A Cuban resident in Havana reported on Facebook that the main obstacle to the well-being of the country lies within the island, amid the worst crisis that society has faced in recent decades.
«The problem in Cuba is within us, it's us,» stated Yisell Boutros Guerrero, whose video garnered nearly 73,000 views with its message.
In the seven-minute clip labeled #abajotodo, the young woman summarizes the conviction that no external actor will solve what the Cubans themselves are not willing to confront.
The trigger was an episode that she herself describes as hypocritical: some friends installed a private power plant in her neighborhood, and the neighbors started collecting signatures to report them.
Boutros Guerrero describes those neighbors as government officials who "live in mansions," drive "modern cars with license plate B," and have solar panels and heaters in their homes, while the rest of the population has been without stable electricity for months.
"Here we have the right to everything, to live as human beings, yet we do not live as human beings," she says in the video, before pointing out the contradiction of those who complain about the noise from a foreign plant while enjoying energy privileges that most cannot afford.
The video is being produced at the worst moment of the Cuban electrical crisis in decades. In July 2026, the generation deficit reached 2,341 MW, with blackouts lasting up to 72 hours in some provinces.
That situation has fueled a wave of pot-banging protests in Havana, Santiago de Cuba, and Cienfuegos, with neighborhoods such as Lawton, El Vedado, Centro Habana, Guanabacoa, and Old Havana serving as epicenters of the demonstration.
Boutros Guerrero had already been identified on July 22 for sharing images of protests with pots and pans, bonfires in public spaces, and demonstrations in La Cumbre and Colón.
This Saturday, while she was posting her video, Lawton residents took to the streets with pots and fire extinguishers during yet another night of blackouts, coinciding with a call for a national noise protest.
The author is emphatic in distancing herself from any organization or external funding.
"Nobody motivates me; my life motivates me, the work I do, and I don't need anyone from the United States sending me toothpaste or soap," she declares, emphasizing that her only reason for speaking is her indignation at what she experiences daily.
His criticism is not limited to the government. Boutros Guerrero also points to the passivity of many Cubans: "I don’t understand why people would rather go to a political event, go to an event to receive a worthless diploma, or go to an event just to keep a job or a salary that doesn’t even reach 3,000 Cuban pesos, which barely provides enough for a carton of eggs."
The Cuban Observatory of Conflicts recorded a record of 107 street protests in June 2026, with 82 of them occurring in Havana. In May, the national figure reached 1,311 protest actions, the highest ever documented in a single month.
Boutros Guerrero is part of a growing trend among Cubans who use social media as a platform for denouncing issues from within the island, but with a unique twist: his message does not absolve society of its responsibility.
"There is a very significant problem of conscience and an even greater problem of inequality," he concludes, before finishing with a warning that is also a promise: "I will not keep that poison inside me."
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