Havana's "Smart City" Claims Ridiculed: "We Don't Even Have Electricity"

The Cuban newspaper Granma recently posted on Facebook, claiming that "Havana is moving towards a smart and sustainable city model." This statement sparked a flood of critical and mocking comments on social media, with many Cubans expressing outrage and sarcasm over what they see as another example of the regime's triumphalism amid the country's ongoing crisis.

The post has garnered hundreds of responses, capturing the general sentiment of disbelief, annoyance, and sarcasm. "Smart city? We don't even have electricity," commented one user. Another quipped that it "must be smart because it knows how to hide the trash." Comments like "the dengue mosquito must be smart to dodge the potholes" and "the only sustainable thing here is the disaster" were also prevalent. Many mocked the regime's triumphalism, noting that "they live in a parallel country where everything works on PowerPoint," or "they put a screen on the street and call it a smart city, while hospitals are falling apart."

Some users, more indignant than sarcastic, directly questioned the disconnect between official rhetoric and reality. "They talk about technology when they can't even guarantee water or transportation," wrote one. Another added, "The day they pick up the trash, fix the streets, and provide medicine, then we can talk about a smart city." An internet user summed up the sentiment with a blunt: "Stop insulting the people with these lies that no one believes anymore."

There were also comments linking the headline to the broader national crisis: "They say Havana is smart, but Cubans still line up for bread and carry buckets of water." Another pointed out, "A smart government wouldn't let its people die in hospitals without supplies." One reflection widely shared was, "The smart city must be the one that knows how to survive without power, transportation, and hope."

Many reacted with irony to the idea of sustainability. "The only thing sustained here is misery," noted one user. "It must be sustainable because it never changes; we've been the same for years," joked another. A comment that received numerous likes summarized the collective feeling: "They should host a congress of delusional cities; we'd win by a landslide."

Comedian Ulises Toirac responded with irony to Granma's message. "Havana on the path to becoming a smart city is the best news I've heard in ages! We're saved!" he wrote on social media, triggering a wave of reactions from his followers. With his usual sarcasm, he ridiculed the official narrative of technological modernization while highlighting the structural issues plaguing the capital. "The city will send an alert: 'The location of the ETECSA tower is terrible because half of its coverage is received by fish not swimming along our coasts.' (...) As for transportation, it'll detect all the drivers' tricks and analyze delays and resident flow," he joked.

Toirac also commented on the contrast between the regime's triumphant narrative and the everyday reality of Cubans: "I hope one day the intelligence will belong to those who run the city, not the city itself." His remarks were widely shared and celebrated as a reflection of the humor many Cubans use to cope with the absurdity of official discourse.

Author Wendy Guerra also reacted harshly to the Communist Party newspaper's message, calling the article a "lie" and a "smoke screen." She expressed on Facebook, "In the midst of Cuba's great crisis, this headline appears in Granma, the official organ and face of the PCC. The journalist who signed this article knows perfectly well, as we all do, the lie, the theater, the smoke screen she's helping to create while the people try to survive." She also appealed to the country's journalists: "I urge Cuban journalists to at least have the decency not to lie about the terrible crisis in Havana and the rest of the island's towns and cities. (...) 'Havana is moving towards a smart and sustainable city model'? Please, don't insult us."

The reactions from Toirac and Guerra echo the frustration and sarcasm that dominate social media comments, where many users point out that the capital is plagued by blackouts, overflowing trash, collapsed transportation, and crumbling infrastructure, while the regime talks about "technological innovation" and "citizen participation." This tension between official discourse and everyday experience was already evident when dozens of Cubans reacted to a report on Havana's so-called "smart city," published days earlier by official media and widely questioned on social networks.