A Cuban journalist identified on Facebook as David Cu posted a photo of new secondary school textbooks, along with a message celebrating that his daughter was starting the school year with all her materials complete, on the day the school year began in Cuba amid an unprecedented energy and educational crisis.
In his publication, Cu acknowledged "a thousand difficulties, five hundred problems, four hundred limitations," but presented it as an achievement of the Cuban educational system and stated that "more than a million students" were returning to the classrooms.
He also took the opportunity to question those who "from Miami" denounce the precarious conditions at the start of the school year, asking them, "Why not demand that Marco Rubio and Trump lift the blockade instead?"
The post unleashed a flood of responses from other Cubans who described a reality that the majority of families on the Island face, which is radically different from that portrayed by the official spokesperson.
"My son in 4th grade: one book for two, two notebooks, and a pencil," wrote one commenter. Another mother pointed out that her daughters did not receive uniforms and that the books were "subpar." A third parent shared that her daughter, who is starting first grade, did not receive writing or math notebooks: "They didn't give them to her; there aren't any."
"You are privileged; my daughter is in fourth grade and today they gave her the books in a mess. I have no idea how I'm going to fix and cover them, so don’t make me laugh," another one declared.
Several internet users pointed out the stark contrast between the situation of the journalist and that of most Cuban families. "It’s clear to see the privilege in some children... 'the child of' already has the new books. Meanwhile, other children, the kids of any Cuban, either have none or are left to patch them up," wrote one of the most outspoken commenters.
Another father went further and asked if the girl would also have "24-hour electricity so she can go to school well-rested, a good breakfast and a good snack, and when she gets home a good meal," referring directly to the energy and food crisis the country is experiencing.
"Blessed is your daughter who will start with new books, because there are children in classrooms who do not have enough books or notebooks for everyone," summarized another Cuban in response to the journalist.
An additional comment noted that "the Ministry of Education has completely abandoned all of its responsibilities" regarding the provision of materials, and that it is the parents and teachers themselves who repair and equip the schools with their own resources.
The beginning of the school year in Cuba takes place against a backdrop of a devastating economic and social situation. The Minister of Education, Naima Ariatne Trujillo Barreto, herself admitted that the school year starts under "very difficult" conditions.
The education system faces a deficit of at least 24,000 teachers, equivalent to 12.5% of the planned positions, and only 20% of the students will have access to new uniforms, as between 2.2 and 2.3 million pieces were produced out of the 3.6 million needed.
At the same time, Cuba started the school year with blackouts affecting up to 70% of the national territory, with 11 out of 16 thermoelectric units out of service and a generation deficit of 2,310 MW during peak hours. Some areas of the country experienced outages lasting more than twenty hours a day.
In light of this reality, the official discourse describes the start of the school year as "another act of heroism", and a party leader in Camagüey went so far as to say that starting classes was "a blow to imperialism."
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