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Cuba bids farewell to 2025 almost in darkness. After a year of blackouts and crises, the country reaches the end of the year with hopes diminished. The government's promises fade away as millions of Cubans face the holidays without electricity, insufficient food, and an increasingly uncertain future.
The year 2025 will be remembered as one of the darkest years of the last decade. Power outages spread across almost the entire country, with cuts lasting more than 20 hours a day and a generation deficit exceeding 2,000 megawatts. Even Havana was not spared: there were days with more than 12 hours without electricity.
The government blamed the old thermoelectric plants and the lack of fuel, but Cubans know that the problem is much deeper. The Minister of Energy, Vicente de la O Levy, acknowledged that it has been a "very difficult and tense" year and warned that the issues will continue in 2026.
The electricity crisis was accompanied by an economic collapse. The dollar ended the year at around 435 pesos, the euro surpassed 480, and the MLC hovered around 410 in the informal market. Inflation drove up the prices of essential foods, leaving families on the brink of hunger. In Holguín, a bag of coal reached a cost of 1,400 pesos during the peak of blackouts.
While salaries remain frozen, remittances and bartering are the only lifeline. Each increase in the dollar or euro not only reflects the real value of the currency but also the hopelessness of a country with no economic direction.
The official discourse insists that "to resist is to win," but people no longer believe it. Social media is flooded with criticism and sarcasm every time an official promises improvements. When Prime Minister Manuel Marrero announced more than a billion dollars to repair the electrical system, the reaction was immediate: "Either there are too many zeros or there are too few megawatts," wrote a user.
While the newspaper Granma celebrates "victories of the Revolution," most see only more darkness. Social media has become the true thermometer of the country: a space where Cubans express fatigue, irony, and a deep desire for change.
The Cuban blackout is no longer just about electricity: it is also moral and political. Every night without light symbolizes an exhausted model, a system that has lost both energy and the trust of its people. Yet, even amidst the darkness, the solidarity and ingenuity of Cubans keep a spark of hope alive. That flame, increasingly faint, demands real changes before 2026 becomes merely an extension of another long night.
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