Cuban Woman Criticizes Two Decades of Failed Energy Promises While Cooking with Charcoal

A content creator living in Manatí, Las Tunas, shared a video last Friday that humorously yet frustratedly exposes the string of failed energy promises made by the Cuban regime, as she cooks with charcoal in the absence of electricity and liquefied gas.

Using her Facebook profile, Lili Romero posted a one-minute recording where she highlighted the shortcomings of every official solution: initially, the so-called "energy revolution" with its electric stoves, followed by liquefied gas, and eventually the forced return to charcoal, a fuel she describes as unaffordable for any Cuban household.

"These were just more battles that ultimately didn't work. They changed everything during the energy revolution, supposedly to cook with electricity so we wouldn't struggle. But, well, it didn't work, like so many other things that don't work," Romero remarked in the video.

The Return to Charcoal: An Unsustainable Solution

The resident of Las Tunas also criticized the failed liquefied gas program, which had promised widespread distribution through the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution.

"That didn't work either. So, we had to go back to the darn charcoal, which is unsustainable because using 2,000 pesos' worth of charcoal is absurd for both retirees and non-retirees," she lamented.

Comments on the video echoed a widespread sense of frustration. "All achievements have gone down the drain; the biggest achievement today is everything malfunctioning simultaneously," one user commented.

Another summed up the situation succinctly: "Nothing works. Nothing worked before. And the worst: nothing will work. Everything gets worse every day."

Economic Realities and Energy Shortages

Romero concluded her video with a stark image of the setbacks faced by the population: "With this, I want to say there's no remedy left here. At this rate, we're heading back to the war of independence."

Romero's outcry reflects a harsh reality affecting millions of Cubans. Since January, the state-owned company Cupet indefinitely suspended liquefied gas distribution in Santiago de Cuba and the eastern provinces.

By April, more than 834,000 out of 1.7 million registered customers were unable to purchase the product from any state distribution.

Charcoal, now the last resort available, is also out of reach for many. A single sack can cost nearly half a professional's monthly salary, ranging from 3,200 to 5,000 pesos in several provinces, in a country where the average salary is around 6,930 pesos, and a newly graduated doctor earns just 5,060 pesos.

Export vs. Local Needs: A Stark Contrast

The irony is striking. In 2023, Cuba exported charcoal worth 61.8 million dollars, becoming the ninth-largest global exporter, while its citizens lack fuel for cooking.

In Las Tunas, local production reached 732 tons by May this year, more than triple the target, yet it remains insufficient to meet the real demand of the province.

The "energy revolution" Romero criticized was launched by dictator Fidel Castro (1926-2016) in 2005. The program distributed over 3.1 million electric stoves and multipurpose pots aiming to replace kerosene and gas with electricity.

On January 17, 2006, while inaugurating the "energy revolution" in Pinar del Río, Castro declared: "I will simply say that Pinar del Río will no longer experience blackouts."

Previously, in January 2003, Abel Prieto, then Minister of Culture of the Cuban regime, assured Radio Nederland cameras in Porto Alegre, Brazil, that the blackouts experienced during the Special Period would never return to Cuba.

Over two decades later, that promise lies buried under the worst energy crisis in the island's recent history; the Cuban power grid struggles to cover even a third of the demand exceeding 3,000 MW, with blackouts lasting over 24 hours in many areas.