The crisis forces the Cuban government to cancel the symbolic parade on May 1

Little by little Cuba is paralyzed due to the serious crisis of fuel shortages, to which there is no solution in the short term.

The queues at the few well-stocked gas stations in Havana can last several days to refuel, in some provinces the sale of gasoline and diesel has been rationed, and their dispatch to private vehicles has even been prohibited to prioritize those for public use. such as ambulances, taxis and funeral cars.

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, because students and teachers find it increasingly difficult to go to classrooms, and in the midst of this crisis, one of the worst in memory, the Government has just announced the suspension of the massive parade on May 1 in the Revolution Square of the capital.

In its place there will be small marches in the municipalities, to which attendees must go on foot.

It is the first time since the triumph of the revolution that this symbolic celebration has been canceled for economic reasons, although in 2020 and 2021 it was suspended due to the covid-19 pandemic.

The parade for Workers' Day is not just any commemoration in Cuba.

Since 1959, on this date, the authorities have always organized a great mass event in the Plaza de la Revolución, mobilizing tens of thousands of people through the work centers, making hundreds of buses available to the participants and dedicating millions of resources to guarantee the success of the celebration.

This was the case even last year, when the crisis was already biting hard but the State spared no expense, and a million Cubans attended the march in Havana, according to official figures.

In the official political imagination, the May Day parade has always functioned as the main "show of massive support for the revolution and socialism", and it has been presented that way even in the most difficult moments, such as after the historic protests of the July 11, 2021. Until just a few days ago, when the new Parliament was constituted and President Miguel Díaz-Canel was re-elected for a second term, on April 19, the decision was to maintain the mobilization of support despite the problems fuel supply.

But at the last moment the authorities have reconsidered this position and have opted for the "rationalization of resources" given the criticality of the situation, which threatens to paralyze the country if there is no prompt solution.

“The fuel situation determines the announced change,” said Ulises Guilarte, the general secretary of the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba, the single union, when breaking the news.

In its place, he explained, there will be small acts "convened as forums to denounce the obstacles to development programs due to the iron economic blockade" and to demand Cuba's removal from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism, in which the Biden administration keeps the island.

On this May Day, Guilarte said, "the main recognition will be for the people for their capacity for resistance and commitment to contribute to the economic and social development of the country."

Cuba has gone through numerous punctual crises of fuel shortages in recent times, but none like this, all analysts agree, and worst of all, there is no light on the horizon.

The explanations given by the Minister of Energy and by the country's president himself attributed the deficit to the "non-compliance" of the supplying countries, which, they said, are also going through a "complex energy situation", in a veiled reference to Venezuela.

The only thing that has been reported is that the shortage will last at least until next month, but without clarifying how the country intends to return to normality.

The current fuel crisis, to which must be added that of the domestic gas supply, high food prices and the return of blackouts -which, although they have decreased, are continuing- are increasingly affecting all Cubans and all lines of the economy.

Public transport stops, taxis are becoming fewer and more expensive, and the owners of restaurants and bars assure that these days their businesses are operating at 50%, since people who have sufficient purchasing power to be able to consume in them do not It goes out to save gas.

Likewise, the owners of the new small and recently created private companies indicate that it is increasingly difficult to work and that they have had to drastically reduce their productions, and the same happens with the large state companies,

The director of an important Cuban popular orchestra explained yesterday that in the last month he has had to suspend three rehearsals, since he cannot require his musicians to use the little gasoline they have to get there – in the case of those fortunate enough to have their own vehicle -, or spend a fortune on a taxi.

"We have already decided that we are not going to act for a while," explained this artist.

Last week, a long-scheduled National Symphony Orchestra concert had to be canceled at the last minute, and so every day and everywhere.

In this very difficult context, the initial decision of the authorities to promote a large parade on May 1 in the Plaza aroused strong criticism on social networks,

and many asked to dedicate the little fuel existing in the country to what is truly a priority and not to organize acts of a political and propaganda nature.

Finally, it has been.

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