The cacophony of pots and pans returned this Sunday to the streets of Centro Habana, signaling a rising citizen discontent over the blackouts that continue to affect the Cuban capital.
Reports circulated on social media by independent journalists and residents of the area indicated neighborhood protests in areas such as Cayo Hueso and San Lázaro, where residents took to the streets to express their dissatisfaction after long hours without electricity service.
Journalist Camila Acosta shared a video of a pot-banging event in Cayo Hueso, while other users reported similar protests in various locations throughout Centro Habana. "Epic pot-banging in San Lázaro, Centro Habana. Making noise until they turned on the lights... and a little more," wrote user Adolfo Nelson Ochagavía Callejas on Facebook alongside a video recorded from a building in the area.
The new protests occur just a day after residents of Cayo Hueso held another massive protest with pots and pans to complain that they had received only an hour and a half of electricity in almost two days.
According to testimonies shared on social media, outrage grew when certain areas regained service for less than an hour before experiencing another outage.
"They restored the electricity for only 45 minutes and then another blackout. How much longer will this last?" quoted the page La Tijera News while reporting on the testimony of a resident from Centro Habana.
The repetition of protests within less than 24 hours reflects the worsening of a situation that many residents of Havana consider unsustainable. For weeks, neighbors from various municipalities in the capital have reported power outages lasting more than 15 and even up to 20 hours daily, amid one of the worst energy crises recorded in Cuba in recent years.
Centro Habana has become one of the main centers of this discontent. In March, protests with pots and pans occurred in Neptuno and Hospital, as well as in Salud and Belascoaín. More recently, on May 26, residents of Zanja and Hospital also protested against power outages.
The protests coincide with a critical situation for the National Electric System. In recent days, the Electric Union has reported deficits close to 2,000 megawatts, while several generating units remain out of service due to breakdowns or maintenance.
The crisis was further exacerbated by the recent outage of the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, one of the country's main power generation facilities, just hours after being reconnected to the grid.
The videos released this Sunday show streets nearly in darkness and the sound of pots being banged from balconies and buildings, a form of protest that has become increasingly common in various parts of Cuba as blackouts intensify.
So far, no violent incidents or official statements have been reported regarding the banging of pots and pans that took place in Centro Habana on the night of this past Sunday.
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