Being retired in an exhausted Cuba: You can't tell people we're going to live off what we produce. What on earth do we produce?'

"The good thing about this is how bad it's getting. It's one of those popular phrases that Cubans have heard their grandparents say all their lives, in the face of difficult situations in daily life. Ana Julia T., who is 68, couldn't help but utter it, sitting in front of the television at home, while the authorities announced some of the contingency measures related to electricity consumption, transportation, work, and education,"

"She belongs to a generation that has lived under the Castro regime since the beginning of the political process. As the writer Leonardo Padura reflects in his most recent novel, Morir en la arena (Dying in the Sand), these are people who sacrificed themselves, who did everything their leaders demanded of them, and at retirement age, as the utopia faded away, realized they had nothing. Not even enough money to buy basic necessities."

"That's why people like Ana Julia T. have been forced to make things up as we go along to keep going, even without any hope of improvement in the country or any real change. This is reflected in the resigned tone of her voice. I've seen it all. No one can fool me at this point, she says, incredulous at the authorities' ability to provide any certainty to the population amidst the sea of dangers that threaten a fractured, frustrated society"

Cuba faces a severe fuel shortage caused by an energy blockade imposed by the Donald Trump administration. Authorities announced contingency measures affecting electricity consumption, transportation, work, and education. Many older Cubans, like 68-year-old Ana Julia T., live on meager pensions and must keep working or improvise daily survival strategies. A generation that sacrificed under the Castro regime now confronts fading utopian promises and insufficient resources to buy basic necessities. Past crises such as the 1990s Special Period and reliance on tourism shaped coping mechanisms. The population expresses resignation, distrust of official assurances, and a sense of a fractured, cumulative social and economic crisis.

Read at english.elpais.com