Erika Barris

It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez.

It was engineered by Robert Rodriguez and Kweisi Lee.

Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

I'm Erica Barris.

This is NPR.

Thanks for listening.

This is Planet Money from NPR.

Doctors can't get to the hospitals where they work.

Many buses aren't running.

Trucks can't deliver food and medicine where they're needed.

People's lives are in danger because there are frequent and long blackouts.

We wanted to understand what it's like for people trying to make their way in Cuba right now, what it's like to try to work or to run a business.

But recently, these blackouts have become so frequent that it's hard to even charge your phone.

Self-service and Internet are spotty.

So I've been talking to people through voice notes.

Like this farmer, Lady Casimiro, who says she can only use her phone for about two hours a day and never knows when.

A hotel manager named Wilfredo Medeiros-Garcia told me when the electricity's out, you have to keep the fridge closed.

Try not to open it.

And then, when the electricity comes back on, you jump into action.

Like this guy who runs a bicycle business.