Iraida Calzadilla, a retired journalist who spent decades working for the Communist Party's official newspaper, Granma, and is currently a university professor, expressed her frustration on Facebook. In a fiery post, she condemned the Electric Union (UNE) and implicitly criticized the government she served throughout her career.
The post, titled "UNE: ANOTHER FORM OF PSYCHOLOGICAL VIOLENCE," was shared a few days after the massive blackout on July 6th, which left 9.6 million people in the dark due to a complete collapse of the National Electric System. It was the third nationwide blackout that year.
Everyday Struggles Underlined
Calzadilla articulated the uncertainty surrounding the timing of power restoration, the difficulty in preserving food, and the anxiety of not knowing which power circuit each household belongs to as systematic abuse: "We live in anticipation, trapped at home until power returns. Everything else is on hold. There are no plans. No present, and the future seems bleak. It's a mess and a disaster."
She demands accountability without hesitation: "UNE, have some decency and provide explanations to a people who deserve it."
A Grim Picture of Cuban Life
The veteran journalist paints a grim picture of daily life in Cuba: "Life for Cubans is dreadful: no electricity, exorbitant prices for any purchase or service, difficulties in money transfers, lack of water, absence of medical services and medicines, an education system in crisis, and a loss of human values and civility...an alarming list."
To illustrate the crisis's severity, Calzadilla recalls the "inedible and nauseating" rationed foods from the Special Period of the 1990s—meat mass, oca paste, banana peel hash—and concludes that Cuba has not been a survival laboratory, but rather one of "maladapted living."
Highlighting Inequality
She points to the inequality maintained by the system: "Now it is clearer that the hardships always affected the majority, not everyone. The same ones who don’t experience them now," referring to leaders who demand sacrifices without suffering them.
Her criticism follows comments from Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, known as "El Cangrejo" and grandson of Raúl Castro, who in an interview with USA Today, expressed regret that people couldn't live like him, while appearing in Hermès sneakers, a Hugo Boss shirt, and a Rolex Submariner watch.
Calzadilla's closing remark directly challenges the official slogan: "I want to see who dares to ask me for more creative resistance when basic and non-basic needs are well met."
Questioning the Call for Creativity
"Creative resistance" has been the central theme through which leader Miguel Díaz-Canel encourages Cubans to navigate the economic crisis with ingenuity. In March, he cited using charcoal and wood for cooking as an example. It wasn't until June 18th, during the Extraordinary Plenary of the PCC Central Committee, that he admitted, "resistance alone is not enough," acknowledging "obstacles that do not come from outside or blockades."
Calzadilla's voice carries particular symbolic weight as it doesn't come from dissidents or independent journalists, but from within the system she defended and helped sustain for decades.
This isn't the first time Calzadilla has documented her declining living conditions. In June 2025, she was photographed waiting at a bank to collect a pension that she claimed wasn’t fully delivered. In December 2022, she recounted standing in line for 20 days at a currency exchange house to buy $100, only to be thwarted by a sudden government system change.
Her colleague, Roberto Pérez Betancourt, also an official journalist and National Journalism Award winner, summarized the plight of retired system workers in September 2025 with a statement echoing Calzadilla's sentiment: "I never imagined my old age like this."
Understanding the Cuban Energy Crisis
What caused the massive blackout on July 6th in Cuba?
The massive blackout on July 6th was caused by a complete collapse of the National Electric System, affecting 9.6 million people and marking the third nationwide blackout of the year.
How does Iraida Calzadilla describe life for Cubans?
Iraida Calzadilla describes life in Cuba as dreadful, highlighting issues such as lack of electricity, exorbitant prices, difficulties in money transfers, absence of water and medical services, and a crisis in education and civility.
What is "creative resistance" according to Miguel Díaz-Canel?
"Creative resistance" is a concept promoted by Miguel Díaz-Canel encouraging Cubans to tackle the economic crisis with innovation, such as using charcoal and wood for cooking.