The Electric Company of Las Tunas posted an institutional image on Facebook to congratulate the start of the 2026-2027 school year, featuring smiling children in Pioneer uniforms and the message "Wishing you an excellent start to the 2026-2027 school year." The response from Cubans was swift: a flood of ironic comments turned the official post into a barometer of public outrage.
"Giving away a nice blackout since 2 PM," wrote one of the first commenters, setting the tone for what was to come.
Another user quipped sarcastically, "And of course, Don Apagón as the best host."
The irony didn't stop there. "‘Excellent start to the school year,’ says the Electric Company… what a level of comedy!" noted a third commenter, while another posed the question that many were asking: "The children look happy in the photo, but the important question is missing: will they have electricity to study, or is that also part of the fictional content?"
The most widely circulated phrase was perhaps the most graphic of all: "The billboard has more light than many houses in Las Tunas."
The background that makes the joke so bitter is real and documented. By the end of August, Cuba had a available generation of just 910 MW against a demand of 2,730 MW, with a projected deficit of 2,390 MW. The worst moment of the month occurred on August 11, when the deficit reached a record of 2,411 MW. Days before the start of the school year, up to 72% of the national territory was simultaneously left without electricity.
Las Tunas, in particular, had accumulated 311 pending electrical complaints as of August 31, and had reported 11 transformer thefts so far this year. The province has eight solar parks and an installed capacity of 64.8 MW which, according to the local Electric Company director, only provides about two and a half hours of supply daily on average.
The school context was equally bleak. The Minister of Education acknowledged a "dramatic" start to the 2026-2027 school year, with only 20% of students equipped with new uniforms. Families from the Vocational Lenin reported a shortage of 400 mattresses and scheduled blackouts for the boarding students, and several mothers announced that they would not send their children to class unless electricity, potable water, and lunch were guaranteed.
Meanwhile, the Communist Party of Cuba described the start of the school year as “another act of heroism”, a phrase that was also met with ridicule on social media, and Díaz-Canel denied the country’s collapse in the face of the accumulated evidence.
The publication from the Electric Company of Las Tunas, featuring images of happy children and its promise to "reaffirm support for education," has become an unintentional symbol of the gap between official rhetoric and the reality that Cubans face daily.
Related videos:
Filed under: