By Alejandra Garcia on April 18, 2023 from Havana
photo: Ismael Batista Ramírez
These days Cuba is facing a new fuel supply crisis that affects the national transportation system, both for private and public vehicles. The lines of cars and motorcycles have been getting longer and longer for several weeks, while it is almost impossible to get from one point of the city to another in each province of the country.
What is causing this new situation that comes as the Cuban people struggle to get medicines, food and basic needs? What measures is the country taking to contain yet another crisis of day to day life?
After months of continuous blackouts caused by the collapse of the country’s thermo electric plants and maintenance work on its power stations, the island is now suffering a new contingency. Suppliers were unable to meet the commitments made to Cuba due to the world economic and energy situation, which has affected the availability of gasoline, diesel and liquefied gas in the country and the world but in Cuba everything is exacerbated and while in the US gas prices are spiking it is still abundantly available.
According to Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, access to foreign fuel is also hard due to the tightening of the blockade and the sanctions it imposes. Of course, this means that whatever failure or interruption there is with the transportation of a cargo ship, there will be a gap in the national distribution and supply.
The blockade hinders the vessels that transport these resources, affects the possibility of financing for purchases, and hinders the fulfillment of other requirements. Reports from the Cuban Oil Union show that the number of tankers arriving at Cuban ports has decreased in the last few weeks. This reality also generates low gasoline availability.
Cuba consumes approximately 8.3 million tons of fuel each year. Thirty-nine percent of that value is provided by domestic production.
“However, with this new challenge we are not standing idly by. We are already taking actions to alleviate this instability and avoid running out of supplies,” the Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy added in an appearance on national television news on Monday.
The country’s authorities decided to distribute part of the national fuel reserves. The supply will not be paralyzed, although the amount of fuel distributed daily will be considerably less than what it is usually dispatched. The figures are quite reduced, but fuel will continue to be partially marketed during the remaining days of April and the upcoming month of May to avoid zero point in the sale of gasoline,” O Levy added.
The diesel situation is similar, so a supply strategy has been designed to cover vital services such as health, food, and passenger transportation, among other programs. Some suppliers of this fuel have already begun to meet their commitments.
Once the island receives the supply ships, workers in the sector will act immediately to extend working hours. “They will work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and extend working hours at fuel sales points. However, in the immediate future, we will not have the availability we had in 2017 or 2018. The situation of a few months ago will not be the situation of the coming days of April and May,” O Levy warned.
The country’s authorities maintain their commitment and conviction that the island will overcome the current contingency. We won’t have zero fuel supply in Cuba in these months, despite the sacrifice that this implies and as always the population will be kept informed.
Source: Resumen Latinoamericano – US