Cuba's capital has an apocalyptic feel at night, with pot-banging protests echoing through various neighborhoods, while daytime brings the smell of burning garbage. Fires caused by waste accumulation and fuel shortages add to prolonged blackouts that worsen social unrest. Anti-government graffiti appears on walls, reflecting growing tension.
In Havana, nights have turned into a scene of protests, with the clanging of pots resounding in central, peripheral, residential, and tourist neighborhoods alike. This phenomenon has spread widely, regardless of location. Anti-government graffiti increasingly adorns walls, with phrases like “It’s over” persisting despite efforts to erase them.
Fires dot the capital's landscape. Some stem from burning garbage, a common practice due to shortages of vehicles and fuel for waste collection. Others come from charcoal burning, used by families facing electricity and gas shortages for cooking. At times, these fires get out of control or start from short circuits in the unstable power grid.
One incident occurred on Saturday in Santiago de Cuba, where a fire at a pizzeria on Enramada Street, between Reloj and San Agustín, spread to four homes, possibly due to a short circuit. In Matanzas, the Bucket Factory in Playa, near the Cocal substation, burned on Sunday night, but firefighters extinguished it in 20 minutes, though neighbors warned of nearby plastic waste increasing the risk.
In Granma province, El Ranchón at the Guisa lookout point caught fire in the early hours of the previous morning. Alianna Corona Rodríguez, first secretary of the Communist Party in the province, stated that “the flames found it easy to spread because it is a traditional construction made of palm thatch and wood.” The official noted that posters with counterrevolutionary propaganda were found, adding connotations to the event.
Blackouts intensified over the weekend in Havana, reaching up to 20 continuous hours in some neighborhoods. This power shortage not only fuels social unrest but also worsens water supply issues, as there is no electricity to pump it.