A Cuban identified as Alexis Torriente posted an extensive message on Facebook this Friday addressed to Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, denouncing institutionalized corruption, weeks without water in the Mulgoba neighborhood of the Boyeros municipality in Havana, and the widespread collapse of public services in Cuba.
In the post circulating on social media, Torriente confronts the prime minister with his own words: "Manuel Marrero Cruz, you said that corruption should be pointed out. Here it is... all yours."
In April, Marrero called for the application of "an iron fist" against theft and corruption, and in June he stated before the National Assembly that "we have never denied our own mistakes and shortcomings."
The author accompanied the text with photographs in which he points out government buildings in the Boyeros municipality, such as the Municipal Administration Council, the Municipal Directorate of Finance and Prices, the Municipal Directorate of Labor and Social Security, and a food distribution unit, as evidence of institutions that, according to him, do not serve the people.
The most specific complaint points to the lack of this vital resource: "In Mulgoba, there has been no water for weeks and no one takes responsibility. You go to the Boyeros party, and a barefoot woman comes out saying she has no office, and in the end, she sends me to the municipal government. Everyone is hiding, and no one answers," he stated.
The complaint comes on the same day that a break in the main pipe of the Cuenca Sur source left six municipalities in Havana without water: Plaza de la Revolución, Diez de Octubre, Cerro, Centro Habana, Habana Vieja, and part of Boyeros, with no date for restoration.
The water crisis described by Torriente is neither new nor local. According to official data from May, nearly 2.7 million Cubans lack regular access to drinking water and several millions receive it intermittently.
In Boyeros, the Lola fountain ceased operation on June 16 due to a lack of electricity, affecting Mulgoba and other areas of the municipality. In July, over half a million residents of Havana were already suffering from the water crisis, compared to the 200,000 recorded in April.
The tone of Torriente's message escalates from a concrete denunciation to a direct political call: "This has turned from resistance to humiliation, and from humiliation to genocide, damn it."
He also called on the Cuban military to recognize themselves as the people and not as an arm of the Communist Party, while warning the police that "one day everything will change and you will pay."
"No more abuse of power. No to corruption. No more hunger. No more lies," the text concluded.
The comments on the post broaden the picture of citizen complaints from different parts of the country. A neighbor from Vedado pointed out that they have been "without water for more than a month" and that the complaints "remain on paper."
From Manzanillo, Granma, another comment stated that "for years there has been no knowledge of what an aqueduct is."
A third voice summarized the widespread indignation: "The leaders with their plump, red bellies drinking bottled water while our children have to drink and bathe in contaminated water."
Several commentators agreed that the situation no longer allows for dialogue. "The people can’t endure any more; every day they ask us for more sacrifices and more endurance... we need change, we need to rebuild our country, free elections, the ability to work, study, and live in peace," wrote one of the individuals who responded to the post.
For Torriente and those who commented on his post, these words contrast with the impunity they describe daily: "Corruption is institutionalized. Cuba needs a change. Cuba needs freedom because it is kidnapped."
The municipality of Boyeros has been the site of repeated complaints this year. In July, residents of Calabazar caught Unión Eléctrica linemen selling electricity illegally.
Weeks ago, women from Guanabacoa organized a night watch to prevent workers from taking the transformer from their block without justifying orders, which could indicate a potential act of corruption.
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