In a country where jokes have long been a staple of coping with hardship, the humor in Cuba is growing more acidic by the day. “Turn the Morro back on,” people quip, referring to Havana’s iconic lighthouse—a poignant reflection of the nation’s struggle to keep the lights on. As Cuba’s aging power grid sputters and fails, plunging the island into darkness for hours on end, the country finds itself on the brink of collapse.
A Nation in the Dark
For Cubans, power outages lasting up to 20 hours a day have become a grim reality. The government, starved of funds to purchase sufficient fuel on global markets, has been unable to keep the nation’s five main thermoelectric power plants running consistently. The result is a cascade of crises that touch every aspect of daily life.
Stifling Homes and Sleepless Nights
Without electricity to power fans and air conditioners, homes in the Caribbean nation become sweltering traps. Families struggle to sleep in the oppressive heat, with no respite from the humidity. The lack of refrigeration means food spoils quickly, compounding the misery.
What’s the point of staying at home?
Alejandro Hernandez, Havana resident
A Crumbling Infrastructure
Cuba’s power woes are symptomatic of a broader infrastructure crisis. Water shortages plague the nation as pumps and pipes fail, while uncollected rubbish piles up on street corners. The country’s once-vaunted healthcare system is struggling to cope, and food prices are soaring as scarcity bites.
An Exodus of Despair
Faced with such grim prospects, over 1 million Cubans—more than 10% of the population—have fled the country in the last two years alone. Those who remain navigate crumbling pavements and open drains, as even walking the streets at night becomes a perilous endeavor.
A Government Grasping for Solutions
As the nation teeters on the edge, the Cuban government is scrambling to find solutions. President Miguel Díaz-Canel has blamed the U.S. embargo for the country’s woes, calling it “the cruellest blockade.” However, critics like economist Pedro Monreal argue that the roots of the crisis lie in the sclerotic nature of Cuba’s centrally planned economy.
In a desperate bid to conserve energy, the government has ordered all nonessential workers to stay home. But this move failed to prevent the power grid from collapsing entirely, plunging the nation into a crisis not seen outside of hurricane season.
This shouldn’t happen. Millions of people without electricity or water. What are all the explanations worth?
A resident of Havana’s Plaza neighborhood
A Ticking Clock
As engineers work around the clock to restore power, Cuba’s future hangs in the balance. Prime Minister Manuel Marrero has called for a shift to renewable energy and for the growing private sector to shoulder more of the burden. But with infrastructure crumbling, food growing scarce, and patience wearing thin, the government faces a race against time to pull the nation back from the brink.
In the once-bustling streets of Havana, an eerie stillness descends with the darkness. The occasional rush of footsteps echoes through the gloom as people hurry home, anxious to be off the streets. For now, all eyes are on the government, waiting to see if it can keep the lights on and restore a semblance of normality to a nation pushed to the limit. The stakes could not be higher.
