14ymedio, Havana, May 22, 2025 — Facing rising temperatures and a daily 1,500-megawatt energy shortage, Cubans are again taking to the streets in protest. The latest demonstration took place Wednesday night in Bayamo (a town in Granma province) and in Santiago de Cuba.
In videos posted on social media, several people can be heard shouting, “We want electricity; we want food.” Martí Noticias reported the protest took place in Bayamo’s Jabaquito neighborhood. “This could explode again at any moment because we still don’t have electricity,” a local resident told the Miami-based newspaper.
“Police intimidation now in Bayamo. Access to Jabaquito Road is closed. People in the streets. Firefighters also brought in for reasons unknown. Right now protesters from different parts of the city still taking to the street,” read one post on X that also included images.
“People in the streets. Firefighters also brought in for reasons unknown”
Thus far, there have been no reported arrests. This is not the case in Santiago de Cuba where, according to Mayeta Labrada, residents were banging pots and pans in protest. They can be heard chanting”food and electricity” in a darkened video recorded by the US-based journalist from a building in the city’s Micro 9 neighborhood.
On Thursday, state media in Santiago de Cuba reported that a shipment of donated rice and pasta had arrived the night before and would be distributed soon to a limited number of towns in the province. It did not indicate whether or not this was being done in response to the protests. The shipment is intended to fulfill the monthly ration quota for March, which is now two months overdue.
“The distribution prioritizes ensuring access to basic foodstuffs at a time of scarcity, benefiting families in municipalities such as Santiago de Cuba, Palma Soriano, Mella, Contramaestre and Guamá, who will receive one kilogram of rice per person,” the local newspaper “Sierra Maestra” reported. Meanwhile, each consumer in Tercer Frente, Songo-La Maya, San Luis, and Segundo Frente will receive one kilogram of pasta.
The article described this as a “humanitarian action” and an effort by the local government to alleviate the economic and food hardships affecting the population.” It also alluded to the age-old enemy, the “economic blockade.”
In Pinar del Río, the “difficult electrical energy situation” means that the “National News” program is broadcast only on the radio
“Despite structural limitations, the provincial government is looking for alternatives to mitigate the impact of the crisis, though challenges such as insufficient local production and reliance on international aid persist,” the article states. “The population hopes that these measures will be complemented with longer-term solutions that strengthen the region’s food autonomy.”
Meanwhile, residents in Pinar del Río’s Hermanos Cruz neighborhood (popularly known as El Calero) took to the streets. “The strange thing is that a July 11th doesn’t happen every day,” said a resident of Sancti Spíritus, alluding to the massive protests that occurred on that day in 2021. Power outages in the area have been relentless. “Maybe depression is getting the better of us. That is also paralyzing,” he adds.
“No electricity all morning” was the message from one resident of Camajuaní, a town in Villa Clara province where the power is off longer than it is on. “I couldn’t sleep all morning but I couldn’t go to work either. I am dying of exhaustion,” she says.
In Pinar del Río, the “complex electrical energy situation” is affecting reception of the region’s television signal to such an extent that, on Wednesday, “National News” could only be heard on local radio. Yesterday, the national television interview program “Mesa Redonda” (Roundtable), whose theme that day turned out to be the electricity shortage, also had to be broadcast on the radio.
Once again, the Cuban Electricity Union is forecasting a 1,570-megawatt power outage for Thursday, almost the same as yesterday’s 1,578 megawatts.
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