Havana protests flare for second night as govt scrambles to turn on lights

Crews restored power to more neighborhoods across Havana on Saturday after a second night of protests over ongoing blackouts in Cuba’s capital, including
some of the largest demonstrations since widespread anti-government rallies in July 2021.
At least one of the protests in the western seaside borough of Playa swelled in size to several hundred people who chanted “turn on the lights,” as well as slogans disparaging President Miguel Diaz-Canel.
At one point, the group began to chant for freedom, or “libertad,” in Spanish, as protesters marched through a dark, densely populated district that has been without electricity since Hurricane Ian slammed into the island on Tuesday.
Reports on social media also showed smaller demonstrations and residents banging pots and pans elsewhere in Havana late on Friday. Protests, which remained largely peaceful, appeared confined to those places where power had not yet been restored.
The majority of city residents, whose electricity supply had returned during the day, did not protest on Friday.