The state-owned mipyme Servi Axess, part of the Commercialization Company AXESS of the OSDE/GEA of the Ministry of Transport (Mitrans), will manage the fleet of 15 electric vehicles recently added to the funeral service in Havana.
The fleet is equipped with technical conditions for recharging through both conventional methods and solar panels installed at the parking base, the group reported on Facebook Transportación Habana TH.
According to Oscar Carvajal Serrano, the general director of the Mitrans Automotive Business Group, the vehicles were purchased and specifically adapted for funeral services and will be exclusively designated for the capital.
The project was publicly showcased on December 24 during a visit by the ruling Miguel Díaz-Canel to facilities related to transportation, where officials explained the supposed functionality and social impact of the initiative.
On social media aligned with the government, Servi Axess was promoted as an example of "green innovation" and "social sensitivity."
Citizen reactions and criticisms
The initiative sparked a wave of critical comments on social media, where many users questioned both the state mipyme model and the true intentions behind the project.
For several internet users, these types of ventures do not signify economic openness but rather a mechanism of control. "They are the juggling acts to maintain control and power, while quickly enriching a group of family members and acolytes," wrote an internet user.
Other comments pointed out that the structural crisis is functional to the system. "The dictatorship benefits from there always being a crisis: blackouts, shortages of water, food, everything, so they can then say that they are the ones solving it," asserted another commentator, who also highlighted remittances as one of the main sources of enrichment for the ruling elite.
There were also critiques regarding the "state" nature of the micro, small, and medium enterprises. A citizen asserted that it is a covert privatization, as these companies "are kept by them under the guise of new-type state entities," without real competition or the guarantees typical of a rule of law.
Several users contrasted the announcement with reality in other provinces. A resident in Santa Clara explained that families must provide materials to make coffins and pay bribes to expedite burials due to the lack of funeral cars, fuel, and personnel, a situation that, as she reported, keeps corpses waiting for days.
For others, the model of SMEs reflects an unresolved ideological contradiction. “It is a capitalism that hides behind socialism and a revolution,” wrote a commentator.
For their part, another person wondered who the true beneficiaries of the new company will be: "They have everything figured out and will continue to create needs in order to later create their micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises."
Reactions reflect a deep citizen skepticism towards a measure that, although presented as a partial solution to a collapsed service, is perceived by many as part of an economic reconfiguration aimed at preserving privileges and control, rather than fundamentally addressing the funeral crisis facing the country.
In June, it was reported about the delivery of an electric hearse in the municipality of Placetas, Villa Clara.
The announcement comes amid a context marked by the ongoing collapse of funeral services in Cuba, affected by the lack of maintenance for hearses, the scarcity of fuel, the shortage of materials for coffin manufacturing and poor management.
In recent months, serious incidents have been reported, such as coffins falling from hearses in the middle of public roads and bodies that remain untransferred for hours, events that have generated outrage and highlight the loss of dignity even after death.
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