Monday May 1, 2023 | 11:20 a.m.
The Cuban government was forced to cancel its traditional parade on May 1 in the Plaza de la Revolución in Havana due to the very serious fuel shortage that affects the island.
Instead, it had planned to carry out innumerable events this Monday in different municipalities of the country, avoiding the usual transfer of workers by bus to save gasoline. But the heavy rains that hit the eastern region of the island on Sunday forced the celebrations to be postponed until Friday.
“The fuel situation determines the announced modification,” said the general secretary of the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba (CTC, single union), Ulises Guilarte.
The parade for Labor Day is one of the most important mass celebrations on the calendar of the Cuban Revolution. If the pandemic is excluded, this is the first time that this festive parade will not be held in Cuba. In 2020 and 2021 it was suspended due to the emergency caused by covid-19.
There is no gasoline and the queues at the service stations are endless
The fuel crisis is not new. It already happened in the early 90s after the fall of the Soviet Union and also in 2019. Now history repeats itself, but the causes are different. President Miguel Díaz-Canel assured that the shortage was due to the “non-compliance” of the supplying countries -Venezuela and Russia, mainly- that are also going through a “complex energy situation.”
Cuba imports practically all the oil it consumes and uses it mainly to generate electricity.
Energy and mines minister Vicente de la O said the difficulties would last at least until May. In addition, he blamed the US sanctions for the crisis: “It is very difficult for us to obtain ships to transport the fuel, seek financing and comply with the requirements of the fuel contracts.”
Suspension of face-to-face classes and complaints from producers
This situation led to the suspension of face-to-face classes at several universities.
Throughout the country there are endless lines at service stations. “It’s awful. The queues are days. Marks (the turn) for when the gasoline enters with the number of the car’s license plate. My husband marked the tail three days ago and nothing yet, ”Juana Rodríguez, a retired teacher from Havana del Este, told TN.
The crisis impacted the agricultural markets that have been affected by the lack of fresh products due to transportation problems. “I managed to get the winter (harvest) and now they told us that the government will give us fuel, but I don’t know how much or how the distribution will be,” producer Lázaro Guerra, who has a family farm in Havana, told EFE.
Other farmers complained on social networks about the lack of gasoline. They affirm that they cannot sow without fuel.
“Here we only talk about necessity. People are tired. Such a need has never been experienced in Cuba. There are no medicines and now they say there will be a lack of chicken, which was the only cheapest meat,” Rodríguez said.
