English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Havana, 27 February 2023 — Every day, more workers in the state electricity sector leave their jobs in Cuba. In the first six months of 2022, 21 a day left their jobs; in the following three months, while the country was experiencing the prolonged blackouts of the summer, the number was 26 a day. … Continue reading “Some 10,000 Workers in the Electricity Sector Left Their Jobs in Cuba in 2022”
14ymedio, Havana, February 20, 2023 — The amount of sugar that Cuba’s State-owned sugar producer, Azcuba, should have produced by this time is unknown, but the deficit is already 95,000 tons, a huge amount if one takes into account that 400,000 tons is the total needed just to meet the domestic demand for sugar. The … Continue reading “In Addition to the ‘Blockade’, Cuba Blames Migration and Crime for Low Sugar Production”
14ymedio, Havana, 16 February 2023 — The fragility of the Cuban electrical system was evidenced once again. Now “an electrical failure in the use of the plant” has left the Antonio Guiteras de Matanzas Thermoelectric Power Plant out of service since shortly after noon this Thursday. According to a brief statement from the Unión Eléctrica that caused annoyance among users, … Continue reading “Cuba’s Largest Power Plant is Out of Service Due to an Electrical Failure”
14ymedio, Havana, 18 November 2022 — Although the Cuban Government has emphasized this year the need to raise foreign capital for sectors in extreme emergency, such as food, agriculture and transport, the bulk of its offers return to the usual: tourism. Of the 708 businesses that are part of the new portfolio of opportunities, there … Continue reading “The Cuban Government Seeks More Than 3 Billion Dollars in Investments for Tourism / 14yMedio”
14ymedio, Havana, 1 November 2022 — Cuba lost two other thermoelectric power plants due to breakdowns this Monday, when Unit 4 of the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes in Cienfuegos and Unit 5 of the Antonio Maceo in Santiago de Cuba left the National Electric System (SEN). “With these unforeseen departures, an availability of 1741 MW … Continue reading “Two More Thermoelectric Plants are Shut Down in Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 18 October 2022 — On the same day that the official press dedicated a triumphalist article to the “stability” of the thermoelectric plant (CTE) Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, in Cienfuegos, unit 4 of this plant was disconnected from the National Electrical System (SEN). With the usual euphemisms, a brief note from the Cuban … Continue reading “Despite the Change of Minister, More Power Plants are Shutting Down in Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 17 October 2022 — The Cuban Minister of Energy and Mines, Liván Arronte Cruz, and the director of the Electric Union of Cuba (UNE), Jorge Armando Cepero Hernández, were dismissed from their respective positions this Monday. Without mentioning the names of those dismissed, in a brief note, Cubadebate reported that Vicente de la … Continue reading “The Blackouts Cost the Cuban Minister of Energy and Mines his Position”
14ymedio, Havana, October 10, 2022–Antonio Guiteras, a 280 megawatt power plant, could not contribute to the National Electric System (SEN) on Sunday as planned, nor will it be able to do so on Monday. Yesterday, the deficit reached 1.412 MW at the national level during peak hours at 11pm and people went out to the … Continue reading “Cuba: During a Blackout, Residents of Santa Cruz del Sur Boo the ‘Full Bellies Up There’”
14ymedio, Havana, 13 September 2022 — On Sunday, 83% of homes in Cuba were affected by power outages, which lasted about seven hours on average, according to the reports from Cuba’s Electric Union, which were shared on national television on Monday and a very similar situation is expected today. According to data published by UNE … Continue reading “Officials Brag That the Price of Electricity, Ever More Scarce, Does Not Increase in Cuba”
14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 29 August 2022 — It is one thing to say that Cuba will overcome the current energy crisis; what Díaz-Canel did is quite another matter, he insulted the Cuban people who are fed up with so many lies, and with waiting for “The New Man” who will never arrive. Even … Continue reading “Cuban President Diaz-Canel and the Blackouts: Enemies On All Sides”
14ymedio, Havana, 30 August 2022 — The Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, in Matanzas, left the National Electric System this Tuesday, according to the Cuban Electric Union (UNE), “due to losses of turbine parameters (empty).” Although the state company then assured that “work will be done immediately on the solution to the leak in the boiler … Continue reading “A New Fault Delays the Promise of Diaz-Canel and Raul Castro About the End of the Blackouts”
14ymedio, Havana, 11 August 2022 — The Antonio Guiteras de Matanzas Thermoelectric Plant stopped working again this Wednesday due to lack of cooling water, hours after having reestablished its operations. Two days earlier, the most important thermoelectric plant in Cuba had left the National Electricity System also due to the lack of pressure in the … Continue reading “With Just Three Hours of Electricity This Thursday, Pinar del Rio is the Most Affected Province in Cuba”
14ymedio, Juan Izquierdo, Havana, 10 August 2022 — In the midst of an almost absolute blackout in Havana’s Vedado, the Grand Aston Hotel Havana seemed to have fallen from another world, less precarious and underdeveloped. All its lamps, windows, spotlights, reflectors and even humble light bulbs were at their maximum capacity, without any attention to … Continue reading “In the Midst of the Blackouts, a Luxury Hotel Without Customers Illuminates Havana”
14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 9 August 2022 — The communist state press collects statements by Díaz-Canel in which, in relation to the Matanzas fires, it bets on a new line of communication, according to which “we have confidence that we are going to recover.” And that’s what Cuba needs most right now: trust. At … Continue reading “The Avoidance of Responsibility for the Fires in Matanzas, Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 10 August 2022 — The official information is that the fire that has been devouring the Matanzas Supertanker Base since Friday began to subside this Tuesday. The Cuban Fire Department confirmed that the fourth tank, which exploded on Monday night, collapsed completely, and the state press itself published images of the four melted … Continue reading “Four Fuel Tanks are Destroyed in Matanzas, Cuba, and ‘The Risk Continues’”