The Armando Carnot playground, located next to the Versailles bridge in the city of Matanzas, continues to deteriorate without action from the authorities, as reported on Thursday by journalist Ángel Rodríguez in a report broadcasted by the TV Yumurí telecenter.
The space had already been the subject of a journalistic complaint the previous year, but instead of improving, it "is getting worse," according to the reporter's own words.
The gaming machines remain in poor condition, the plaque commemorating the Matanzas personality that names the place "is conspicuously absent," and the park has become a water supply point for residents due to the area's scarcity of this essential resource.
The physical deterioration has accelerated in recent weeks. "The front of the perimeter fence has been disappearing day by day. In just a few weeks, several sections of it have been removed, and currently, it is possible to enter the location without any protection," the report warned.
The perimeter wall has also been affected by an improvised large-scale dump that is growing around it, in a neighborhood that the authorities themselves recognize as the most impacted by the garbage crisis in Matanzas, with overflowing dumps and sewage blockages.
According to the source, the park "lacks custodians or anyone responsible for its management and protection," which has allowed for the systematic theft of its structural elements.
The water shortage partly explains the use of the park as a source of supply. More than 300,000 residents of the province lack a stable supply of water, a crisis that has been ongoing for months with no solution in sight.
The park pays tribute to Armando Carnot Veulens, a physician and politician from Matanzas born in 1884, popularly known as "the Doctor of the Poor" for his free care to humble sectors, and who served as mayor of Matanzas from 1916. The plaque commemorating his memory at the site has disappeared along with the fence.
The TV Yumurí report concluded with an unanswered question: "Will it be necessary to abandon it permanently before beginning the anticipated repair, or can we halt its deterioration until it can be repaired?"
This case adds to a pattern of institutional neglect that is recurring throughout the province. In April, a bush growing over the façade of the José White Hall revealed the indifference towards the cultural heritage of Matanzas.
Days later, images of the extreme deterioration in Cárdenas showed damaged buildings, empty streets, and piles of rubble in a historic area.
Filed under: