A Cuban walked through a block covered in waste with his phone and posted the video on Facebook with a phrase that captures the accumulated anger of thousands: "This is the resistance and creativity that this broken *$&%#! says."
In just 37 seconds, the user Jorgemiguel Trujillocuriel turns Miguel Díaz-Canel's favorite slogan into evidence of his failure. "Resistance, continuity, and creativity of the Singaones communists, these are acts of disrespect," he says as the camera pans over piles of trash stacked along the sidewalk.
The moment carries an additional irony: just days before the video circulated, Díaz-Canel himself had acknowledged in the Extraordinary Plenary of the PCC that "creative resistance is no longer enough" and announced an emergency agenda. However, on the streets, the trash continues to pile up.
The slogan had been systematically promoted by the ruling party since at least 2022. In January of this year, he invoked "67 years of creative resistance," in February he called for facing the cuts with "creative resistance, effort, and talent," and in March he presented cooking with charcoal and firewood—amid 15-hour blackouts—as an expression of that same resistance.
The image depicted in the video is no exception: it is the norm in much of Havana. In February 2026, the garbage crisis in the capital made headlines in the international press with data explaining why the collapse is structural and not just a temporary issue.
Only 44 out of the 106 garbage trucks in Havana were operational at that time —just 41.5%— due to mechanical deterioration and lack of parts. The capital produces between 24,000 and 30,000 cubic meters of waste daily, yet leaves up to 23,814 cubic meters uncollected each day. The deficit of containers is equally severe: between 20,000 and 30,000 are needed, but there are only 10,000, most of which are in poor condition.
The lack of diesel—exacerbated by the end of supply from Venezuela—has left trucks immobilized for days. In May 2026, the regime went so far as to authorize the open burning of garbage due to the inability to collect it. In June, young members of the Active Military Service were employed to gather waste using shovels and bags.
The health consequences are severe. The accumulation has created breeding grounds for flies and rodents that fuel outbreaks of dengue and chikungunya. The New York Times documented in May 2026 the direct link between the heaps of trash in Havana and the dozens of deaths recorded from these diseases on the island.
In October and November 2025, the regime carried out the so-called "Operation Cleanup," mobilizing soldiers, recruits, and police who removed 396,157 cubic meters of waste in 20 days. The operation did not solve anything: weeks later, the streets were once again under mountains of garbage posing a health risk.
Neighbors from Centro Habana resorted to paying two young people out of their own pockets to keep watch at street corners and prevent further littering, due to official inaction. A phrase from a Havana resident, noted in reports this month, captures the sentiment: "Every day it gets worse."
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