Cuba’s New Power Cuts

Nonardo Perea

HAVANA TIMES —The government’s methods change over time. In the 90s, during the Special Period, power cuts were scheduled and people were informed of them in advance through different media.

For several months now, there have been unannounced power cuts in my neighborhood throughout the week. One finds out about the situation only from what people say.

Today, they cut the power because they’re replacing old electrical posts. Next week, they’ll do it to prune trees…the fact is, they always have a good reason to deprive us of electricity, and the worst part is that they almost always cut the power the day the cisterns are full, which when people usually wash their clothes. Without electricity, no one can use a washing machine.

I assume, judging from the number of times they’ve cut the power over recent months, that they’ve been replacing absolutely every single electrical post in the capital and pruned every tree in my neighborhood and those of nearby municipalities.

I think that, behind all this, what they’re actually trying to do is save on oil – and I haven’t even mentioned the number of times they’ve cut the power intermittently in the course of a single hour. They cut the power, they put it back on and do this again and again. The only thing that’s good for is ruining household appliances, but, who cares about the people’s belongings, right?

I really don’t know how any of this is possible. I would like to know who is responsible for turning the switch on and off.

Why aren’t people properly informed and why are they kept in the dark all the time? Ultimately, the new power cut method has been a genuine success: they continue to cut the power and they always have a good reason we have to accept. And we continue to act as though nothing were happening, like good, submissive sheep.