A video posted on Facebook by the user Danny González La Rosa with the caption "This is how Havana is...." shows an area of Central Havana that looks like it is part of a conflict zone.
The clip, which gathered nearly 31,000 views, shows the pavement shattered by potholes and sinkholes, a large amount of piled-up trash, where a fire lit by the neighbors still burns, and heaps of rubble from a landslide.
The scene corresponds to Belascoaín Street between Estrella and Maloja, in front of the block where the building that housed the Higher Institute of Design (ISDI) once stood. The property was demolished in March by a state company after years of progressive collapse. The resulting debris remains piled up at the site, contributing to the landscape of devastation.
Reactions to the video range from pain to indignation. Users compared the scene to war zones or natural disasters: "I thought it was Afghanistan or Venezuela after the earthquake," wrote one. Another pointed out with irony, "I didn't know there was an earthquake in Havana." A third was more direct: "It looks like a war zone; it's painful to see those images!"
The comparison to Haiti appeared in multiple comments. "It looks more and more like Haiti," one user noted. Another added, "It reminded me of the neighborhoods in Haiti; the only thing missing is the neighborhood crime gangs, I mean, unless they're already there."
"It was a beautiful city... and they destroyed it with lies," lamented one person. "Sir, if the most central corner of Centro Habana is like this, what will remain for the countryside and small towns?" remarked another.
Some pointed out the underlying political dimension. "Sad and shameful images, this deterioration has been ongoing for years. With the money stolen by Gil and company, buildings, thermoelectric plants, and transportation for waste collection could have been fixed," wrote an internet user, referring to former Minister of Economy Alejandro Gil Fernández, sentenced to life imprisonment in December for corruption and espionage.
Another user responded to those who blame the embargo with a rhetorical question: “What does this have to do with the blockade?”
The visible fire in the video is not an isolated incident. The garbage collection crisis in Havana has left only 44 out of 106 collection trucks operational due to a lack of fuel, resulting in as much as 23,814 cubic meters of uncollected waste each day.
In light of that collapse, open-air burning of waste has become a widespread practice in the capital. The government warned that the smoke causes "respiratory risks, neurological disorders, cancer, and exacerbation of pre-existing conditions such as asthma."
An internet user has experienced it firsthand: “This smoke is driving me crazy, just like all of us who have respiratory issues, but well, right now there are none of us left.”
Very close to there, in the streets of the same municipality Centro Habana, reports were made of protests on June 30 due to power outages lasting more than 18 hours, just five days before the clip was published.
In June, the national electricity generation deficit reached a record 2,208 MW, leaving about 70% of the country without electricity, with outages lasting up to 28 consecutive hours in some neighborhoods of Havana.
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