A video posted on Facebook by Samuel Fajardo Marrero captures in just 16 seconds what many residents of Havana are feeling these days: a Cuban biting his nails and staring intently at the ceiling lamp, unable to relax over something as simple as having light.
The situation brings to mind the saying, "a beating for rowing, and a beating for not rowing." The energy crisis remains at the forefront of Cuban concerns, regardless of what the regime does. People know that the blackout will come at any moment.
Havana has accumulated approximately four consecutive days without blackouts due to a generation deficit, a situation so unusual that, instead of relief, it has sparked distrust and anticipatory anxiety among the population.
The reaction on social media says it all. "Get ready for next week, this is really strange", wrote a resident of Havana.
A mother of a family couldn't help but note the irony: "The Electric Union and its magic wand!" Another Cuban was more succinct: "Everything here is still the same," referring to the blackouts across the country that have not improved.
Skepticism is warranted. The temporary improvement in the capital can be explained by the arrival of Russian fuel on April 17, after nearly four months without oil imports.
This allowed for a reduction in the generation deficit from 1,945 megawatts on April 1 to 1,012 megawatts on April 21, the lowest forecast since November 2025. However, the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, stated bluntly: "With just this ship, we have enough until the end of this month".
The impact of the energy crisis on the mental health of the Cuban population has been documented by specialists.
The social psychologist Yadira Albet warned that this "uncertainty generates anguish, stress, and even chronic depression". The sociologist Elaine Acosta goes further and describes the situation as a true "epidemic of mental health," fueled by economic precariousness, food shortages, and the inability to access specialized care.
The paradox depicted in the video by Fajardo Marrero is also an X-ray of the accumulated damage. After months and years of daily blackouts, having electricity has become more unsettling than comforting.
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