Miguel Díaz-Canel posted a video of his tour of industrial entities in East Havana in which he showcased advancements towards greater business autonomy, but the post sparked a wave of criticism on social media focused both on the futility of the stroll and on an unexpected detail: the jeans he was wearing.
The president visited, among other locations, the future first public charging station for electric vehicles in the country—constructed with 432 solar panels on Vía Blanca in Guanabo—and the Base Business Unit "Industrial Guanabo," where 250 containers for garbage collection in Havana will be assembled.
In his publication, the leader stated: "We visited industrial entities in Havana East, where we discussed the importance of moving towards a business system with more autonomy and responsibilities. It is essential that our entrepreneurs prepare to take advantage of the economic and social transformations."
The outage occurred on the same day that Cuba experienced the fifth total collapse of the National Electric System in 2026, and the third in just eight days. The disconnection happened at 11:05 AM, with a generation deficit of between 1,990 and 2,020 MW against a forecasted demand of 3,150 MW, leaving approximately 10 million people without electricity.
In that context, images of Díaz-Canel inspecting electric mobility projects while the entire country was left in darkness were met with outrage. "How are they going to produce without electricity?" wrote one user. Another pointed out the direct contradiction: "Electric charging projects for electric vehicles in a country without electricity."
But it was the ruler's attire that attracted a significant amount of irony. Several users identified his pants as jeans from the American brand Levi's, with price estimates ranging from 95 euros to 120 dollars. "I never see you wearing 'cañero' pants," wrote one user, referring to the Cuban textile brand that was a symbol of the scarcity of imported clothing in the 80s and 90s, when many Cubans would remove the label to sew on one from Levi's or Lee.
The comparisons didn't take long: "Hates capitalism but wears American jeans," "66 years of revolution, only to end up wearing the most iconic jeans brand of the enemy," "With his Levi's pants, he's all arrogance and cheek, pure American merchandise," "While the people can't afford clothing, Canel walks around in Levi's."
Other comments pointed to the setup for the visit. “New helmets and a new uniform for the visit, nothing changes, did they remove the tag?” one user joked. A state worker with 30 years of service was more direct: “I almost never have raw materials to work with; lately, I’m almost always interrupted because there’s no fuel even for the forklift, let alone electricity for the machines. I don’t know if the president knows that those helmets and uniforms only appear when there are visits from above.”
The post accumulated over 16,700 views, 1,099 likes, and 332 comments on Facebook, with an overwhelming proportion of criticisms. From areas such as Alamar, La Lisa, and San Agustín, users reported prolonged blackouts and water shortages, while the ruler defended greater autonomy for businesses within the framework of the package of 176 economic measures approved by the National Assembly on June 18.
It's not the first time Díaz-Canel's attire has sparked controversy: he was previously criticized for valued at thousands of dollars at public events, while the Cuban people are facing an unprecedented crisis of scarcity in decades.
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