People walk on a boardwalk as waves crash during a power outage in Havana on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. Photo Credit: AP
The Cuban capital largely came to a standstill on Monday (October 21, 2024) and the rest of the island braced for a fourth night. massive blackout This led to some small protests and a stern warning from the government that any unrest would be punished.
storm oscar The landslide occurred on Sunday before crossing the east coast of the island as a tropical storm with strong winds and heavy rain on Monday (21 October), killing at least 6 people after nightfall, including in Santos Suárez and Several dozen people protested in urban areas such as central Havana.
Also read: What does the Atlantic Ocean storm forecast predict for India?
Some banged utensils on the streets, while others demonstrated from their balconies. Protesters who said they did not have water blocked at least one road with garbage.
“The country has completely stopped,” said Mayday Quinones, a 55-year-old housewife. She takes care of her mother-in-law, who is 80 years old. “This hurts everyone, but the elderly most of all.”
The Cuban government has low tolerance for civil disobedience. chairman Miguel Diaz-Canel “We will not allow any form of vandalism, or let anyone disturb the peace of the people,” it warned on national television on Sunday (20 October).
Mass blackouts Thursday night followed a prolonged nationwide blackout, part of energy problems that led to the largest protests in Cuba in nearly 30 years in July 2021. This was followed by smaller local protests in October 2022 and March 2024.
It’s all part of one deep economic crisis Due to which more than half a million Cubans have had to migrate to America, while thousands of people are heading towards Europe.
The Cuban government and its allies blame the United States’ 62-year-old trade embargo on the island for its economic problems, but White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Monday (Oct. 21) that the Cuban government’s “long-term “Mismanagement”. Its economic policies and resources have certainly increased the hardships of the people in Cuba.
Electricity is relatively cheap but constantly unavailable. The Cuban government has said it is producing 700 megawatts when peak demand could reach 3 gigawatts. By Monday afternoon, officials said about 80 percent of Havana had intermittent power, but people were skeptical.
“We have fridges full of food and we’re scared,” said Juan Estrada, a 53-year-old small business owner whose central Havana business has been without power since Friday morning.
Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy said at a news conference that he expected more reliable power to be restored by Monday or Tuesday morning but that classes would remain closed until at least Thursday.
He said Oscar, which hit the east coast Sunday evening, would bring “additional discomfort” to Cuba’s recovery as it would touch “an area of strong (electricity) production.” Cuba’s major power plants, such as Felton in the city of Holguín and Rente in Santiago de Cuba, are located in this region.
Oscar later weakened to a tropical storm but is expected to remain on the island until Monday.
Many of Havana’s 2 million people resorted to cooking on improvised wood stoves in the streets before their food would spoil in refrigerators.
On Monday, people stood in line to buy subsidized food and some gas stations were open.
The failure of the Antonio Guiteras plant on Friday was the latest energy distribution problem in a country where power has been restricted and rotated to different areas at different times. The status of Cuba’s other power plants was unclear.
People stood in line for hours to buy bread at the few bakeries that reopened on Sunday.
Some Cubans, like Rosa Rodriguez, were without power for four days.
“We have a million problems, and none of them have been solved,” Rodriguez said. “We must come to get bread, because the local bakery is closed, and they get it from somewhere else.”
The blackout was considered Cuba’s worst since Hurricane Ian struck the island as a Category 3 storm in 2022 and caused damage to power installations. It took several days for the government to correct them.
The Cuban government announced emergency measures to reduce electricity demand, including suspending school and university classes, closing some state-owned workplaces, and canceling non-essential services.
Local officials said the cuts were due to increased demand from small and medium-sized companies and residential air conditioners. Later, blackouts became worse due to malfunctioning old thermoelectric plants that were not properly maintained and lack of fuel to operate some facilities.
Cuba’s energy minister said the country’s grid would have been in better condition if two more partial blackouts had not occurred as authorities attempted to reconnect it on Saturday. De la O’Levy also said that other countries, including Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela and Russia, have offered help.
published – October 22, 2024 10:24 am IST