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Lisa Robaina Acosta posted this Tuesday on Facebook a testimony that harshly depicts the abandonment faced by the elderly in rural communities of the Southern Circuit of Cienfuegos: her grandfather turned 88 years old in the Arimao Community, municipality of Cumanayagua, and only she was able to visit him because there is no transportation, while her aunts—who live half an hour away—were unable to make it.
The elderly man, a veteran of the fight against the bandits of Escambray and a combatant in Angola, had shaved and prepared to welcome his four daughters.
None arrived.
"What could a man who turns 88 years old want, and who can rarely see his four daughters and granddaughters, but to spend that day with them?" wrote Robaina Acosta.
The heart of their complaint is the complete isolation that the community experiences when the electricity goes out.
"When there is no electricity, the community is left completely cut off. There isn't even a public phone for the most basic needs. ETECSA ceases to function in that context. I experienced this yesterday while staying with my grandparents, and I was devastated," she wrote.
Blackouts in that area can last between one and a half days to three days, according to their testimony.
During that time, there is no way to alert family members or the hospital in case of a medical emergency.
"Anyone can die, and only those who need to know will find out when the current returns," warned the author.
The context worsens the report: this Tuesday, the Electric Union reported a deficit of 1,630 MW in the early hours of the day, with projections of up to 2,055 MW of deficit for the nighttime peak, one of the highest recorded so far in 2026.
The Arimao Community, founded in 1975, has only eight buildings and around 800 inhabitants, according to data from EcuRed.
Robaina Acosta's grandparents are among the few original founders still alive in that place.
Transportation in Cienfuegos is practically collapsed: from a fleet of 233 vehicles, only 19 were operating under a leased mode in 2025, according to the newspaper 5 de Septiembre.
In May 2026, the Ministry of Transport reduced interprovincial routes to three weekly frequencies and national trains to departures every two weeks.
Robaina Acosta also pointed out other shortcomings faced by the elderly in the area: pensions that are insufficient, the inability to have water on upper floors without a turbine that costs thousands of pesos, and difficulties in accessing food.
A survey by the organization ASIC of 506 retirees in five provinces, conducted in April 2026, revealed that 98.8% feel institutional neglect and 99% assert that their pension does not meet basic needs, with income barely ranging from seven to nine dollars per month at the informal exchange rate.
The author described seeing in that same little town elderly people dying alone and neglected, with their activism, history as fighters, and retirement pensions proving to be of no help.
"I don't recognize the face of the Provincial Secretary, nor the municipal one, nor the governors," he cited as recurring words among the elders of the community.
In March 2026, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security admitted that "there are no resources to assist vulnerable individuals," while the massive emigration of young people leaves an increasing number of elderly without supportive family networks.
"I don't write so much for my grandfather; for my grandparents. I write more for other grandfathers and grandmothers who don't have granddaughters and daughters like mine," concluded Robaina Acosta in his post.
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