It is an endless crisis that is gripping Cuba: in an attempt to avoid persistent blackouts, 74% of public lighting will be kept off, announced the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, who announced also the closure of thousands of state services, the deactivation of air conditioning systems and the modification of the hours of almost 70 thousand workers.
A drastic measure that fits into the scenario of the worst recession in 60 years for the Caribbean nation, and which recently pushed the government to ask for help from the UN Food Programme, faced with the shortage of powdered milk for children.
While now medicines are also starting to run out on the island, known for the excellence of its health system.
According to various testimonies collected by the independent portal Martí Noticias, those most affected are above all patients suffering from chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension.
Many of them are forced to turn to the black market for drugs that the health authorities are no longer able to guarantee to everyone.
Even aspirin is starting to become a rare commodity in pharmacies.
The black hole in the economy risks taking away the proverbial smile from Cubans, who in recent months have also had to deal with a 500% increase in the price of petrol and significant cuts in public transport, with considerable inconvenience particularly among the inhabitants of Havana, for the majority of whom owning a car is still a luxury.
Not even the bread on the table, offered to the population through the supply booklet, could be guaranteed in the coming days, given the shortage of wheat flour.
Difficulties that Miguel Díaz-Canel's executive has largely attributed to sanctions imposed by the United States, but which have been exacerbated by the pandemic and half-hearted efforts to restructure a state-centralized economy.
Cuba, heavily dependent on imports, has seen its GDP decline by 10% since 2019.
The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee has meanwhile received yet another letter, signed by private organizations and individual citizens, calling for the end of the embargo.
“This hostile policy violates fundamental human rights,” reads the letter addressed to Democratic Senator Ben Cardin.
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