fter Freedom – Part Two: Currents and Shadows. Cuba’s Fragile Systems

[Luis Gonzalez]

After Freedom – Part Two: Currents and Shadows

Electricity, Water, Fuel, and the Infrastructure on the Brink

The Last Wire

Everyone talks about “freedom” in emotional terms. But the real test isn’t a speech or a flag raised over a plaza.

The real test is whether the lights stay on.

Part Two of this series moves past the symbolism and into the hard reality of infrastructure.

Cuba’s electrical grid is fragile.

Water systems depend on power that often fails.

Fuel shortages ripple outward, affecting transportation, sanitation, and basic services.

When one system breaks, the others follow.

This isn’t theory. It’s what determines whether families can cook, whether clinics can operate, and whether small businesses can function.

Rebuilding a country isn’t just about political change. It’s about restoring the mechanics of daily life. Power generation. Pumping stations. Distribution networks. Logistics. Without these, “freedom” remains a slogan.

This installment looks directly at the interdependence of energy and water, and why rebuilding will require discipline, planning, and sustained responsibility, not just celebration.

Before factories restart and markets expand, the fundamentals must hold.

Part Two — Currents and Shadows — is now live.