A 43-year-old Cuban, bedridden for over eight years due to medical negligence, recorded a video addressed to President Miguel Díaz-Canel in which she harshly denounces the living conditions in Cuba and challenges him to come and get her.
The woman, who suffers from multiple bedsores and is in a fetal position because she cannot obtain baclofen—a muscle relaxant essential for her condition—directly addresses the president: "There is no electricity, no food, no water, no medication."
"Make sure there is nothing in the hospitals, and adds: 'This is with you, President.'"
The video was published on Facebook and gathered more than 1,500 views, 59 reactions, and 15 comments, with an audience that responded with outrage and solidarity.
From the very beginning of the video, the woman makes it clear that she is not afraid of repercussions: "Look, I’m making this video to share it on Facebook. I don’t care if they come for me, whatever they do to me. Because this is the life we are living. We are living a very ugly life."
The protagonist describes her personal situation in detail: she has been unable to walk for over eight years, she has sores that won't heal due to a lack of medical supplies, and she needs baclofen that she cannot find anywhere. "I've searched for it under the ground," she says.
His complaint encompasses the entire crisis the country is experiencing: blackouts lasting 16 to 20 hours daily, over twenty consecutive days without water, gas delivered in small cylinders every six or seven months —and empty—, and hospitals that do not admit patients due to a lack of resources.
It also directly criticizes the government's digitalization proposal: "How is everything going to be computerized as you want? There's not even a connection. Explain to me, there's not even a connection for withdrawing a peso from the bank."
His most powerful message comes when he rejects the official argument of the embargo: "You are the one who is blocking. And I don't agree right now. If you want to come and arrest me, it doesn't matter to me."
The comments on the video reflected the impact of her words. Cuban internet users expressed solidarity with the woman and agreed with her assessment of the government's management.
Several users pointed out that situations like theirs are recurring throughout the island, while others highlighted their bravery for speaking out without fear of the consequences.
The complaint comes days after Díaz-Canel visited the Juan Manuel Márquez Pediatric Hospital on March 29 to promote telemedicine and digital transformation, a picture that contrasts with the woman's account and the evidence of the healthcare crisis: over 96,000 patients are waiting for surgery in Cuba, including 11,193 children.
According to the organization Food Monitor Program, 80% of Cubans believe the current crisis is worse than the Special Period of the 1990s, and 94% do not trust that the government can reverse it.
The woman concludes her video with a phrase that summarizes the exhaustion of thousands of Cubans: "We have been enduring the same for 67 years. I am 43. And we have been enduring the same. But what is happening with you right now has never happened before."
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