Cuban Presenter Michel Torres Voices criticism of Revolution, Sparks Debate Amidst Ongoing Crisis
Growing social unrest in Cuba, fueled by persistent power outages and โwater shortages, is accompanied by increasingly vocal criticism from within theโข state media system. Presenter Michel Torresโ Corona,โฃ host of theโ program “Con Filo” (“with Edge”), has publicly โstated that the Cuban revolutionโ is “bogged down,” sparking debate and โfurther โhighlighting โฃthe nation’s โongoing crisis.
Torres’s comments reflect aโค growing frustration with the current state of affairs.He has pointed to the “frustration and neglect” โคsurrounding the revolution, and theโ goverment’s โinabilityโฃ to improveโ living conditions for Cubans.โ He specifically criticized what he perceives as a double standard, where citizens are asked โto make sacrifices while โฃthoseโฃ in power do notโ share the same hardships.โข Torres also โnoted a disconnect โbetween recent economic liberalization efforts and the state’s capacity to manage themโค effectively.
Thisโฃ criticismโ comes as Cubans express their discontent online โfollowing a Wednesday marked by constant electrical interruptions. Social mediaโ platforms have become a key โoutlet for โฃventing frustrations with โขthe ongoing blackouts. Just days prior, a Facebook post shared by Carlos E. Alfonso questioned the quality of life in aโ “totally โคdark city.”
Torres himself recently voiced concerns about his program,”Con Filo,” stating it is being produced “increasingly with fewer resources.” Thisโ prompted a waveโ of online criticism, with manyโ users questioning the โallocation of publicโ funds to a program they โฃdeem “unnecessary,” “partial,” “propaganda,” “manipulator,” โand outโ ofโฃ touch with the realitiesโ faced by the Cuban people. Some have even calledโข for Torres’s retirement from national television.
Recentโค protests in โHavana, driven by the โขongoing blackouts and water โขscarcity, โdemonstrate a broadening of socialโ discontent โbeyond โคthe provinces,โค where such demonstrations haveโค been โmore common. The energy situation remains critical, with a failing electrical system plagued by a lack of maintenance, aging infrastructure, and fuelโ shortages.
These developments underscore the deepening โcrisis in Cuba and โขthe growing willingness of โฃindividuals, even thoseโ within the state apparatus,โค to publicly acknowledge the โchallenges facing the nation.
