"Let's squeeze them more! The lemon is out!" - announcer Laritza Camacho on Díaz-Canel's appearance



Laritza Camacho / Miguel Díaz-CanelPhoto © Collage Facebook / Laritza Camacho - Cubadebate

After the televised appearance of Miguel Díaz-Canel, presented as a "live" dialogue with the press, the Cuban broadcaster Laritza Camacho published a series of critical messages on social media that generated numerous reactions among users, in a context marked by power outages, lack of connectivity, and questions regarding the very development of the event.

In one of his early messages, Camacho summarized the presidential intervention with an ironic tone: “.” The reference to the “lemon” connects with a phrase uttered by Díaz-Canel in 2020, when he stated in a meeting of the Council of Ministers that “lemonade is the foundation of everything”, a statement that at the time generated mockery, criticism, and memes among Cubans.

Camacho's post provoked dozens of comments from users who agreed that the speech did not bring any new announcements or concrete solutions, and that the country's situation will continue to involve greater sacrifices for the population.

Hours later, the host revisited the topic and directly questioned the conditions under which the appearance was broadcasted. In another post, she wrote: “That speech went down in history… it was announced for 10 am and at that time, all the circuits shut down. People immediately lost power and connection. It must be very sad to speak into the void from the void. The speech was announced live, but we will find out what was said later.”

The comment coincided with numerous complaints from Cubans who reported being unable to watch the broadcast due to power outages and connectivity issues in various parts of the country.

In a third post, Camacho mocked the format of the meeting and the control over the questions directed at Díaz-Canel: “And with just one question, they could have resolved everything: – .” The phrase circulated amid the controversy generated after a clock visible during the appearance displayed a different time than what was officially announced.

Later, in a more extensive text, the host resorted to satire to describe the material and social deterioration of the country. In her reflection, she imagined how “the archaeologists of the future” would try to explain a Cuba where remnants of modernity coexist with conditions typical of another era, and concluded with a phrase that encapsulates the tone of her analysis: “Poor confused archaeologists in the future!
Poor us living in the present!”.

On social media, the discourse was largely received as "more of the same," lacking concrete announcements or responses to the problems affecting daily life. Complaints about shortages, power outages, and difficulties in obtaining information were joined by assessments from the intellectual community, which questioned the official insistence on demanding new sacrifices from an exhausted country. For many users, the address not only confirmed the distance between the message from those in power and everyday reality but also reinforced the sense of social exhaustion and the absence of a credible solution to the crisis facing Cuba.

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CiberCuba Editorial Team

A team of journalists committed to reporting on Cuban current affairs and topics of global interest. At CiberCuba, we work to deliver truthful news and critical analysis.