Neighbors of the neighborhood Santa Felicia, in the municipality of Marianao in Havana (Cuba), took to the streets tonight with pot banging and blockades on 51st Avenue to protest the prolonged crisis, the power outages, the shortage of food, and the lack of freedoms.
According to videos shared by the musician El Funky, the demonstrators demanded “light, food, and freedom” while blocking traffic on that main thoroughfare. Witnesses stated that after several hours of tension, agents of the National Revolutionary Police arrived at the scene and detentions occurred, although the exact number of arrests is still unknown.
The protest in Santa Felicia occurs in a context of growing social unrest in the capital. In recent weeks, there have been demonstrations and pot-banging events in municipalities such as Centro Habana, El Cerro, Cojímar, and La Habana Vieja, related to power outages, water shortages, and supply shortages.
Santa Felicia —the popular council of Marianao— is one of the areas most affected by power outages and the deterioration of basic services. Avenida 51, the site of the protest, connects several working-class neighborhoods and is a crucial part of local mobility, so the blockades caused significant disruptions to traffic.
Until the publication of this report, the authorities had not provided an official version of what happened in Marianao nor details about those detained. CiberCuba will continue to update this information.
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