Rumors of Blackouts and What’s on the Horizon
Photo feature by Juan Suarez
HAVANA TIMES — It’s early July and a heat wave has taken over the streets of Havana. I’ve heard rumors that the electricity was cut in some places. Where I live a lot of people go to bed tense worried they will cut the power in the early morning as many are living in a room without windows, with just a single fan to help alleviate this nocturnal hellfire.
Yesterday, the blackout took place near my own home, at 2 am an electric post fell down. At dawn, a family stood at their front door trying to cool themselves with the little breeze there was outside after having suffered a night in a tropical sauna.
Problems with the oil supply from Venezuela, a sharp decline in fuel, less public transport, an off-and-on city and warnings for the upcoming months. Queues, shortages of basic items, the fight to get your hands on a peso, hope that the economy will improve, kids’ holidays, these are all a part of our daily lives. Another difficult summer is heading this way and I ask, what’s it going to be like?
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Anyone who has been to Cuba lately can easily see Castro has totally destroyed the Country and it’s people in every way. Recovery…? The form of Government that took it down won’t allow a recovery. Sad for a beautiful people.
Great leaders figure out ways to make life manageable, at the least, but Cuba never seems to amaze me. It’s called the political system that’s broke and as I’ve stated time and time again there’s probably 10% of the population that knows what really is going on and as those figures grow the present regime will be, as we say in Hawaii, aloha!
I do not see the people being Ok with another special period while tourism booms. The benefits of economic transition will need to be realized by the street in some fashion. The market sector needs to be further opened and soon.
Yet you can take comfort that the Castros and their coterie of bootlickers will somehow manage to keep their air-conditioners on full blast and their refrigerators fully-stocked.