2024-07-24 17:24:17
Lisbeth lives in a ground floor apartment in one of the slums of Havana. Her apartment is provided by the state, but it is in a deplorable state – the floor is broken, there is a wet mattress next to the wall, the cables are exposed. Lisbeth, who has five children, is full of anger, she told German public broadcaster ARD. “I have no water and sanitary facilities. I have been living without running water for a year.”
She receives aid from the state – 5860 Cuban pesos. But just one carton of eggs costs 3,000 on the black market – that’s about eight euros.
Government stores are empty
The woman depends on the state stores – from them she should receive the basic food products every month. But they are empty – in the state stores there are only cigarettes, sausages and minced meat.
Many mothers in Cuba are in the same difficult situation, Lisbet told ARD. They all ask themselves the following questions: “What should I cook today, where will I find 10,000 pesos for my daughter’s shoes? Where will I find money for a backpack for school – another 5,000 – 8,000 pesos?”.
The woman cannot afford these expenses. The other stores – called MLC – have everything Lisbeth needs: chicken, eggs, macaroni, oil, milk powder, diapers, but they can only be purchased with special cards loaded with currency. A bottle of oil costs, for example, ten dollars, coffee is 11, writes “Deutsche Welle”.
“They want to ban us from everything”
The situation has already caused a lot of anger to build up. A few months ago, Lisbet went to a protest with six other mothers, but the security forces immediately chased them away, writes ARD.
One of the mothers was detained for two days. “Their aim was to make us afraid. They want to forbid us from everything, even speaking. I want to complain about what happened to me.”
Some rummage through garbage, others live in luxury
In recent years, the Cuban government has implemented a number of reforms. Private individuals and companies were allowed to import. But only those who have relatives outside Cuba and live on the money they send remain privileged. This is how a wealthy class is formed, and social injustice grows more and more, explains the German public-law media.
On the streets of Havana, people are constantly seen digging through the garbage. And not far from them – a “Porsche” in front of a newly renovated luxury villa. The great revolutionary promises of a classless society were never fulfilled.
The “war economy” of government
Because of the huge crisis, the government declared a “war economy” a few weeks ago. The measures include budget cuts, price controls, increasing foreign exchange inflows into the country and promoting local food production. Actions against tax evasion are also planned.
At the beginning of July, the head of state Miguel Díaz-Canel declared to his ministers: “We will save the revolution and socialism with conviction”, recalls ARD. The measures were the necessary response to the so-called “peacetime hostilities”.
This refers to the decades-long economic embargo imposed by the US, which was not eased even during the administration of Joe Biden. It naturally affects the economy negatively, notes Cuban economist Omar Everleny.
Over the past five years, after then-US President Donald Trump tightened the embargo, declaring Cuba a state sponsor of terrorism, the pressure has grown even more. And Cuba has nothing to do.
“However, the government has an influence on domestic issues and the domestic economy – it could do something there. I think there are many things to be done. Because, for example, the farmer not getting good enough prices for his produce has nothing to do with the blockade,” Everleny told ARD. He points out that the state buys agricultural products at very low prices and this demotivates farmers. It is precisely in this regard that the government must act – since the essential problem of the Cuban crisis will not be solved with the new measures of the “military economy”.
The protests are different now
Unlike the big protests in July 2021, when thousands of people took to the streets across the country, today the protests are rather small, and the reasons are domestic – empty shops, power outages.
The last major demonstration, involving hundreds, took place in March in Santiago de Cuba. 17 of the protesters were detained without being given the reasons for this, according to the data of the human rights organizations.
In addition, the Internet was turned off, informed ARD. Most of the detainees were released on bail of 50,000 pesos, but will now face trial. In June of this year, human rights organizations had registered about 1,000 cases of people detained for political reasons.
Young educated people are leaving the country
In the past two years, about 1.7 million Cubans have left their homeland. Doctors, medical staff, teachers – mostly young well-educated people are turning their backs on Cuba because they don’t earn enough and don’t see any prospects.
For example, if someone receives $100 from their relatives abroad, they take three times more than a doctor’s monthly salary, Lisbet told ARD. “I am not an activist – the only thing that interests me is that I and my children feel good,” the woman points out.