Havana (EFE).- Cuba celebrated an atypical May Day this Friday: in a reduced version -due to the fuel crisis the country is suffering- and at the wrong time, to avoid a storm that affected the West a few days ago.
For the first time in decades, if the two years in which the events were suspended due to the pandemic (2020 and 2021) are excluded, there was no massive parade nor was the epicenter of the events in the Plaza de la Revolución in Havana. Participation was lower than in other editions.
Several tens of thousands of people gathered before dawn on Havana’s Malecón for the main act of a day declared a holiday throughout the country. It was attended by, among other authorities, the Cuban president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, and his predecessor, Raúl Castro.
Many participants carried small Cuban flags and clothes with the three colors (red, white and blue) of the national banner. They repeated political slogans and the slogan of this May Day: “To the country, hands and heart.”
Some raised banners with slogans, with the name of their companies or state offices, and with images of revolutionary leaders such as Fidel Castro, Raúl Castro and Ernesto “Che” Guevara and also José Martí, the main promoter of independence.
Unlike what happens in other countries, the first of May has a festive character in Cuba -and not vindictive-, patriotic overtones and has official support.
“We are here showing that we remain united around the revolution,” said Ulises Guilarte De Nacimiento, general secretary of the Central de Trabajadores de Cuba (CTC, the only legal union) and member of the political bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party in his speech. of Cuba (PCC, only legal).
Crisis
Guilarte referred to the serious crisis that the country is suffering when speaking of the need to “improve the offer” of basic products, “control inflation” and limit the loss of purchasing power of Cubans.
For more than two years, Cuba has suffered from a serious shortage of food and medicine, frequent blackouts and an inflationary spiral that has caused prices to double in the formal market in 24 months. More than 3% of the population emigrated in 2022 alone.
This situation is due to the combination of the consequences of the pandemic – which devastated the island’s tourism, a vital sector -, the tightening of US sanctions and failures in national economic and monetary policy.
To this has been added an acute fuel crisis in recent weeks, which is leaving queues for several days at service centers (gas stations), even when it is unknown when they will be refilled, and rationing of gasoline and diesel.
The lack of fuel, which the Government has indicated will affect the country at least between April and May due to non-compliance by supplying countries, has gradually weighed down other sectors, from food distribution to universities and cultural activities, passing for garbage collection.
In fact, the CTC pointed out that fuel problems were the reason for canceling the traditional grand parade through the Plaza de la Revolución and replacing it with small acts in the communities. Already in 1994, during the crisis of the so-called “Special Period”, the first of May was celebrated with a bicycle march.
Guilarte also spoke in his speech about “achieving the better future” that Cubans deserve, “overcoming difficulties.” In addition to blaming the situation on the “intensified and multidimensional blockade” of the United States, he pointed to “insufficiencies in administrative management.”
According to the organization, the events were also attended by a thousand visitors from 58 countries, who were on the island these days to participate in a trade union congress in solidarity with Cuba.