Cuba Endures Ongoing Energy Crisis
Cuba is currently facing an ongoing energy crisis following the collapse of the country’s main power grid, leaving approximately 10 million people without access to power. This also affected many Cubans’ access to fresh food and clean water, causing widespread desperation for supplies, as per the BBC. According to an account given by Havana resident Yusely Perez, she had little choice but to turn to firewood as the only resource that was left available to her to use for cooking. “We’ve gone two days without eating,” she told the BBC while frying yucca chips in a pot over the firewood. Perez’s struggles following the blackout mirror those of millions of other Cubans since losing power.
For some, though, food shortages and power cuts have largely been ongoing problems that were only further exacerbated by the nationwide power outage. Speaking to the BBC, mother-of-three Marbeyis Aguilera discussed how electrical outages as well as food and water insecurity have become part of the “new normal” in her community of Aguacate, a direct result of lasting economic shortfalls caused by the pandemic. However, the current widespread outage has certainly worsened the crisis. “It’s especially hard on the children,” she emphasized of the situation, upset by the lack of essential resources that were available to her family.
According to NPR, the current energy crisis originally stemmed from the failure of the Antonio Guiteras power plant, one of the country’s largest power plants, which prompted a total breakdown of the country’s electrical grid. While addressing the crisis, Cuban prime minister Marrero Cruz placed the blame on the country’s deteriorating infrastructure, as well as fuel shortages brought about by Hurricane Milton. However, these are only relatively recent developments that have contributed to the current problem; in reality, different developments over the years have been slowly building up and have only just come crashing down, having manifested themselves into this energy crisis.
As discussed previously, the pandemic was one large perpetrator of this event, as the tourism industry halted entirely and inflation rates skyrocketed. At the same time, Donald Trump, who was president at the time, imposed a list of sanctions on the country, contributing to decades-long grievances between the United States and Cuba over sanctions that have massively complicated imports of fuel and food. Essentially, Cuba produces very little of its own fuel, and has therefore long relied on other countries, such as the United States, for this vital resource.
However, the U.S. imposed sanctions are not the only challenge toward fuel being imported into the country; Venezuela, Russia, and Mexico have also halted their imports of fuel into Cuba, which the country has also largely depended on, due to their own economic crises. Due to these various external factors and ongoing challenges, it is unclear when Cuba will regain power across the nation, but it is clear that this will continue to be a problem.