With the start of the 2026-2027 school year set for September 1, more and more Cuban mothers are openly stating on social media that they will not send their children to classes if the regime does not guarantee electricity, drinking water, lunch, or minimum rest conditions.
"I can't wait to see the new 'START OF SCHOOL' without electricity, without food, without water, and without the means to provide these children even a snack, lunch, or anything at all. As for me, I have made my decision starting today. If there is no quality for my children, THEY ARE NOT GOING TO SCHOOL (...), because I can't buy them anything, not even their school supplies. THEY ARE NOT GOING, PERIOD," stated Roxana San Gil in the group on Facebook "Cuban Fighting Mothers 2."
In the comments on the post, other mothers supported her stance. "I would rather pay for a private teacher to come to my house and teach them, than send them to a school where they can't sleep well, are hungry, have no water, and where the bathrooms are filthy and full of bacteria," wrote one.
Another one, from Pinar del Río, added: "Neither do mine, and if we all stand our ground, this has to take some direction."
The outrage is directly aimed at the conditions the regime fails to address: "What child is going to learn in a school if they haven't slept enough?" asked a third individual.
"When it's snack time, they go; when it's not, they don't, plain and simple. Without a good night's rest, they won't go, it's that simple," another one added.
One voice was the most direct: "If we all stand together, something will happen; only mothers have the power to bring about change."
The debate is not uniform. A woman from Havana acknowledged the internal inequality within the movement: "That can only be done by a mother who is not dependent on her salary, because the one who has to work cannot afford that luxury."
A woman from Matanzas, for her part, claimed that many mothers work and have no choice but to send their children to school. "They are desperate to send the kids to school because they are overwhelmed," she wrote.
Another argued that despite the terrible conditions, the school is still preferable to leaving the children on the street or at home without electricity.
"Are they better off on the street hustling from dawn, or at home, facing the same situation as in school, that is, without sleep, poorly fed, without electricity, unable to watch TV, cooped up, hungry every five minutes, anxious and seeing problems everywhere? Or at school? Relaxed, hanging out with their friends, looked after, far from so many issues. At least they're learning something, but at least they’re doing something..." she questioned.
One last point was made, stating that by leaving the children at home, they will be the ones who suffer. "They don't go and miss the content, and then they fail the year, and it's the child who suffers. Given the little resources available, they have to be sent; there's no other option."
The debate reflects the desperation of families facing blackouts lasting over 20 hours, deteriorating schools, and a food crisis that the World Food Programme (WFP) itself documented, revealing that 48.5% of Cuban children aged six to eleven do not receive any meals or snacks at school.
The educational system also has a deficit of at least 24,000 teachers, equivalent to 12.5% of the planned positions, with provinces like Camagüey and Matanzas having more than 2,000 vacancies each.
The contrast with the official discourse is stark. The Minister of Education, Naima Ariatne Trujillo Barreto, stated last week that "September will once again be a celebration," a declaration that sparked outrage among Cubans facing a radically different reality.
This new course arrives after the early closure of the 2025-2026 cycle, which was supposed to be suspended between June 15 and June 30 due to the energy crisis and the complete lack of fuel, as acknowledged by Minister Trujillo herself.
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