A Cuban resident in Manatí, Las Tunas, shared a video on social media featuring a testimony about the energy crisis and a question that encapsulates the state of stress in which thousands of families on the island live: “Resistance or extermination?”.
"Only one hour and 45 minutes of electricity. We're getting used to that, just as we've gotten used to having our internet cut off, not having a landline phone, not having the basic food supplies, not having liquefied gas, and how we've been made to adapt to being useless beings," says Lili Romero on Facebook.
"This is not life. I don’t know what you all think, but for me, we Cubans don't have a quality of life. We are dead in life. Soon we will be living fossils on the streets (...) How long will we have to keep enduring this?" he asked.
Her video received over 370 comments, among which were numerous reactions reflecting indignation and frustration. Some internet users backed her bluntly: "We are the sheep of Cuba," wrote one person.
Another user called for the end of the government in response to the crisis: "Down with the Castro dictatorship, freedom for political prisoners, freedom for Cuba, homeland and life."
Amid the indignation, voices filled with hope also emerge: "I will not get used to it. One day, not too far off, Cuba will blossom again," wrote a follower.
This is not the first time Lili has raised her voice from Manatí
Recently, this content creator published another video denouncing more than 22 hours of power outage in that municipality. What she describes is not an isolated perception. As of this writing, Manatí has accumulated 96 documented power outage events just this year, according to the power outage map of Las Tunas.
In August, another one of his videos went viral. It showed a supposed lunch, featuring a chicken thigh drawn on a piece of paper and two bank cards on the plate. His aim was to reflect the paradox of banking in Cuba. People have money in the bank, but there is no cash available to withdraw from ATMs to buy food.
The internet disruptions that are being reported are also acknowledged by the regime. ETECSA reported in June that power outages render 47.5% of mobile base stations and 56.5% of telecommunications cabinets inoperative nationwide.
The liquefied gas shortage mentioned by Romero began to worsen in January, when the government indefinitely suspended distribution in the eastern provinces. Although there were subsequent punctual deliveries and new marketing measures, the supply has not normalized, and the shortage continues to affect the population. In the informal market, a 10 kg liquefied gas cylinder has been resold for between 10,000 and 70,000 Cuban pesos.
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