A video published on TikTok last Sunday starkly depicts the reality faced by Cubans in their streets: no public transport, no state vehicles stopping, electric tricycles out of service, and the few private vehicles charging fares that most cannot afford. The recording by user @zol.arias on TikTok garnered 2.5 million views in less than 48 hours and captures first-hand the simultaneous collapse of all urban mobility systems on the island.
On Sunday, March 16, it coincided with the sixth total national blackout in 18 months. The Electric Union (UNE) confirmed the complete disconnection of the National Electroenergetic System (SEN) with a brief statement: "A total disconnection of the SEN has been confirmed. Restoration protocols are being initiated." By dawn that day, the electrical availability was only 1,140 MW against a demand of 2,347 MW.
The state of transportation reflects the worsening of a crisis that was already evident weeks earlier. In provinces like Ciego de Ávila, only 2 out of 135 bus routes were operating due to a fuel shortage, leaving thousands of people without any formal mobility options.
Electric tricycles, which had emerged as an alternative due to the lack of buses and gasoline, were also rendered inoperable that Sunday as they could not be charged without electricity. The chain of simultaneous failures—fuel, electricity, and transportation—left Cubans literally stranded in their neighborhoods.
The energy collapse is not an isolated phenomenon. The timeline of blackouts in Cuba during 2026 shows a sustained escalation that has turned prolonged outages into the norm and moments of electricity into the exception for millions of families.
The accumulated desperation has led to street protests in multiple locations across the country. Since March 7, the blackouts have triggered protests with pots and pans in Havana, and the demonstrations have not ceased since.
Protests have spread beyond the capital. In municipalities such as Mayarí, Cubans protested on March 15 in yet another night of collective outrage, while the government offered no concrete answers regarding when the supply would improve.
After the total blackout on March 16, social tension escalated. There were reports of pot-banging in El Cerro and new pot-banging protests in Havana on March 18, with demonstrations spreading to new neighborhoods each night.
The economic impact of the fuel crisis is also hitting the private sector hard. According to recent data, the shortage of fuel puts 96% of Cuban small and medium enterprises at risk, threatening one of the few sectors that still generated some economic activity in the country.
In the absence of institutional solutions, Cubans have had to reinvent their daily lives. From getting up early to secure water to reorganizing walking or biking routes, this is how they reorganize their lives to address food, water, and fuel amidst a crisis that shows no signs of easing.
"The streets today, Sunday, are practically empty. There’s no transportation. You already know the problem with fuel," says the voice in the viral video, as the camera moves over a deserted avenue. What it shows is not an exception: it is the new normal for an island where getting from one point to another has become a daily challenge for millions of people.
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