Cubans stage rare street protest over power blackouts
In Santiago, Cuba’s second-largest city, hundreds of people staged a rare public demonstration on Sunday to protest continued power outages and food shortages.
The island nation is grappling with its most severe economic downturn in thirty years, with significant portions of Cuba enduring power cuts lasting over 14 hours daily.
While the president attributes the crisis to US sanctions, critics contend that it stems from governmental mismanagement.
Since 1960, the US has imposed an economic embargo on Cuba, imposing stringent regulations on trade between the two nations.
Cuba, a communist-controlled island with a populace of roughly 11 million, has witnessed a deteriorating economy in recent times. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the strain on the financially strapped nation, exacerbating shortages of food, fuel, and medication.
In February, the government sought assistance from the UN’s food program to address food shortages, making an unprecedented plea for aid in supplying powdered milk to children under seven.
However, tensions have escalated in recent weeks as power generators struggle to obtain the necessary fuel for residential electricity and refrigeration, exacerbating food preservation challenges. Unprecedented numbers of Cubans have migrated to the US due to the economic conditions.