Hundreds of people participated this Friday in several spontaneous protests in different neighborhoods of Havana on the third consecutive day of general blackout due to the passage of Hurricane Ian.
In parallel, it took place, according to several specialized platforms, a near-total blockade of internet traffic from Cubaalso for the second night in a row.
As ‘EFE’ was able to verify, more than a hundred people gathered early at night in the district of Playa to protest the lack of electricity.
Soon after, many police officers arrived at the scene, quickly surrounding the demonstrators, and then four guaguas (buses) with young people dressed in civilian clothes arrived at the scene and began to shout slogans in favor of the revolution.
(Keep reading: Lula da Silva and Bolsonaro face each other this Sunday at the polls).
According to videos and testimonies on social networks, there have also been other protests, such as cacerolazos and roadblocks with the trees fallen by the hurricane, in Holguín (east), Matanzas (west) and in other municipalities of Havana such as Boyeros, Habana from the East, Marianao and Cerro.
The protests have been happening since this Thursday in Cubaespecially in Havana, for the growing social discontent due to the lack of electricity in the vast majority of the country after the passage of Hurricane Ian.
Throughout the day there had been sit-ins, rallies and pot-banging in Guanabacoa (west) and the Havana neighborhoods of Vedado, La Palma and Bacuranao.
(Also read: Bolsonaro and Lula ‘take their rags out in the sun’ for corruption in the last debate).
internet blocking
The Netblocks platform returned this Friday to denounce, as it did on Thursday, the almost total collapse of internet traffic from Cubasomething that this specialist in the network attributes to a decision of the Government of the country.
“Confirmed: Real-time network data shows that the internet has been cut in Cuba for the second consecutive night,” the platform wrote on Twitter.
According to Netblocks, “Metrics show connectivity collapsing as of 8pm amid protests over poor conditions and power outages made worse by Hurricane Ian.”
⚠️ Confirmed: Real-time network data show internet has been cut in #Cuba for the second evening in a row; metrics show a collapse in connectivity after 8 pm local time amid protests over poor conditions and power cuts worsened by Hurricane Ian 📉 #CubaPaLaCalle pic.twitter.com/YDJ6ZsTjwX
— NetBlocks (@netblocks) October 1, 2022
(Also: Bomb threats at Casa Rosada and at the Argentine Ministry of Defense).
Following the first internet shutdown, several activists argued that the cutoff was intended to silence the protests. The Government has not offered explanations for this anomaly and the official media have not picked it up.
Hurricane Ian crossed the western end of Cuba from south to north on Tuesday, with intense rains and winds of up to 200 kilometers per hour, leaving three dead and extensive material damage for the time being.
For reasons, at the moment, not fully clarified, The passage of the hurricane generated an imbalance in the national electricity system that ended up causing a moment of “zero generation” electricity, a total blackout throughout the country.
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EFE
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