Written on October 20, 2024 in Havana, Cuba
Cuba’s national electrical system (SEN) has suffered a historic crisis marked by national blackouts. The first nationwide collapse took place on Friday, October 18 in the morning hours, and there were repeated episodes throughout the weekend. As of today (October 21 at 20:06 in Cuba), service has been restored in most of Havana, but not the whole country. This situation has worsened in the eastern part of the country with the arrival of Hurricane Oscar.
So far, six deaths have been reported in San Antonio del Sur, Guantánamo province, as a result of the hurricane. Whole communities are experiencing blackouts and communication systems are down as well. This situation may have affected the preparedness of some communities for the hurricane since it has been difficult to communicate with some of these areas due to the outages.
The new energy crisis has been accompanied by public showings of discontent by citizens who are demanding a quick response from the leadership of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC). Since Saturday, October 19, “cacerolazos” (banging of pots and pans) have been reported in different areas of the capital, among them Centro Habana, Cerro, 20 de Mayo and Guanabacoa. Some of these demonstrations have been repressed by the so-called “black berets” or National Special Brigades (BEN) of the Ministry of the Interior.
In addition, while the state of food supplies on the island is in serious danger, the oligarchic apparatus of the PCC, in conjunction with the pro-government media, have chosen to deny the existence of a fuel problem. They have instead spoken of their “maximum efforts” to ensure the ongoing supply of crude oil, which is simply not feasible.
In turn, the government of Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez has opted for the suspension of “non-vital services” including educational and cultural activities. And, as it happened with the massive protests of July 11, 2021 (11J), the president has once again discredited popular demands by describing those who exercised their constitutional right to protest as drunks or people in a “state of inebriation”.
The Stalinist Cuban government has once again ignored the demands of the people who are living in a state of defenselessness, repression, and precarity. Cuba’s population is aging, with more than 20% of the total population over the age of 65. Many older people lack a pension that is sufficient to cover basic food necessities. Cubans are also contending with an impoverished public health system, an informal dollarized market, and an education system that is in serious crisis. Much of the population also lacks access to clean water, transportation, hygiene, and other services.
The above circumstances have produced and exacerbated other serious social problems including poverty, racism, femicides, malnutrition, child labor, crime and corruption. That is to say that the current “collapse” we are witnessing today is not limited to the national energy system.
The Socialists in Struggle collective denounces all the above problems and demands the immediate resignation of Miguel Díaz-Canel’s government. We understand the current Cuban context as marked by an unreformable systemic and structural collapse. We express our solidarity with the victims of Hurricane Oscar and hold the government responsible. We denounce the economic sanctions imposed by the United States, which harm working men and women, and not the Cuban military high bourgeoisie. But we also denounce the indiscriminate use of these sanctions by the PCC to justify their betrayal of the working class, authoritarianism, and repression.
And, finally, we deny the existence of a Socialist Rule of Law in Cuba.
A Stalinist military bourgeoisie in Cuba will never chart a viable road to socialism and popular empowerment. Cuba is a revolution betrayed.
Socialists in Struggle is a Marxist, anti-capitalist, anti-authoritarian and internationalist collective.
