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A photographer from Matanzas known on social media as El Matancero Errante published an ironic "formal proposal" to the Provincial Government of the People's Power of Matanzas: he offers to keep the Plaza de la Vigía clean and painted, but with conditions that the State should fulfill as its own obligation.
Dariel Vicedo, author of the post circulating on Facebook, outlines his "responsibilities": to clean the park twice a day and to repaint it completely every three months.
In exchange, he demands that the provincial government pay him 30,000 Cuban pesos monthly via transfer, install a nearby water connection, provide cleaning and painting supplies, install solar-powered public lighting, and hire a nightwatchman.
That guard, Vicedo specifies, would be to prevent "open defecation, informal sexual contracts, and begging installations" in the square.
The images accompanying the publication show the actual condition of the place: walls covered in graffiti with slogans like "PUBLIC BATHROOM" and "TUGAY," and a deteriorated floor.
The reaction on social media was widespread.
"My God... it's been months since I last went to Matanzas, I can't believe the park is in this state and that the authorities haven't done anything about it," wrote a user.
Another was more skeptical: "Don't worry, rest; they won't give you any of that. Your good intentions and will are what matter."
The 30,000 CUP that Vicedo requests as a monthly salary is equivalent to more than four times what a Cuban specialist doctor earns, whose salary ranges between 5,810 and 7,500 pesos.
A commentator pointed out bluntly, "Do you know that a specialist doctor earns about 7,000 a month?"
The comment that best summed up the collective cynicism towards official negligence was made by Roberto Armando Hernández in three capitalized words: "THE BLOCKADE DOES NOT ALLOW IT."
The proposal is not a genuine offer, but an ironic denunciation: the citizen puts a price on what the State should guarantee unconditionally in one of Cuba's most emblematic heritage sites.
Perhaps unwittingly, he pointed out something obvious: the Cuban government is either unable—or unwilling—to allocate that amount to preserve one of its most important historical sites.
The Plaza de la Vigía is the founding core of Matanzas, established on October 12, 1693. Surrounding it are the Teatro Sauto, the Palacio de Junco —home to the Provincial Museum, built in 1838— and the Palace of Justice, inaugurated in 1826.
Abandonment is not new. In April 2025, Teatro Sauto had already reported daily vandalism on its entrances to the square: crude inscriptions, systematic use as a public restroom, chain theft, and a complete lack of nighttime surveillance.
More than a year later, Vicedo lists exactly the same issues, which shows that the government has not taken any action.
The deterioration of the square is part of a larger pattern.
In June of last year, leaks were reported at the recently restored Teatro Sauto, and that same month there was a warning about the neglect of the iconic Lacret Morlot bridge, a heritage structure at risk of collapse.
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