More than 72% of Cubans live below the poverty line and only 14% expect their personal situation improve in the near future, according to the report on the state of social rights in Cuba, presented this Thursday in Madrid by the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH).
This report “confirms the increasing deterioration of social rights on the island, due to the structural and accumulated crises and the lack of political will of the authorities to make the changes that the country needs,” the OCDH said in a statement.
Regarding the poverty line, the study is based on the world bank standards, which puts it at $1.90 a day. At the end of September the dollar in Cuba exceeded 180 Cuban pesos.
The report highlights that for 64% of Cubans, the food crisis continues to be the main problem, followed by the so-called “ordering task” (economic measures promoted by the island government) and the inflation. In addition, the perception of the political system and the Government as a problem increases.
food crisis
The majority of the population describes the quality of their diet and that of their family as poor (54%). Only one in ten Cubans considers it sufficient. For the most part, the performance of products purchased with the ration book it is only about 10 days a month, the study indicates.
Regarding the health situation, he indicates that the majority of the population (56%) finds it necessary to do some type of gift or payment to be treated in the public health system.
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Eight out of ten Cubans do not get the medicines what do you need. 57% obtained them thanks to the help of churches (8%), relatives abroad (17%) or through other means (black market, interpersonal solidarity, bartering…). 44% of the houses in the country need rehabilitation or repair, and 12% are in danger of collapse.
Another aspect that stands out in the report is the view that the Government and the political system are among the country’s main problems. Young people between 18 and 30 years old refer significantly more to the political system (42%) as the main problem.