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The announcement of the closure of the National Botanical Garden of Cuba due to a lack of fuel triggered a wave of comments on social media that reflect the frustration and anger of Cubans in response to the systematic collapse of the country’s institutions.
Last Saturday, the garden's management announced that it was closing its doors "until further notice" because it has not received a single liter of the 10,000 liters of diesel per month approved in its economic plan since February, which has completely halted the tasks of weeding, pruning, and maintaining its collections.
The dominant tone in the comments was not one of surprise, but rather of bitter resignation mixed with political irony. One phrase summed it all up: It doesn't matter if the country is destroyed, we have dignity, written as a direct sarcasm towards the official discourse of the regime, which appeals to "resistance" while institutions collapse one after the other.
The most recurring comment pointed to a contradiction that Cubans find unacceptable: the shortage of fuel for the garden in contrast to the expected availability for the May 1st parade. "They don't have fuel for that, but for transporting people to the May 1st show, they spare no expense," wrote one user. Another added: "Closure due to lack of fuel and now it’s the school recess week. But there’s going to be a parade for May 1st; for that nonsense, there’s definitely fuel. How terrible."
Other comments demanded the closure of the regime's institutions instead of the garden. "Why don't they shut down the MININT, PCC, UJC, CDR, FMC? Places that, rather than producing, kill ideas and siphon off the resources we don’t have," asked a user. Another was more direct: "Shut down the Council of State; after all, they are drawing a salary without any results, and if they're going to say it's the fault of the embargo or the Americans, blah, blah, blah, they’ve been at it for more than six decades and there's not a single brain that can get Cuba back on its feet."
The list of institutional losses that Cubans mentioned in their comments is long: "Because of the embargo, haaaa... we also don’t have a botanical garden, nor Lenin Park, nor ExpoCuba, nor a zoo, nor a national aquarium, nor morality or shame," wrote another user.
Some pointed out with dark humor the future of the garden itself: "One day it will close due to a lack of green spaces." Others recalled the historical pattern of "temporary" closures in Cuba: "We already know what happens with the temporary."
The garden, which houses approximately 4,000 live plant species and a herbarium with 100,000 specimens spread across 500 to 600 hectares in the municipality of Arroyo Naranjo, had already suffered damage from Hurricane Rafael at the end of 2024, with more than 500 trees affected. Its official statement attributed the closure to the "energy blockade against Cuba," which prevented the reception of "the minimum necessary fuel" throughout the year.
"Another one out of circulation... How much government inefficiency. Letting a flagship location of our country fall and be lost. Is that what they call 'Creative Resistance'?", concluded a user, summarizing what thousands of Cubans feel with each new collapse.
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