Lázaro Manuel Alonso, a state-affiliated journalist who reported new disruptions in both analog and standard digital TV signals, has acknowledged that the heads of Cuban Television are not providing detailed information about the causes of the outage.
Less than 24 hours after a blackout affected Cuba's TV signal on Sunday night, the relief was short-lived as users reported new issues on Monday via social media.
On his social media accounts, Alonso noted that users were experiencing signal problems with both analog and digital TV in various parts of the country. His post was flooded with comments from several netizens expressing their frustration with the outage and their anger over the lack of information about its cause.
"Everyone repeats the information, but no one [says] the causes," lamented Raúl Navarro González, a photographer for the official Matanzas newspaper, Girón, on Facebook. Alonso responded sarcastically, "Maybe we don't know them."
Navarro González then urged Alonso, the director of the Midday News, to seek information from the heads of Cuban Television. "We are journalists... let's find the information," he said, winking at Alonso, aware that as a state journalist, Alonso cannot ask beyond what is permitted and certainly cannot publish any unofficial revelations.
Alonso's response highlighted the limitations of his profession within the totalitarian regime's media landscape. "Yes, we are fools and haven't asked," said the TV presenter, suggesting that if he wasn't reporting the details of the outage, it wasn't for lack of trying but because the directors of Cuban Television hadn't provided the information.
Two other Cuban netizens joined the exchange between the two state journalists. José Miguel Sánchez Peralta asked on Facebook, "And where is the official punished for not providing timely information? Or was the communication law created just to punish those who speak ill of the revolution?"
Meanwhile, another user, Yunior Expósito Eckelson, concluded, "Respectable journalism seeks and investigates... We'll have to wait until they give us the approved information that we need to provide."
This isn't the first time Alonso has subtly criticized the Cuban regime's communication policies on his social media. Winner of the Juan Gualberto Gómez award from the Union of Cuban Journalists and Writers (UPEC) in the television category, Alonso allowed himself in July 2022 to publish a text detailing the suffering of the residents of Pinar del Río due to indiscriminate blackouts they were enduring.
A month earlier, he referenced on his social media the "unequal" distribution of blackouts among Cubans, highlighting the "privilege" of Havana residents, who were less affected by the planned power cuts.
In March 2021, Alonso, one of the faces of the regime's TV news alongside Humberto López, received the Juan Gualberto Gómez award for "work of the year" after his attacks on the "Patria y Vida" movement. The jury praised Alonso's "ability to address with honesty and exceptional brilliance the country's significant events" and to honor "the public service sense of journalism."
Alongside López, Alonso has been one of the most active communicators in the "special" campaigns of discredit and defamation against activists, artists, and independent journalists in the island for not aligning with the totalitarianism endorsed by the government. In fact, for the award ceremony, the jury considered "the ideological challenges faced by Cuban journalism professionals." One of Alonso's most notable attacks was against the song "Patria y Vida." In the segment dedicated to it, the journalist claimed with an unflinching face that "Patria o Muerte is the only option."
Cuban Television Outage and Government Transparency
The recent television outage in Cuba has raised many questions among the public. Here are some frequently asked questions and their answers to provide more insight into the situation.
What caused the recent television outage in Cuba?
The specific causes of the television outage have not been disclosed by the Cuban Television officials, leading to public frustration and speculation.
How have Cuban journalists responded to the lack of information?
Cuban journalists like Lázaro Manuel Alonso and Raúl Navarro González have expressed their frustration over the lack of transparency and have called for more detailed information from the authorities.
Has this lack of transparency occurred before?
Yes, this isn't the first time that state journalists have subtly criticized the regime's communication policies, pointing out issues like unequal distribution of blackouts and lack of information on various matters.