this post was submitted on 25 Aug 2025

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What is going on in Cuba? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) by GiorgioPerlasca@lemmy.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

38 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Mainstream news describe the economic situation is Cuba as extreme, see for example, this article by CNN: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/08/22/americas/cuba-crisis-energy-economy-intl-latam

Is that true? How to get a realistic account of the current situation in Cuba? Is United States blockade getting worse?

Edit. Added a mainstream source and re-stated my question in a more neutral tone.

all 39 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 69 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Long story short, the embargo made COVID especially difficult for getting critical vaccines in Cuba, and especially hurt their tourism industry. On top of this, their electrical grid is seriously harmed. The good news is that they are getting tons of solar panels from the PRC, and Vietnam is also providing support.

The people still support their government, but are obviously very upset right now. They overwhelmingly blame the US Empire and their blockade, which is just an open tool of economic warfare.

[–] TrippyFocus@lemmy.ml 20 points 4 weeks ago

The people still support their government, but are obviously very upset right now. They overwhelmingly blame the US Empire and their blockade, which is just an open tool of economic warfare.

That’s a great point that I forgot to include in my post!

Including some links in case anyone is interested in how elections in Cuba work.

Good Video on the History of Cuban Elections and how they work.

Some Cuban voters on Election Day

[–] TrippyFocus@lemmy.ml 42 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (1 children)

Someone else will hopefully have more specific details on the situation.

In general the economic situation isn’t great due to the blockade since as an island nation they have to Import anything (like oil) that isn’t a natural resource on the island. Blackouts and other energy issues have been a problem due to that.

Trump recently increased the blockade and I know due to COVID their tourism industry was hit pretty hard.

Some silver linings to the situation:

China has provided solar panels that should help strengthen their grid and provide them a source of energy that can’t be blockaded.

They recently became a BRICS partner member which should hopefully give them some ability to trade even with the blockade.

Vietnam recently has raised millions in an ongoing effort to send donations to Cuba.

Edit:

Also if anyone is interested in learning more about Cuba and its history I’d recommend the podcast Blowback season 2.

Adding some links to explain how democracy and elections work in Cuba and why the government still has such large public support:

Good Video on the History of Cuban Elections and how they work.

Cuban voters on Election Day

Also Some other links below on recent news:

Pension Increases to help with the economic situation

On how they defy sanctions and still lead in healthcare

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 8 points 4 weeks ago

Good write-up!

[–] gitgud@lemmy.ml 27 points 4 weeks ago (3 children)

As a general rule, never trust Liberal news for anything.

[–] Estebiu@lemmy.dbzer0.com 25 points 4 weeks ago (2 children)

Never trust news from a single source/political sphere, no.

[–] davel@lemmy.ml 16 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

That sounds good in theory, but keep in mind that 99% of English-language news sources are liberal ones.

[–] gitgud@lemmy.ml 13 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Et alors, j'etudais Francaise! Attend...

[–] GiorgioPerlasca@lemmy.ml 7 points 4 weeks ago

There is a lot of left-leaning content available in French! They have a lot of scholars and thinkers who are openly leftists, and in Europe it will not scare anyone.

[–] Tenderizer78@lemmy.ml 5 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

But my single source got his producer illegally arrested by the NSW gestapo and his house firebombed by criminal gangs. I'd say pissing off the powerful to that extent earns some trust.

[–] eldoom@lemmy.ml 2 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Is your single source of news Boy Boy??

[–] Tenderizer78@lemmy.ml 1 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (1 children)

Jordan Shanks, but I also follow Boy Boy as of recently.

[–] eldoom@lemmy.ml 1 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

I believe a similar thing happened to Boy Boy after their laundering money in casinos thing actually.

[–] Tenderizer78@lemmy.ml 1 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

I just considered them "firebombed by association". Jordan's collaboration with them can be interpreted as an endorsement, and I trust Jordan because he got firebombed.

[–] eldoom@lemmy.ml 1 points 3 weeks ago

Oh okay so it's the same incident. I've been having the confusions for like a week and I was thinking "it happened twice?!"

[–] muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

Are you suggesting CNN is liberal? Like, seriously?

[–] comfy@lemmy.ml 3 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

From a political science perspective (and for most people outside the USA), most of the US has liberalist ideology, including Republican voters. The electoral system is called a liberal democracy. The country rallying cry is for "freedom"; liberty.

US mass media simply started calling progressive liberalism "liberalism", conservative liberalism "conservativism", and classical liberalism "libertarianism". It's silly and confusing, but it's the world we're in right now.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalism

[–] gitgud@lemmy.ml 0 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I'm sorry, I realize I was a bit ambiguous so please allow me to correct myself.

CNN is so fucking liberal. Better?

[–] muusemuuse@sh.itjust.works 0 points 3 weeks ago

Do you snort it or take it in the arm?

[–] molestme247@lemmy.world -5 points 4 weeks ago (3 children)

Trumps a pedo ya fuck

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 14 points 4 weeks ago

Most of the people on Lemmy that hate on liberals are leftists. That's why you see a lot of solidarity and support for Cuba here, there are a ton of communists this side of Lemmy in particular.

[–] NuclearDolphin@lemmy.ml 14 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

You are correct, but you failed to understand the comment you are replying to.

[–] molestme247@lemmy.world 0 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Yeah you got me, I misunderstood the post. I just wanna see the entire GOP swinging from a tree then I'll worry about the fuckin pussy libs. In my eyes that what happened last election, other than elon owning the company that counts the votes. I'd prefer to get rid of extremists first, then I'll deal with that lump of wasted votes. In any case, eat the wealthy, skull fuck the gop, drink from their skulls

[–] procapra@lemmy.ml 10 points 4 weeks ago

Im assuming the user is not a right winger, but instead a communist or anarchist.

Both hate liberals, but they are very different ideologies.

[–] birdwing@lemmy.blahaj.zone 16 points 4 weeks ago

If CNN bent the knee to Trump, I wouldn't trust it.

Better to look at news from elsewhere.

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 8 points 4 weeks ago

I'm not sure it's fair to say extreme, it's still doing way better than Gaza, for example. But, it's bad.

Any debate will be about why.

[–] Vanth@reddthat.com 6 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Can you just identify the news source? Say for example "CNN ran a story in which they said x, y, z about Cuba, is it true and where can I find other perspectives?" That way you don't derail the conversation from the onset with the spectre of lIbErAl NeWs 👻

[–] GiorgioPerlasca@lemmy.ml 3 points 4 weeks ago

One source I found is this: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/08/22/americas/cuba-crisis-energy-economy-intl-latam

It was translated in Italian and shared by several Italian news outlets.

[+] PerogiBoi@lemmy.ca -1 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

[removed by mod]

[–] OurToothbrush@lemmy.ml 8 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I’m assuming there was a large violent massacre

Holy shit people just say things

[–] PerogiBoi@lemmy.ca -5 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Are you claiming I’m lying or the local who told me this is lying? She said “there was a lot of bloodshed. Everything was very sad” and didn’t specify further. If you talk too much about certain things and a government official hears you, that could spell some trouble.

Have you been to Cuba before? This was in Varadero.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 5 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Source?

[–] PerogiBoi@lemmy.ca -4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Firsthand account from a woman in Varadero I met when I was in Cuba last year.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 6 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

So an entirely unverifiable claim from a random person on the internet of a secondhand account of someone said random person claims to have met of a supposed "large massacre" that to my knowledge has never been reported on? Allow me to be skeptical.

[–] PerogiBoi@lemmy.ca -4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I don’t really care if you personally don’t believe it. By your logic, you shouldn’t trust anything you read on social media as it’s all unverified claims by random people on the internet.

This is what a local bus driver in Varadero told us last year. It checks out with the verified reports of protests against the government at the same time. It’s an authoritarian country so it could be possible that certain events are reported in a censored manner.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 9 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

No, not all claims on the internet are unverifiable, many come with irrefutable proof. Secondly, you're giving me a source that is known to lie about socialist countries backing you up, that's de-legitimizing you. In fact, we know that western media distorted the extent of the 2021 protests using manipulated images, and failing to cover (or doing so in limited amounts) that the pro-government protests were greater than the anti-government protests.

Further, Cuba is a democratic country. It treats capitalists and slavers from the Batista era with authority, but is comprehensively democratic for the working class, which is why the people support the government and place the blame on the US Empire and its brutal embargo. All states are "authoritarian," what matters is which class is being represented. In Cuba, it's the working class.