Cubans in several neighborhoods in Havana and other cities took to the streets again on Friday, banging pots and pans and demanding the restoration of electrical service as they had done Thursday, after a failure in Cuba’s dilapidated power grid left the country in near total darkness since Tuesday.
Cuba’s Electrical Union blamed Hurricane Ian, which battered western Cuba on Tuesday, for the blackout. The company said Thursday it had restored the service in some places, but providing power to the entire nation will take much longer. After several hours without electricity, which for many also meant no running water, hundreds of Cubans said they had enough.
“Turn on the power!” a group of people, mostly women, chanted while they blocked the Calzada del Cerro, a busy Havana avenue, late Thursday afternoon. With her fridge leaking water, food spoiled, and facing mosquitoes and the heat, a woman who asked not to be identified told the Miami Herald she decided to join the protest.
