By Francisco Acevedo
HAVANA TIMES – Our beloved Miguel Diaz-Canel went viral again this week, with the release of his podcast dedicated to the transportation crisis. As expected, it turned into another show of praising the inefficiencies of the regime.
While many thought this was the first step due to the significance and sensitivity of the issue, it is actually the third episode of the media product called “From the Presidency.”
In the first episode, the Head of State commented on the events of March 17, when protests erupted in some parts of the country due to long blackouts and delays in the delivery of food rations. This last point was the central theme of the second episode.
In both programs, the narrative was consistent in justifying the government’s inabilities, being aggressive towards the United States (the only one responsible for all the problems), and employing the tactic of creating expectations.
The third episode was no exception. The Minister of Transport, Eduardo Rodríguez, began by acknowledging that Cuba is going through one of its worst moments in recent years. Five years ago, double the number of vehicles were in operation than today, which means that passenger circulation dropped from 5.9 million to 2.7 million.
According to the Minister, after the collapse of the Socialist Bloc (1991), there was a significant impact, but focusing only on the last five years, “today half of the bus routes do not operate regularly. Some buses have technical issues leading to their immobilization, while others face fuel shortages.”
Mobilizations associated with the Ministry of the Interior (MININT), the Armed Forces (FAR), or State Security are well-prepared and have fuel to repress; just remember how quickly they responded when the first secretary of the Communist Party in Santiago, Beatriz Jonson, gave her speech from a rooftop, prompting calls for freedom.
Now it seems we will start paying attention to internal public opinion polls, a method that has existed for a long tim