The leader Miguel Díaz-Canel met on Thursday night with an Italian delegation that promoted the campaign Energy for Life, let's turn on the light in Cuba, a solidarity initiative that raised about $400,000 to install photovoltaic solar panels in institutions on the island.
The meeting, held in Havana, brought together the Cuban leader with euro-parliamentarians, members of the Italian parliament, and representatives from civil society organizations involved in the solidarity movement with Cuba in Italy, who launched the project in mid-2024, reported this Friday the digital portal of the Presidency of Cuba.
The campaign was driven by the Italian Cultural Recreational Association (ARCI) and its non-governmental international cooperation organization, the Italian National Confederation of Labor, the Italy-Cuba National Friendship Association, and the National Partisans Association, among other labor organizations.
The funds raised were allocated to the installation of solar panels in facilities related to the food industry, agriculture, health centers, and cultural institutions in Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, Granma, and Havana, with special emphasis on the eastern part of the country.
Díaz-Canel stated that he has personally verified the results of the initiative during visits to the regions and specifically mentioned the Casa de la Cultura in El Cobre, Santiago de Cuba, as one of the benefitted locations.
Upon receiving the delegation, the Cuban leader described the ties between the two peoples as "truly close relations" and thanked the visitors for demonstrating "great sensitivity and a profound understanding of our issues."
He took advantage of the meeting to launch an attack against the United States, blaming it for an alleged campaign of international discredit.
"We are condemned, we are placed in the international spotlight, particularly from a communicational perspective, as if we were the worst country in the universe," he said, attributing that image to "the most powerful country in the world," referring to Washington.
The meeting was moderated by Daniel Lorenzi, leader of ARCI, and featured the participation of Abel Prieto Jiménez, president of Casa de las Américas, and Fernando González Llort, president of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples.
"Our solidarity is not a campaign solidarity; it is an essential solidarity, born of the people," emphasized Walter Massa, a member of ARCI, who announced that upon returning to Europe, he will continue to promote initiatives in support of the island.
The visit comes amid a severe energy crisis. Cuba has experienced a total of eight nationwide blackouts so far this year, the last one recorded on September 18, with daily deficits exceeding 2,000 megawatts.
The Italian donation adds to a series of international shipments of solar systems that the country has received in recent months.
Recently, 200 containers with 5,000 solar systems donated by China arrived in Cuba, while at the end of July, a container with 45 kits of three-kilowatt solar panels arrived at the port of Mariel, donated by the Argentine Movement of Solidarity with Cuba (MASC).
In April, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (Aecid) completed the shipment of 18 photovoltaic kits with a total capacity of 10,000 kW, intended for health centers and social facilities in Cuba.
Overall, such donations have yet to reverse the collapse of the Cuban electrical system, which has been hit by fuel shortages, an outdated fleet of thermoelectric plants, decades of disinvestment, and poor management by the government.
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