, as groups of neighbors expressed their frustration over the lack of electricity, water, and refrigerated food in their homes.
Apparently, the protest hotspots emerged amid another mass blackout affecting various areas of the capital. Through his account on X (formerly Twitter), Tan Estrada shared images of the protests in Calabazar and Reparto Dolores, describing the situation as "tense" and with an increasingly "explosive" social tension.
These demonstrations come after Cuba experienced its fifth nationwide electrical collapse, primarily caused by the unexpected shutdown of key power plants such as the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, and since then, attempts to restore service have been partial and uneven.
Although the authorities have synchronized some power units and activated backup plants, the actual availability remains far below demand: during peak load periods, generation deficits exceed 1,900 MW, and in Havana, outages continue without a clear rotation plan or guaranteed stability.
The energy situation in Cuba remains critical, with entire populations subjected to daily blackouts lasting more than 12 hours. The growing discontent of the citizens is beginning to manifest once again in the streets, as it did during other historic protest days in 2021 and 2022.
A country on the brink of blackouts, lack of water, and citizen protests
The recent protests in neighborhoods of Havana are not isolated incidents, but rather the cumulative result of a national crisis in basic services that deepens with each passing day.
In less than two weeks, protests have been documented in El Cerro, San Miguel del Padrón, Cojímar, Calabazar, Regla, and Centro Habana, all driven by prolonged power outages and, in many cases, also by a complete lack of drinking water.
In La Loma de Fumero, in Regla, neighbors took to the streets banging pots after going 30 days without water. In Centro Habana, on August 19, dozens of residents blocked Reina Street with empty buckets for the same reason. Weeks later, at Águila and Monte, also in the capital, another protest erupted in the early hours due to the prolonged lack of service.
This water crisis is compounded by the structural collapse of the National Electrical System (SEN), which registered its fifth national blackout of the year on September 14. Since then, the restoration has been partial, fragile, and uneven.
Official figures reflect an alarming reality: a deficit of up to 1,900 MW, with more than 50% of the country affected during peak hours. In Havana, the Electric Company acknowledges outages in multiple sectors, although users report interruptions that are even more severe than those officially communicated.
In this context, the leader Miguel Díaz-Canel acknowledged the existence of “disproportions” in the distribution of power outages and proposed a “more equitable distribution,” which sparked a wave of criticism from citizens who denounce privileges for the elite in power.
Cornered by the lack of electricity, water, food, and medicine, more and more Cubans are taking to the streets to demand the bare minimum. The sound of pot-banging and protest shouts has become the common language of a weary people.
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