A Cuban woman named Susana Ortega recorded a video one night from the darkness of her home and posted it on Facebook, where it garnered more than 26,000 views in just a few hours, becoming another symbol of the collective exhaustion in the face of the electricity crisis that is disrupting daily life in Cuba.
The clip, just over a minute long, shows Ortega speaking to the camera in total darkness, with a voice that blends anguish and suppressed anger.
"Good early morning. My question is this: how can there be people sleeping peacefully right now while here there is an Island completely shut off, not only from light, but in dignity, in feeling, in soul...?" she begins.
"It is unheard of what is happening in this country," he emphasizes.
He then directs his interpellation towards the world leaders: "Where are those just leaders who say they will fix the world, who are seeking peace? Do you think this is peace?"
The video concludes with a phrase that encapsulates the frustration of millions: "Living in darkness, waking up in darkness, thinking in darkness, it drives us mad. Until when?". It ends with a cry: "Freedom for the people of Cuba."
Ortega's testimony is not an isolated case. Cuba is experiencing the worst electrical crisis in its recent history this June, with deficits exceeding 2,100 MW on multiple days, compared to an availability of only 950 to 1,090 MW against a demand of over 3,000 MW.
Havana is experiencing blackouts of over 24 consecutive hours, and in other provinces, the situation is even worse, with areas receiving barely one or two hours of electricity a day and water supply cycles lasting up to 40 days.
The Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, the largest in the country, suffered its 15th breakdown of the year on June 15, causing the nighttime deficit to spike to 2,085 MW.
The impact on mental health is devastating. A study published in May in the journal Social Science & Medicine, based on surveys of 415 Cuban adults, revealed that 55.4% experience extremely severe depression, 66% severe anxiety and 65.8% extreme stress.
Meanwhile, the regime of Miguel Díaz-Canel has not presented a credible solution plan.
The ruler declared that Cuba "is not a failed state," while Cubans took to the streets to protest with pots and pans in Havana, Matanzas, and Santiago de Cuba between June 17 and June 19.
Ortega's video garnered 1,371 likes and 155 comments in just a few hours, with reactions ranging from solidarity to desperation. The question with which he concludes his statement—"How long?"—has become the most repeated phrase among Cubans on social media in the face of a crisis that the regime has been unable—and unwilling—to resolve for months.
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