“Desperate Waiting,” muttered the official Cuban outlet when commenting on the island’s new fuel crisis. The ritual of lining up to refuel stretches into hours and sometimes days, a stark reality for a society already grappling with rising living costs and shortages of essential goods. The queues around gas stations appear as a loop of frustration, a graphic reminder of a system visibly strained. Social networks have become a hotbed of dissatisfaction, a chorus the government finds hard to manage.
Waiting in front of a store or supermarket has long been part of daily life, a social habit dating back to the early 1960s when tensions with the United States intensified and economic sanctions took hold. Generations endured the period known as the Special Period in Time of Peace, the years following the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba’s main supplier. Food, fuel, and basic services were rationed, and the ritual of queuing became deeply embedded in the national psyche. The current wait for fuel, though, feels like a new kind of endurance, a stark departure from the memories of earlier hardships.
Fuel shortages have translated into longer gaps in public transport, affecting private mobility as well. Since fuel access became limited, mobile apps began to emerge as a private alternative to transportation. Apps that resemble ridesharing services have risen and fallen in popularity, but the overall shortage of gasoline has seriously hampered private driver networks and independent travel.
This recent wave of scarcity arrived just days after parliamentary elections, as Venezuela—an important ally—reasserted its role by increasing crude oil shipments to the island in the first quarter of the year. Yet experts who are not aligned with strategic allies caution that the supply of refined products, especially gasoline and diesel, remains critically constrained. The ongoing gaps in fuel supply are seen by many as one of the key drivers behind ongoing protests and public discontent.
latent fatigue
Anger often finds an outlet in humor. A Cuban comedian once quipped about the government and its officials saving him from enduring the long lines for fuel. The joke landed with a certain irony: without their help, he might be standing in line at every gas station in the capital, endlessly seeking the lifeblood for his car that never seems assured. Across social media, a sense of weariness is palpable, and stories of fatigue mix with wry commentary from daily life—much of it about the lack of horizon for a country that has faced repeated shortages. The influx of departures continues to be noted by analysts, with dozens of thousands of people seeking opportunities abroad each year.
In the midst of gossip and phone screen glow, rumors spread rapidly through virtual spaces, shaping perceptions and fears. A new building project is mentioned in state notices as part of restoring infrastructure damaged by a severe fire last year near Matanzas, a port city about 100 kilometers from Havana. Repair work is expected to stretch into years, and officials project a gradual recovery of storage levels to pre-disaster norms.
Discussion about the model
Beyond the present fuel deficit, the Cuban model shows a range of enduring constraints. Growth projections for the year remain modest, with policy makers unlikely to deliver meaningful improvements to household budgets or the ability of gas stations to refill promptly. Sanctions and external pressures remain a focal point in economic debates, while experts who critique policy choices argue that the hopes tied to a tourism rebound have not materialized at the pace once forecast. The island drew a fraction of the tourist traffic seen before the pandemic, a decline that has taken years to address. Relative to regional peers, Cuba still registers far lower visitor numbers, even as other Caribbean nations see stronger recovery.
In the policy arena, Havana has signaled an intent to deepen ties with Russia. Cuban authorities recently hosted conversations with Russian officials in the capital, and Russian business representatives have expressed interest in promoting products on the island through trade councils. There is also talk of establishing an Economic Transformation Center to support private enterprises on the island. Critics, including several economists, worry that such moves could reinforce a model with asymmetric gains and the potential for private oligopolies to grow under government sponsorship. The evolving relationship with external partners is watched closely by observers who recall past eras when external influence shaped domestic choices. In these uncertain days, the memory of those decades resurfaces in public discourse and online commentary, coloring opinions about the country’s future path.