"Summer for All" is the slogan with which the Union of Young Communists (UJC) has called for "the enjoyment of the summer season," to begin on July 2 and last until August 28, as published in the official newspaper Granma. Cubans, however, have rejected the propaganda put out by the organization, which has also promised to mobilize its members to "contribute to the country's growth."
After two years of a pandemic situation, and in the midst of a situation of critical shortages and inflation, aggravated by blackouts, Meyvis Estévez Echeverría, in charge of the Ideological Sphere of the National Bureau of the UJC, told the Communist Party body that "the proposals for this summer will support healthy recreation and the promotion of a culture for the use of free time, complying with the hygienic-sanitary measures and the protocols established by the Ministry of Public Health."
According to Estévez, "the summer, besides being a time for fun, is also one to promote the country's growth. Thus, during this period activities like planting sugar cane, blood donations, support for internal order, and the fight against resellers, or coleros, among other efforts, will be undertaken."
The leader of the Communist youth also stated that "'pioneer' camps, at educational facilities and in mountains, the countryside, or near the sea; cinema debates at high schools, and visits to museums, among others" are also planned.
The UJC will dedicate two tweets to propaganda on two red-letter dates on the regime's calendar: July 26, scheduled as "National Rebellion Day," and August 13, the birthday of the late dictator Fidel Castro Ruz.
In Havana, in addition to activities organized at the neighborhood level, according to the capital government's line-up, there will be "recreational events in the areas of La Piragua, in Vedado; and travelling cinema, in the communities, with screenings of Cuban films; the Cuballet Festival, of the Prodanza Center; and the 'Art on the Ramp Fair,' among other options."
Also scheduled is the Havana Carnival, whose inaugural gala "will be held at the Historic Center of Old Havana's amphitheater on July 16 and 17, and dedicated to the National Folkloric Ensemble and the late singer Merceditas Valdés."
"'This summer campaign should be called 'Blackouts and Hunger,'" snapped Alfredo Castellanos Collazo on Granma's Facebook profile.
Yanet Gomez Estrada, meanwhile, wrote: "A dreadful summer, my God. Whole nights of blackouts. Shame on all of you; our children, seniors, and the sick have not been able to get a good night?s sleep for weeks. A summer with no summer. Abusers."
"How many families can plan on a summer like that? Enjoying beaches, good food, traveling … in short. That's an illusion, and the reality is hell," complained Rafael Quique Abatard.
Darian Adrian asked: ?How can young people enjoy anything when the price of everything is skyrocketing? You can't even eat anything. Few parents will be able to afford a decent vacation for their children. They should do what they can, but they shouldn?t be talking to us about having fun."
Javier Jouz predicted a "summer without any money, food, or electricity, and with the Granma newspaper publishing headlines about the moral commitment, targeting young Cubans whore are weary of all this misery."
"You want to dupe everyone with your ideology projecting a prosperity that doesn?t exist, and you don't realize that what Cuban youth want is change for Cuba," he concluded.
The user identified as John Wick Cubano Reloaded summarized the impending scenario: "Summer in the dark, hot and hungry," in Cuba.