Mother of Díaz-Canel's Press Chief Voices Outrage Over Cuban Power Outages: "Some Have Lost Their Shame"

María del Carmen Hernández Carús, the mother of Leticia Martínez Hernández, who serves as the head of communications for Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel, expressed her outrage on social media regarding the relentless power outages plaguing Cuba and the lack of response from the Electric Company.

In a lengthy Facebook post, Hernández Carús criticized the neglect and indifference she encountered when addressing complaints about electrical failures, which had left her home partially without electricity for more than 24 hours. "Tomorrow, I won't go to work, and perhaps not the day after either. It all depends on when the dispatcher from the Santa Clara Electric Company decides to send a crew to fix the issue with our power supply," stated the professor from the Central University "Marta Abreu" of Las Villas (UCLV).

Social Media Backlash

According to Hernández Carús, her reports to the Santa Clara Electric Company fell on deaf ears, leaving her with no choice but to stay home, missing work, while awaiting the restoration of service. "I've called multiple times to remind them and to ask when they'll address my complaint, but the operators, of course, have no idea. They only say that they'll attend to it eventually. I don't know if there's an emergency situation in Santa Clara keeping them so busy. When I lodged the complaint, the young woman who took my call asked, 'Is it just your house?' 'Yes,' I replied, realizing then that my priority would be nearly zero. Now I see it's not nearly zero—it's zero," she stated.

In a Facebook post that she later deleted, the university professor described how, following a scheduled blackout, her home was left without one of the electrical phases, limiting power to just one room. Her words, a mix of indignation and arrogance, were captured by Cuban netizens who highlighted the hypocrisy of Hernández Carús, who deleted her critical post only to replace it with another, even more pompous one, suggesting nepotism and privileged treatment due to her being the mother of a high-ranking government official.

Public Reaction and Criticism

"Perhaps they're waiting for more reports from around here to save fuel, right? I hope the linemen come one day, hope my boss won't deduct the days I miss, hope my students understand my absence. In short, hope is the last thing to lose, as the saying goes. Because shame, no, some have already lost their shame," the UCLV instructor declared, referring to the alma mater of Díaz-Canel.

Her post sparked mixed reactions on social media. On Twitter, a user named Liborio labeled her stance as "counterrevolutionary and selfish" for publicly complaining and demanding priority attention. "Refusing to work while demanding a salary isn’t precisely 'thinking as a country,'" the user commented sarcastically, calling the action "betrayal."

"Yes, I indeed have many doors to knock on, which will surely open immediately—not because of privileges or perks. They open because mine, my doors, have always been open," Hernández Carús stated in a new post after deleting the first. She responded subtly to the criticisms following her initial post, where some suggested she used her government connections or her daughter to resolve the issue. Hernández Carús clarified that the solution came from former students who offered help voluntarily, not due to political or familial influence.

Who is Leticia Martínez Hernández?

Leticia Martínez Hernández, the head of communications at the Palace of the Revolution, plays a pivotal role in Miguel Díaz-Canel's communications team. Her responsibilities include crafting and implementing communication strategies to bolster the image of the Cuban leader and his "leadership" in the so-called "continuity," while covering up, manipulating, and distorting the reality of the economic and social crises affecting the nation.

Martínez Hernández has faced criticism for her communication style, which reinforces the official and triumphalist narrative projected by the Cuban regime through state media. In October 2022, she sparked controversy by labeling the Havana residents protesting power outages and the lack of water and food after Hurricane Ian as "selfish and insensitive." Her statements, shared on social media, aimed to discredit popular demonstrations, leading to widespread disapproval among Cuban civil society, which now wonders how the daughter will react to her mother's protests over power outages.

Her work has consistently sparked controversy. In 2020, the Communist Party censored an official note from the Council of Ministers published on the Presidency's website, highlighting internal tensions in the government's communication strategies. Moreover, Martínez Hernández has been criticized for managing Díaz-Canel's image on social media, being pointed out in incidents such as the publication of a video of the leader attempting to perform mathematical calculations, which became a target of widespread mockery, or a photo by the sea that turned into a meme.

Under her leadership, the Cuban Presidency has also taken measures to crack down on parody accounts of Cuban leaders, which has been perceived as an attempt to restrict freedom of expression on social media. In summary, Leticia Martínez Hernández embodies the official communication style of the Cuban government, characterized by its defense of the regime, control over public discourse, and narrative of legitimacy amid growing social and economic criticism.