In the emblematic Palace of the Revolution, from one of those places where so many stories and significant moments starring Commander-in-chief Fidel Castro Ruz are treasured, a new communication space came to life, hosted by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez.
It is the program From the Presidency, which premieres on the YouTube channel of our official site and in which the Head of State will systematically address various issues of interest to the Cuban population. This week's broadcast, in which also participated the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, and which was conducted by journalist Arleen Rodríguez Derivet, analyzed in a special way the events that took place last Sunday in three territories of the country, as well as the causes and conditions that led to it.
The statements of a group of people were associated, above all, to the complex situation with the generation of electricity and the distribution of foodstuffs. This reality was cruelly exploited by the enemies of the Revolution to, in the space of digital networks, show an image of chaos, call for the destabilization of the country and the fall of the Revolution.
In this regard, President Díaz-Canel said that, in order to carry out an objective assessment of the events of that day, it is necessary to consider two dimensions: the real Cuba and the virtual Cuba.
The real Cuba, the one that is lived in every home on a daily basis, commented the President, has been marked in recent years by very difficult moments that have become more complex in the first months of 2024, in which there has been an accumulation of long blackouts that have greatly annoyed the population and we also have food shortages, with fractures in the timely distribution of the standard family food basket.
This coincidence of circumstances, he said, made it easier for a group of people, mainly in three localities of the country, to get together looking for an explanation, an argument and an answer to the complaint they had about these issues. He then recalled how, immediately, the main authorities of the Party and the Government of those territories appeared in those places, to dialogue with those present.
The enemies of the Revolution wanted to turn everything into chaos, and took to the social networks a Cuba far from the fateful consequences of the inhuman blockade imposed by the U.S. Government on the Cuban people, which includes a fierce energy persecution.
Hence, in his words, the President of the Republic made a strong denunciation of the U.S. Government's attempts to subvert order in Cuba, which obeys an old policy of imperialism, put into practice almost 64 years ago, when they stated that due to the majority support the Revolution had, it could only be overthrown by suffocating its economy, so that the people could not bear the material deprivations and would turn against the Revolutionary Government.
That is why, last March 17, they built a virtual Cuba for us, of hatred towards the Revolution, of slander, in which the permanence and magnitude of the facts were grossly manipulated with artificial intelligence techniques, said the Head of State.
All this is part, he acknowledged, of the policy of maximum pressure of the US Government, which has two fundamental components: economic asphyxiation and media intoxication. "In other words, silent bombs to undermine our economy, now supported with media rocket launches," he said.
Was March 17 the day with the most blackouts in the country?, asked journalist Arleen Rodriguez to the Minister of Energy and Mines, who categorically assured that no: "it was a day similar to the previous ones, with blackouts lasting many hours". The situation, he considered, was an accumulation of bad days that we have had to face as a consequence of the generation deficit.
He then recalled the strategy that has been in place for some weeks now to acquire fuels in the international market, to which is added the entry of the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant. These are facts, he emphasized, which will allow an improvement in the generation of electricity in the country.
In addition, there is a broad investment process in the sector, in the short and medium term, which will allow the use of renewable energies for the generation of some 2,000 megawatts of electricity, although this, the Minister acknowledged, is "a long and costly road".
"There are many people working very hard throughout the National Electroenergy System to improve the situation, and that effort was translated into results when we were able to alleviate the blackouts at the end of last year, and the whole strategy of rescue, maintenance and repairs that was drawn up gave us results", President Díaz-Canel recalled.
The current blackouts, he insisted, "have nothing to do with technological problems, they have to do with the fact that we have lived through a moment in which we lacked two fundamental fuels to be able to operate the system and to be able to take advantage of the potentialities that were rescued with the referred strategy".
In this respect, the President assured that, as a result of the negotiations that have been carried out with friendly countries and other actions, a greater stability in the generation of electricity is expected in the next few days.
To our people, said the President, we ask them to have confidence, because "the enemy only wants to see us in confrontation", and "he is not interested in the welfare of the people.
"The coming days will be better. Thanks to our people for their heroism and for the inspiration they inspire us to do a better job", he concluded.
