Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez has called off his planned visit to Russia, opting to skip the BRICS Summit in Kazan starting this Tuesday. "After receiving and accepting the invitation to attend the BRICS Heads of State Summit, I have decided to stay in the country to continue addressing, alongside our people, the electro-energy emergency situation, worsened by the impact of Hurricane Oscar," Díaz-Canel announced on social media.
In his stead, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla will head the Cuban delegation, representing the nation in "important pre-arranged bilateral meetings." Díaz-Canel expressed gratitude to Russian President Vladimir Putin for the invitation. However, he remains in Cuba as the energy crisis reaches a critical point, with protests against the government erupting in various cities.
Widespread blackouts across Cuba have left millions without essential services like electricity, water, and food. Recently, eastern Cuba was hit by a hurricane, leaving residents unprepared, unevacuated, and lacking food and fuel to withstand the natural disaster. The situation deteriorated with unprecedented flooding in the region, resulting in the deaths of at least six people. Rural areas remain isolated and without power, with many social media users speculating the death toll from Hurricane Oscar could be higher than officially reported.
Rescue teams are working in the affected zones, yet official information remains scarce. The BRICS bloc, originally formed in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, expanded in 2010 to include South Africa. During its fifteenth summit in Johannesburg in 2023, the group approved the addition of six new countries: Egypt, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, and Argentina. However, in December 2023, Argentine President Javier Milei formally announced that his country would not join the alliance, declining the invitation to become part of this coalition of emerging economies.
In June, Rodríguez Parrilla noted that Cuba is poised to "share its modest experiences and achievements in the fields of medical, pharmaceutical, and biopharmaceutical industries, health, education, science, among other sectors, for the benefit of our peoples" with the BRICS.