Neighbors of Baracoa, in Guantánamo, staged a street protest this Thursday night after a day of blackouts that left them without electricity supply for more than 14 hours.
“Baracoa-Cabacu in action. They ask that they turn on the power after 15 hours without electricity. Meanwhile, in the city, almost 18 hours without electricity,” the user identified as Yadira Durán Rodríguez.
Videos shared on social networks showed the people of Baracoa in the streets, expressing their indignation at the abusive lack of electricity supply and the shortage of food that they suffer daily.
“We want power and food!” Several neighbors were heard shouting during the protests, which appeared to take place peacefully, without destruction or altercations with the police.
Official profiles on social networks echoed the dialogue between the authorities and the neighbors. “As Fidel taught us. The leaders together with the people, in the most difficult moments. Explaining, uniting,” the member of the Municipal Bureau to attend to the political and ideological sphere in Baracoa indicated on Facebook, Lorian Milhet Fuentes.
“This is what needs to be done, pin…! “Here, what you have to do is this, damn…!” A Baracoa neighbor was heard saying that she recorded images of the protest with her cell phone. “We want current!”Others shouted as they marched through the dark streets of the Villa Primada.
For his part, Milhet Fuentes was quick to publish videos with statements from sympathizers of the Cuban regime who called not to express unrest on the streets of the city.
“This is a call for young people and everyone else. I think we should unite, but not in this way, but rather unite to together look for an alternative to the situation that the municipality and the country are experiencing today as well. I believe that the solution It’s not this demonstration,” said one of the people recorded by Milhet Fuentes.
According to his words, “the solution is to look for alternatives, how we can give food to the children, what the municipality could do to collaborate with the population. I think we should give ourselves ideas of uniting in another way, and not the way they are doing. today”.
“We will be worse and worse if you leaders continue defending abuse against your own people. If you cannot solve the problems, do not lend yourself to making videos under the pretext of the happy ‘alternatives’. What alternatives does a bedridden person have? What alternatives there is a retiree who earns 1,500 pesos, which does not last him two days; [le ingresan su jubilación en una] card and can’t charge because there is no money. And if they put a little bit in, you can’t take it out because the power goes out…”, answered a Cuban in the comments to the official video.
In another series of short videos, another supporter of the regime condemned the demonstrations and blamed them on the subversive efforts of the United States, a country that he also blamed for the situation in Cuba due to its “blockade.” Furthermore, he stated that it would never be possible to subvert order in Cuba “because there are more of us who are with the revolution.”
