Cuba is introducing serious fuel-saving measures, which include cutting public transport, limiting classes in schools and universities, as well as reducing tourist activity. This is happening against the backdrop of increasing tensions with the US and the tightening of the oil embargo, DPA reported, BTA reports.
The government of the socialist Caribbean island announced yesterday that these emergency steps are aimed at ensuring the stable functioning of the economy and basic public services.
“Washington imposed an energy blockade on Cuba as part of an aggressive escalation“, said Deputy Prime Minister Oscar Perez-Oliva Fraga when presenting the plan. Several ministers outlined the details of the measures on state television.
Cuba has not received oil from Venezuela since December after U.S. President Donald Trump banned the movement of sanctioned oil tankers supplying the island. Caracas was Havana's strategic partner in South America.
After the fall of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, who was captured by U.S. forces in early January, Cuba lost a key ally. Trump subsequently threatened to impose tariffs on oil suppliers, forcing Mexico - until recently the island's largest supplier of petroleum products - to cut off supplies.
To save energy, the government will only work from Monday to Thursday, officials said. Bus, rail and ferry services will be significantly reduced, and civil servants may be reassigned to sectors with greater staff needs. The University of Havana announced that in-person classes would be suspended for 30 days.
Tourism, a major source of foreign exchange, will also be affected. Fraga said the sector will continue to operate but will focus on the most popular destinations, while airports will remain open.
The crisis has brought back memories of the early 1990s, when, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba suffered its worst economic crisis since the 1959 revolution. Gross domestic product fell by more than a third and oil became scarce. The country eventually recovered thanks to aid from Venezuela and growing tourism revenues.
According to experts, the situation could get worse. Cubans have been dealing with the consequences of mismanagement and tightening US policies for years. Frequent power outages, the state of the electricity grid, food and medicine shortages, and a declining flow of tourists are some of the challenges facing the country.