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Today, in the past five years, upwards of a million people have left the country of Cuba.

The government knows there's a lot of discontent.

The escape valve, because they can't provide a solution to the material crisis, is letting people leave.

Why are they leaving?

And what does their mass departure mean for the future of the island nation?

I'm Kevin Horton, and this is The Take.

Major power blackouts have been plaguing Cuba in recent months,

with officials blaming outdated infrastructure and fuel shortages at power plants.

A widespread blackout swept across Havana and much of Western Cuban-cutting electricity to millions on the island already grappling with chronic power shortages and a deepening economic crisis.

The lack of electricity and other necessities is one of many issues that are driving Cubans to leave and find new homes outside of the country.

I spoke to my guest about this back in July.

My name is Andres Bertiera, and I am a incoming seventh year PhD candidate in Latin American and Caribbean history, specializing in post-1959 Cuba.

My dissertation is on Cuba and Spain between 1975 and 1999.

Well, thank you for joining us, Andres.

In a recent article of yours in Dissent magazine, you write that in the past five years, Cuba has

experienced an outward migration flow that is pretty much unheard of in a country that's not

either in a state of war or hosting refugees that are going home. Can you help us understand

what that really means? I mean, not just the numbers, but what it feels like day to day

for a country to lose so many people so quickly. Sure. And I'm going to start by saying we don't

really have even have the full understanding of the scale yet, because we don't have the full

numbers. We were using Cubans who had entered the U.S. via the border

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