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How Cubans Are Surviving the Fuel Rationing Crisis

Neighbors unite to cook with firewood, power cuts lasting up to 18 hours, and echoes of the Special Period. Testimonies from Havana on the energy crisis.

Aroma de Cuba · · 2 min read
Cuban family cooking with charcoal in their backyard

In a neighborhood in southwest Havana, 68-year-old Elizabeth Contreras stirs charcoal in a makeshift kitchen built on cement blocks. On the grill is chicken that will feed three neighborhood families.

“Many people have been cooking like this for days because electric pots can barely be used without power and there’s little gas left,” she tells BBC Mundo. “We help each other as neighbors in this uncertainty.”

Echoes of the Special Period

The current situation brings back memories of the 1990s, when the collapse of the Soviet Union plunged Cuba into a crisis known as the Special Period.

Contreras, who lived through that era, says “what’s happening now seems worse to me.” In recent weeks, she has experienced power outages lasting up to 18 hours on more than one occasion.

President Díaz-Canel revived the concept of “option zero” — a survival plan proposed in the 90s for a scenario without oil.

Worse Than Before?

Michael Bustamante, a professor at the University of Miami, provides context: between 1991 and 1994, Cuba’s GDP fell by more than a third. Since the pandemic, the decline is estimated at 11%.

“The Cuban economy never fully recovered after the Special Period,” he explains. “Although the current collapse is smaller in percentage terms, it feels worse because it starts from an already delicate situation.”

The academic also points to a key difference: inequality. “After the emergence of well-stocked private stores, those with money can get things. There’s rampant inequality that has little to do with what was experienced in the 90s.”

Daily Life

Jennifer Pedraza, 34, stockpiles supplies to survive: light bulbs, rechargeable fans and lamps, portable chargers. “I also store water, which is failing.”

Her main concern is her 9-year-old son: “There’s almost never power at school. He has to do homework in the dark. He can’t watch cartoons or use his phone. It’s hard for a child to be in the dark all the time.”

The Numbers Behind the Crisis

With an average salary of 6,830 Cuban pesos (about $14 USD on the informal market):

  • A bottle of cooking oil: ~$2.50 USD
  • 30 eggs: ~$6 USD

More than half of monthly income goes to basics.

Those with relatives abroad sending remittances cope better. The rest make do as best they can.

Source: BBC Mundo

Frequently Asked Questions

How are Cubans cooking without gas?
Many Cuban families have returned to cooking with charcoal and firewood, sharing improvised stoves between several households. Some neighbors organize to cook together and save fuel.
How many hours of blackouts are there in Cuba?
Blackouts in Cuba can last up to 18 hours daily in some areas. Electricity is strictly rationed due to lack of fuel for the thermoelectric plants.
What was Cuba's Special Period?
The Special Period was the severe economic crisis Cuba experienced in the 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union. Current Cubans compare today's situation to that era of extreme scarcity.
How are Cubans organizing to survive the crisis?
Cubans are organizing into neighborhood mutual aid networks, sharing resources, cooking together with improvised stoves, and using traditional food preservation methods.
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