Residents of Reparto Sueño, one of the most central and populated neighborhoods of Santiago de Cuba, took to the streets on Wednesday night to bang pots in protest against the prolonged blackouts plaguing the city, according to a post by independent journalist Yosmany Mayeta Labrada on Facebook.
"Another night when the residents of Reparto Sueño took to the streets to bang pots and pans," wrote reporter Mayeta Labrada to document the protest in this neighborhood of more than 17,000 inhabitants that had already witnessed similar demonstrations in June and on several dates in July, including July 25, the eve of the anniversary of the assault on Moncada.
The comments on the post reflect a fatigue that goes far beyond the neighborhood. From Chicharrones, another area of Santiago, a resident noted: "Good for them, here they haven't had electricity since 2 am."
One of the comments captured the collective sentiment: "The entire community should do the same; this is something no one can bear any longer."
Frustration also reached those who see the protests yielding no concrete results. "Well, it seems that even with pots and pans, they're not paying attention to us, because right now this is just a little Christmas tree; I had to disconnect everything," wrote someone else. In the same post, an image circulated with the text: "Down with the dictatorship, freedom."
The energy situation in Santiago de Cuba was critical this Wednesday: according to the citizen report observatory, the average duration of power outages in the city reached 24 hours, with 907 reports recorded.
At the national level, the National Electric Power System reported only 849 MW of available generation against a deficit of 1,830 MW, while the Electric Union had forecasted an impact of 2,230 MW for this day, which amounts to as much as 74% of the country without electricity simultaneously at peak demand.
The Sueño neighborhood is not just any neighborhood: it houses the former Moncada Barracks, a central symbol of the official narrative of the regime, along with the Heredia Theater and the Antonio Maceo Revolution Square, which makes it particularly significant as a recurring site of protests against the dictatorship.
The caceroladas in Santiago de Cuba are part of a wave of protests that this month have also spread to Havana, with hotspots in Lawton, El Vedado, Guanabacoa, Centro Habana, and Old Havana, among other areas.
The regime has responded with arrests, police deployments, internet outages in protest areas, and temporary electricity concessions, without addressing the structural causes of the crisis: low generation capacity, technical failures in thermal power plants, and fuel shortages.
In July alone, the Cuban electrical system experienced at least four total collapses, leaving approximately 9.6 million people without electricity during each episode, and on July 8, the highest energy deficit in the country's recent history was recorded: 2,341 MW, with 73% of the population affected simultaneously.
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