Cuba has survived in the dark since last Thursday and Mexico has decided to extend a helping hand. The Government of Claudia Sheinbaum has offered help in the face of the “energy emergency”, in the words of the Cuban Executive, that has been passing through the Caribbean country since the 17th of this month. The situation on the island has become desperate after five days without electricity that have led to the mass closure of schools; the collapse of hospitals; has forced its citizens to light bonfires to cook in the streets and now has left images of protests and pot-banging throughout the territorysheltered from the political police thanks to the lack of light. Beyond the outages of recent days, authorities believe that the energy crisis caused by fuel shortages and the poor state of infrastructure could last two years, while blackouts are becoming more common.

The Mexican Foreign Ministry announced this Monday afternoon through its social networks that its embassy in Havana “timely expressed its willingness to the Cuban people to provide support, given the difficult situation they face.” The chancellor, Juan Ramón de la Fuente, “is in permanent contact with his Cuban counterpart, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, and the Mexican embassy in Cuba does the same with the competent authorities to have updated information on the situation. Likewise, it has made emergency lines available to compatriots in that country for their permanent attention,” the Foreign Ministry added in the brief message.

The Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), the parastatal company that supplies electricity to all of Mexico, has also offered “its technical support for the prompt restoration of electrical energy.” CFE workers are used to dealing with emergency situations, especially during this time of year, hurricane season, when strong storms tend to knock down power lines wherever they pass. During the last month, it has happened in Oaxaca and Guerrero, both States on the shores of the Mexican Pacific, where the hurricane John It left entire communities cut off and in darkness.

Rodríguez Parrilla has responded to the Mexican offer also through his social networks: “We appreciate the efforts and immediate support offered by the governments of Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia, Russia and Barbados to address the current situation of the national electrical energy system. “Cuba is in talks to finalize receipt of this aid.” It is not the only thing that Mexico helps the island with: Cuba, a country that has suffered a strong economic blockade by the United States for more than six decades, depends on its few allies abroad to supply itself with fuel that, above all, Everything comes from Venezuela and Mexico.

Although the Cuban Government usually hides behind the US embargo to justify the very frequent cuts in the electrical system, it is not the only reason that explains the massive blackout. On this occasion, the Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero, recognized that “the state of the infrastructure, the lack of fuel and the increase in demand” are also among the causes. The Cuban president, Miguel Diaz-Canelhas repeated the usual narrative of the ruling party: that the culprit for the power outages suffered by the entire island is “the economic war” and the “financial and energy persecution of the United States”, which “makes it difficult to import fuel and other resources.” necessary for that industry.”

Experts also point out as one of the causes the poor state of an obsolete electrical infrastructure after decades of lack of investment and maintenance. Also, its almost absolute dependence on fossil fuels (gas and, above all, diesel and fuel oil, both imported), which leave a carbon footprint, in a territory of 11 million inhabitants, greater than that of many of the countries in its size. The generation of electrical energy from oil also entails a high economic cost in a nation where, in 2024, 89% of the population lives “in extreme poverty.” according to the results of a study by the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH), an independent organization based in Madrid, Spain.

Cuba produces crude oil, but in insufficient quantities for its needs. In addition, imports have declined in recent times, hand in hand with the state budget to obtain it. The Díaz-Canel Government has assured that it has a plan to “maximize Cuban oil production” as well as the increase in renewable energies, although it has not offered details of its strategy. Marrero has pointed out along the same lines that the immediate measures to solve the crisis involve “eliminating dependence on fossil fuels, replacing it with clean energy.”

The long-term solutions proposed by the Government do not convince the Cuban population. Nor the systematic shifting of blame towards the United States. The protests spread across the island under the cover of darkness while food rots in useless refrigerators, in a country accustomed to food shortages and rationing. During the month of August alone, the Cuban Conflict Observatory (OCC) documented almost 700 protests throughout the territory, most caused by discontent over constant blackouts, water cuts or the inefficiency of public transportation. There is no data, at the moment, on how many improvised demonstrations have occurred these days in darkness.