Since 1959, the enormous Revolution Square in the Cuban capital, Havana, has been the site of the May Day celebrations. Hundreds of thousands of more or less volunteers used to gather in the square to hear the communist leader Fidel Castro. He often spoke for hours in over 30 degree heat while the masses listened and sweated. After Fidel’s death, younger brother Raul took over power and continued with the speeches. In recent years, it has been president and party secretary Miguel Díaz-Canel who has spoken. But this year it was quiet on Revolution Square. On 1 May last year, Revolution Square in Havana was packed with people, many with banners or pictures of Fidel Castro. Photo: AP Running out of petrol The reason for the cancellation is that Cuba is suffering from a desperate shortage of petrol. President Díaz-Canel says that the country only gets around two-thirds of the petrol it needs, writes The Guardian. The New York Times writes that Cuba usually needs between 500 and 600 tons of gasoline per day. Now the country receives less than 400 tonnes per day. After the petrol shortage started at the end of March, there have been kilometer-long queues in front of petrol stations, writes AFP. Concerts and baseball games have been cancelled. The buses are standing still and are not allowed to transport people to events. This is also the reason for the cancellation of the 1 May celebration: It is simply not possible to transport hundreds of thousands to the center of Havana without public transport. Hundreds of thousands of people on their way to Revolution Square in Havana on 1 May last year. Photo: AP Not getting from Venezuela Cuba used to get most of its oil and gasoline from Venezuela. The two countries have had an agreement where Cuba has sent teachers and doctors to Venezuela and received petrol in return. Between 20,000 and 30,000 Cuban doctors work in other countries. They earn far better than they would at home, but most of the salary goes to the Cuban state. Venezuela is the country that has received the most doctors from Cuba. For many years, the country used to send around 100,000 barrels of oil a day to Cuba. In 2021, it was almost halved to 57,000 barrels. It continued until the end of March this year. Since then, it has become far less, but no one knows by how much. Fidel Castro on his way to the 1st of May celebrations in 2005 where hundreds of thousands of people were waiting for him. Photo: Ap Deep economic crisis The authorities admit that they do not know how to get petrol. – We have no clear plan for how to get out of this, says President Díaz-Canel. Economic mismanagement and the US boycott have made life hard in Cuba for many decades. The petrol crisis is just the latest in a long and sad series. Power goes out at irregular intervals in large parts of the country. According to El Pais, a typical monthly salary is between NOK 1,500 and 2,000. This is less than it sounds like in a country where a liter of cooking oil costs NOK 300. At times there is no chicken to be had. Chicken is one of the most important ingredients in the local cuisine. Taxi drivers in Havana in an hour-long petrol queue in Havana last week. Photo: Reuters Celebrated on Twitter Although the most important day of the year was cancelled, the authorities are trying to give the impression that it was a celebration. According to Cuba’s official news agency Prensa Latina, thousands of Cubans have marked the day on Twitter. With the hashtag #ALaPatriaManosYCorazón, they have shared photos of posters and previous celebrations. Whether it has taken people’s minds off the queues and the daily discouragement is not revealed in the reports from Prensa Latina.
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Cuba canceled 1 May celebration due to petrol shortage – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
