A group of women took to the streets on Friday, obstructing the busy Calzada de Diez de Octubre in front of the Jesús del Buen Pastor Church, situated at Loma de Jesús del Monte. They were demanding immediate action to resolve the relentless power outages that have been tormenting their Havana neighborhood.
Photos and videos circulating on social media show the demonstrators standing firmly in the middle of the road, halting traffic on one of the most frequented stretches within the Diez de Octubre municipality.
The protest gained attention through the efforts of activist Yaima Pardo and was documented by Orlando Ramírez Cutiño, a relative of former political prisoner Jonathan Torres Farrat. Torres Farrat was arrested at the age of 17 in the same area during the July 11, 2021 protests.
"These are mothers who have taken the drastic step of blocking the road due to the ongoing lack of electricity. Over the past week, we might get power for just 10 or 15 minutes, only for it to disappear again. The situation is dire; the little food we manage to secure each day spoils," Pardo lamented in one of her video updates.
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Key Information About the Havana Protest
What prompted the women to block the road in Havana?
The women were protesting against the severe and ongoing power outages in their community, which have left them without electricity for extended periods.
Who documented the protest in Havana?
The protest was highlighted by activist Yaima Pardo and documented by Orlando Ramírez Cutiño, who has familial ties to a former political prisoner, Jonathan Torres Farrat.