Cuba cancels May 1st parade due to fuel shortage
May 01, 2023
Havana [Cuba], May 1: The Cuban government has canceled the traditional May Day parade due to fuel shortages.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of people from all over the island come to Havana in the Revolution Square on International Labor Day, writes the BBC.
It is expected that rallies will be held in other cities.
This is the first time since the 1959 revolution that celebrations have been canceled for economic reasons. Previously, parades were canceled only in 2020 and 2021 due to the corona virus pandemic.
Long queues have formed at gas stations in recent weeks, with drivers often waiting for days for fuel.
Earlier this month, President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Cuba was getting only two-thirds of the fuel it needed, adding that suppliers were not meeting contractual obligations.
Cuba has access to low-grade crude oil, but the US-sanctioned island lacks refining facilities.
Shipments of higher-quality crude oil from Venezuela, Cuba's biggest fuel supplier, have fallen by 50 percent in recent years.
The Spanish El Pais writes that in Cuba the monthly salary is between 150 and 200 dollars, while a liter of cooking oil costs 30 dollars.
The government of that country insists that its socialist model is the best for the country and blames long-standing American sanctions for the problems, the BBC writes.
Source: Beta News Agency
