A resident of Matanzas, Gerardo Cárdenas, posted on Facebook a complaint about the deterioration of the Cathedral Park, a historic space located in the city center next to the Cathedral of San Carlos Borromeo, one of the heritage jewels of the province.
"The legendary Cathedral Park is being usurped by individuals whose actions do not contribute any beauty to the place; quite the opposite. Additionally, due to a lack of oversight, two complete benches have been taken from the park, and the metal slats of several others are being removed," wrote the complainant.
The space is also being occupied by informal vendors who set up stalls selling footwear, cables, jewelry, and second-hand items in the public area.
The photographs accompanying the publication show wrought iron benches with deteriorated and tilted slats, as well as informal selling stalls set up among the vegetation of the park, with the colonial architecture of the surroundings in the background.
Cárdenas demanded that "this social indiscipline be corrected in the immediate future, or rather starting from YESTERDAY," highlighting the complete lack of responsibility, control, and sense of belonging among those who are supposed to safeguard the space.
"Matanzas gets worse every day in every way and no one does anything, no one cares. It's terrible how this city is. So sad," wrote one of the commenters.
"There is no control, no oversight, no accountability; no one cares about anything. The country is on its own; everyone does as they please. The sad thing is that the leaders do not want to acknowledge that the country is beyond their capabilities, that they do not know how to govern," another person stated.
A Cuban pointed out that the Communications Park, in front of the Bus Terminal in Havana, "practically no longer has benches," and another mentioned a similar situation in the Peñas Altas Park in Matanzas.
In Santiago de Cuba, the benches in Plaza de Marte were looted in August —allegedly to use the wood as fuel during blackouts lasting up to 22 hours— and were found damaged again in October, just a few weeks after their restoration.
In Camagüey, the Ignacio Agramonte Park, declared a World Heritage site, was vandalized with graffiti. In Holguín, the sword of a statue was stolen for the third time. In the Isle of Youth, a marble bench from the Lacret Park appeared with the seat ripped off. In Manzanillo and Santa Clara, historic parks experienced similar losses of furniture and fencing.
In Matanzas itself, the Armando Carnot children's park lost its perimeter fence and historical plaque in early May, surrounded by makeshift landfills. Around the same time, municipal authorities acknowledged the collapse of communal services: the waste collection company was operating with only 11 out of 24 active trucks and less than 65% of its workforce.
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