Havana/After spending more than 40 hours without electricity, more than a hundred residents came out to protest this Friday afternoon in the San Leopoldo neighborhood, in Central Havana.
“There when they turned they gave a light and everything,” said a protester in one of the videos that circulate on social networks. “The police came with the ‘insurers’ and turned on the power,” he added, although in a few minutes they removed it again. “The situation we are experiencing in this country is unbearable and unsustainable.”
The images show entire families concentrated on public roads, around Rayo Street, between Zanja and San José. Some residents remained on the sidewalks and balconies, while dozens of people occupied the road and demanded answers from the authorities, clanging their pots.
“There are children, there are elderly people and we have no way to cook,” denounced a woman. Other protesters chanted “Freedom!” and expressed their rejection of the Government, in a protest that began due to the lack of power but quickly acquired a political tone. The concentration briefly recalled the 11J demonstrations, with residents marching together, presumably in the direction of the Havana Capitol.
The concentration briefly recalled the 11J demonstrations, with residents marching together, presumably in the direction of the Havana Capitol
In the area, a increased police presencealthough until the closing of this note there was no confirmed information about arrests or confrontations.
Likewise, during the night, simultaneous protests were recorded in several municipalities of the capital. 14ymedio confirmed protests in the municipality of Regla, which have been repeated daily for the last week. This Friday they overturned garbage tanks and set them on fire. Last Thursday, around thirty residents demonstrated in front of the headquarters of the Communist Party. Although the Community Services removed the garbage tanks to prevent them from being set on fire, the waste continues to accumulate in the streets and acts as fuel for bonfires. Residents of the area confirm that, after the protests, the duration of the blackouts has been reduced.
This Friday, in another neighborhood in the same municipality of Regla, after 72 hours without electricity, several neighbors blocked the street and gathered in broad daylight to play cauldrons. Although the protest did not reach the intensity of those registered in Central Havana, the police quickly went to the scene and shortly after the electrical service was restored, according to reported CubaNet.
Among the most tense protests of the night, the one that took place in an area as central as Buena Vista, in the Playa municipality, where dozens of residents They concentrated and burned garbage dumps on public roads while they clanged cauldrons and metal objects, shouting for the power to come back on.
The presence of women and children among the protesters stands out, who threw combustible objects into the fire while forcefully hitting any metal piece within their reach.
The situation was equally tense in Centro Habana, on Escobar Street, between Neptuno and Concordia, where several residents lit bonfires to block the road. In the broadcast videos The presence of women and children among the protesters stands out, who threw combustible objects into the fire while forcefully hitting any metal piece within their reach. The police, who watched without intervening, did not stop the minors from surrounding the officers while they continued hitting cauldrons.
Other spontaneous protests were reported in San Miguel del Padrónwhere neighbors set tires on fire on the road after more than 24 hours of blackout. In Cotorro they also set fire to several garbage dumps. According to broadcast videos On social networks, in Barbosa, an area of the municipality of Playa bordering La Lisa, several protesters lit bonfires on 23rd Street.
Protests have multiplied in different parts of the country as the duration of the blackouts increases, which in some cases have exceeded 30 and 40 consecutive hours in the capital. Along with the summer heat, food spoils and disease-transmitting insects proliferate. Prolonged power outages also affect the supply of drinking water and the operation of public services, including hospitals. Indignation seems to increasingly prevail over fear of reprisals.
Indignation seems to increasingly prevail over fear of reprisals
in the early morning FridayAfter a week of consecutive blackouts that lasted more than 24 hours, residents of the community of Valle Grande, in La Lisa – a town surrounded by headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior and State Security – took to the streets and played pots and pans until the electrical service was restored, according to reports. 14 and a half.
Last Thursday, residents of Alamar took to the streets to protest, in broad daylight, after 28 hours of blackout, according to information about Alas Tensas. After a police deployment that surrounded the area, the electricity returned.
According to the informative part of the Electrical Union (UNE), a deficit of 1,989 megawatts (MW) was reported this Friday at 8:50 p.m. This Saturday night also looks difficult. With nine thermoelectric units out of service – including the Antonio Guiteras plant, which has left the system 14 times so far this year – and 1,203 MW out of service due to lack of fuel in distributed generation plants, an impact of 1,935 MW is estimated for the peak demand time, compared to a national demand of 3,050 MW.
