Cuba: Women Block Their Havana Street Demanding Water
They have not had water in their faucets for months
Under the intense sun, the protesters expressed their outrage over a problem that affects every aspect of their lives.
HAVANA TIMES – With buckets, tanks, and other containers, a dozen women and their children blocked access to vehicles on Calzada Vieja between C and D in the Havana municipality of Regla, protesting the lack of water in the area for almost four months. After fruitless complaints and bureaucratic procedures, the protesters, from the Unión neighborhood, decided to take action on Saturday July 19th.
“It’s over! We’ve been without water for almost four months!” one of the women complained, as a pair of motorcyclists insisted they remove the objects from the road, according to a video posted on social media. Visibly upset by the situation, the women argue that they’ve gone “everywhere, but it’s always the runaround.”
Under the intense sun the women expressed outrage over a problem that affects every aspect of their lives, from food preparation and personal hygiene to caring for young children and the elderly.
Near the well-known Guanabacoa intersection and the oil refinery, in the Unión neighborhood, the most affected area is located high on a hill. “The water situation here is critical,” a resident confirmed to 14ymedio. Despite everything, she feels less affected because she has been without water for only a month, given that her house is located at the bottom of the natural elevation.
Shortly after the protest began, a water truck arrived at the scene to provide residents with water supplies. This arrival helped break up the demonstration and restore vehicle traffic, according to this newspaper. Residents in the surrounding area came out with buckets and electric pumps to try to collect as much water as they could.
Near the truck, police cars and other vehicles bearing the Criminalistics Department emblem could be seen, as well as local government officials trying to keep the area calm.
The water shortage is a problem that increasingly affects Cuban homes due to the poor condition of pumping equipment, the lack of electricity, and the broken water mains. In recent months, the problem has only worsened in parallel with the drought and widespread blackouts that disrupt daily life on the island.
Street closures, whether to protest the poor condition of housing or to denounce the lack of water supply, have become increasingly common in Cuba in recent years. In Havana, lines of people are frequently seen blocking traffic, demanding everything from a solution to their housing problems to the arrival of a water tanker truck to alleviate the water shortage.
Last June, Lazaro Aguilar Medrano, a resident of Aguiar Street in Old Havana, was arrested after blocking traffic to demand an institutional response for the poor condition of his home. Instead of officials, it was the police and State Security who arrived at the scene.
In November 2023, a dozen women and their children also blocked traffic on the corner of Monte Street and Agramonte Street in Old Havana. After several days without water, residents in the area decided to protest to highlight their situation.
“We’re not doing anything illegal, we’re just demanding our rights,” one of the residents then asserted.
Translated by Translating Cuba.
Water is needed by everyone in county like Cuba everyone should get at 20 liters of water per day free