Inés María's Visit to Santa Isabel de las Lajas Highlights Water Supply Issues

Inés María Chapman Waugh, Cuba's Deputy Prime Minister, recently toured the streets of Santa Isabel de las Lajas in Cienfuegos as part of a governmental visit aimed at "correcting distortions and revitalizing the economy." Among the various economic and social entities she visited, the numerous water wells scattered throughout the city caught her attention. These wells are frequently used by residents due to the unreliable potable water supply from the city's distribution network.

Government Proposals for Water Supply Improvement

The local TV station, PerlavisiónTV, followed Chapman Waugh during her visit and captured the moment when she stopped at one of the wells. She suggested that local authorities initiate "a science and innovation project" to improve the conditions of these wells. Currently, the residents of Santa Isabel de las Lajas rely on these wells to obtain water, often using their own buckets and ropes, which increases the risk of contamination.

Chapman Waugh proposed a detailed survey of all wells in the city and suggested leveraging science and innovation to "positively impact" the water needs of the population suffering from a lack of potable water. "We need to activate everything possible: hand pumps, rope pumps, whatever you explained. Because, look, coming here and getting water this way also contaminates it, as people handle it. But if you put a nice, green-painted hand pump here, people can come, get their water, and take it home," she said.

During her explanation, PerlavisiónTV cameras captured Chapman Waugh holding a bottle of Ciego Montero water. Her speech on improving the quality of the scarce water extracted by locals was accompanied by gestures, simulating pumping water with her arms while holding the bottle. For the residents, she suggested "a nice, green-painted hand pump." For the privileged at the Palace, bottled water.

Chapman Waugh expressed satisfaction with the government's responsiveness under Dr. Miguel Díaz-Canel, emphasizing science, innovation, and creative resilience. However, she struggled to find the word "improvised" during her speech, referring to the method residents use (lowering a bucket directly) as "voluntary." Members of her entourage, also struggling with terminology, offered "spontaneous" as a substitute.

Activist Magdiel Jorge Castro highlighted the irony of the situation on social media, sharing a video of Chapman Waugh's visit and commenting, "Believe it or not, here is Deputy Prime Minister Chapman asking Cubans to drink well water in Cienfuegos while she walks around with a bottled water... it's almost a joke."

The image of Chapman Waugh at the well symbolizes the Cuban regime's disorientation. Expensive governmental visits that solve nothing, disconnection from public needs, rhetoric instead of solutions, normalization of poverty and inequality—the Díaz-Canel administration is draining Cuba's well dry while improvising solutions with bottled water in hand.

Mismanagement of Funds for Water Infrastructure

The precarious state of Cuba's water infrastructure raises questions about the whereabouts of the $102.3 million donated by Kuwait. According to official agency ACN, Cuba's relationship with the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) dates back over two decades, during which five loans were granted for the rehabilitation of aqueduct, sewerage, and storm drainage networks, among other projects.

Of the funds allocated to the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INRH), 84.7% has been executed, supposedly benefiting 1.454 million residents in Santiago de Cuba, Holguín, and Havana. However, recent data reveal that thousands still lack daily water service due to power outages, drought, a failing distribution network, and corruption.

Despite claims of a comprehensive investment program to ensure water supply, the persistence of outdated infrastructure with frequently breaking equipment causes supply interruptions and increases public discontent. Approximately 700,000 people in Cuba do not receive daily water due to power cuts, as the hydraulic sector is the second-largest consumer of electricity after the general population, according to Granma.

Last year's data indicate that around two million people receive water every three days or more, and 478 communities lack aqueduct networks entirely or partially. This situation directly affects the quality of life and health, forcing reliance on alternative systems to obtain water.