Cuba’s Energy Crisis
In this week’s update, hear how ordinary Cubans are struggling to deal with the impact of prolonged fuel shortages.
Cuba’s Energy Crisis
In this week’s update, hear how ordinary Cubans are struggling to deal with the impact of prolonged fuel shortages.
Welcome to IWPR’s Frontline Update, your go-to source to hear from journalists and local voices at the front lines of conflict.
THE BIG PICTURE
Cuba’s ongoing energy crisis continues to have a major impact on all aspects of daily life.
Energy blackouts caused by fuel shortages and the deterioration of the national power grid worsened after the US government imposed a blockade earlier this year.
VOICES FROM THE FRONTLINE
“The power outages are killing me more than hunger and as much as the lack of painkillers for my knee,” Marga, a 72-year-old resident of Batabanó, Mayabeque province, told Diaro de Cuba. “If there's no electricity, I can't keep food fresh, I can't charge my phone, and if I feel sick and can't get up from the couch, I can't call anyone. In my case, it's no longer just an inconvenience, it's a health issue.”
Vulnerable groups such as the elderly and very young have been hit hard.
María, a resident of Camagüey in central Cuba, took her three-year-old son to a polyclinic for a severe asthma attack.
“When I arrived, there were several people waiting, and they told me they couldn’t help us because there was no electricity,” she told El Toque. “I explained that my baby was having an asthma attack, but they replied that without electricity they couldn’t use some equipment or guarantee care… it was a very distressing moment because you feel like your child is suffocating in your arms and no one can help him.”
Education has also been impacted; not only do power outages disrupt students’ schedules, but a public transportation crisis also makes it difficult to get to school.
“The children are going to school whenever there are tests; on the other days, barely half the class or less goes,” one mother, whose son attends secondary school in the Havana municipality of San Miguel del Padrón, told El Toque.
Recent government attempts to project a supposed transition to renewable energy have been patchy.
As independent outlet Arbol Invertido reports, while solar-powered generators are available, they can cost nearly 30 times the average national salary.
WHY IT MATTERS
Cuba’s official narrative remains that the state continues to provide essential services to its whole population, from comprehensive healthcare to education.
But the reality is that ordinary people are struggling to simply access electricity, water and transport.
Cuban activist Amelia Calzadilla, who left the island in 2023 after suffering threats and surveillance and now lives in Spain, told El Toque newspaper that “the system is imploding”.
“It’s such a centralised and controlling model that it has ended up sabotaging its own management and losing legitimacy with the people. That makes it unsustainable,” she continued.
“Everything points to a real possibility of change… It will be a long process, which is why it is essential that civil society prepare now, not only to denounce injustices, but also to rebuild the country.”
THE BOTTOM LINE
Havana strictly regulates Cuban media, restricting reporting it views as harmful to the state or the socialist system.
It is left to independent journalists to provide critical reporting on public concerns that otherwise receive limited attention.
In Cuba as elsewhere, accurate information is essential to fuel informed debate and help citizens hold their leaders accountable.
