Cancún Blackout Sparks Protests Over Power Outages

Cancún, Mexico — Residents of Cancún carried out blockades on city streets following a massive blackout, protesting the continued lack of electrical service days after the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) claimed power had been fully restored across the state of Quintana Roo.

The power outage, which began on Friday, led to significant disruptions. While the CFE stated that by Friday night power had been 100% restored in the municipalities of Cozumel, Felipe Carrillo Puerto, José María Morelos, Lázaro Cárdenas, Othón P. Blanco, and Solidaridad, it notably did not mention Cancún. Problems in the city persisted at least through Monday night, sparking public frustration.

Citizen Protests and Collective Action

In response to the ongoing crisis, citizens in the city's Region 67 opted to block streets and avenues, demanding solutions to the power outage. Protesters stated they are organizing a collective lawsuit against the state-owned utility company and urged residents in other affected localities to do the same.

"We are not in a meteorological contingency, which suggests negligence at one or several levels within the company, even by authorities who claim that everything is solved when they have not ensured the truthfulness of their declarations," said Raymundo Rodríguez, one of the affected residents. "A collective lawsuit is being organized; do the same in your respective cities. If we continue to allow this without doing anything, the only thing we will achieve is for these situations to occur every day."

Other citizens, like Lourdes Fernández, demanded that the CFE take responsibility and pay for household appliances that break down due to the power fluctuations.

Ongoing and Unreliable Service

CFE personnel reported on Tuesday that complaints from users in Regions 67 and 90, where power problems had continued since Friday's blackout, were being addressed. They also confirmed that an exploded transformer in Supermanzana 26 had been resolved. However, power dips have also been reported in the Polígono Sur area.

Residents from Regions 222 and 223 stated they have experienced repeated power cuts over the days and fear the problem will worsen with climatic issues. Some reported that since Friday, the power has gone out repeatedly, up to three times per day for periods of 15 or 20 minutes, which they say damages their electronic devices. Other angry citizens did not hesitate to label CFE employees as inept.

Users from Polígono Sur and Regions 222 and 223 indicated that problems with the power supply, specifically intermittent drops in voltage, are recurrent.

"They said it was solved, but the energy is unstable, with intermittent blackouts," they stated. "We truly believe this situation is unacceptable… We ask the CFE to stop issuing triumphant communiques that do not reflect reality and, instead, urgently attend to the affected neighborhoods."