A Band-Aid on Wheels
HAVANA TIMES – It seems like déjà vu. Once again, the Cuban government “has summoned” those who drive state vehicles “to support the transportation of passengers.” The indication is cyclical: it happened in April 2022, in October 2021, in March 2020 and in September 2019. It returns whenever complaints on social networks increase or the crisis in citizen mobility worsens —it has never been resolved— due to lack of fuel and spare parts.
The “good news” was preceded —what a coincidence!— by a publication on social networks in which a woman from Havana recounted how Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla gave her a ride.
“As public servants, our greatest commitment is with and for the people,” Prime Minister Manuel Marrero said, as if many people were really going to believe him. Despite the relief that this indication could have in urban public transport, people remain incredulous because it is not the first time that it has been fulfilled during the first days and then state cars become private vehicles again.
Only those that suit them and when it suits them, belong to the people, like the debt that was brought to court this week in London. The ruling will be announced in a few days, and whatever its outcome, people will continue to queue at bus stops, waiting hours for a bus, paying high prices for plane tickets, and resisting recurring “government indications” that become cyclical to try to put a bandage on the bleeding wound that is the current Cuban reality.
