Cuba protests power cuts as government rolls out sweeping market reforms

Residents in Havana, Santa Clara and other cities took to the streets on Tuesday night to denounce prolonged blackouts, banging pots and setting a trash container ablaze while shouting “¡Enciendan la luz! ¡Enciendan la luz!”. Police intervened to disperse crowds as the island’s electricity generation covers only a third of daily demand, a shortage aggravated by the United States’ total oil embargo.

On Thursday the Cuban leadership, led by President Miguel Díaz‑Canel, announced a package of 176 economic reforms aimed at opening the economy to market mechanisms. The measures permit private entrepreneurs to own larger businesses, invite foreign direct investment, and remove limits on the number and size of firms a person can control. Some Cubans abroad see the steps as a hopeful shift toward a “more open socialism” akin to China, while others warn that without political certainty the reforms may not attract the needed capital.