The crisis does not distinguish species
September 28, 2022
AND
AND
n last September 25, the vote was carried out
vote to endorse the new “Family Code”. As has been mentioned in various press releases, including some of the publications that have been made on the Food Monitor Program portal, this family code includes some new provisions that are quite innovative in terms of recognizing various types of family and, in addition , recognizes socio-affective relationships that include same-sex couples, which allows the establishment of relationships between family members in the second degree of consanguinity, despite having custody disputes, and determines the co-responsibility of food among the different members who have purchasing power to meet this need.
At first glance, both the content of the new code and its submission to a popular referendum give the impression of a renewal of the so-called "popular democracy", a product of the Revolution, although it is not, however, as had already been noted in editions previous acknowledgments of the situation of many family nuclei that are not made up in the manner of the traditional family, is a de jure Recognition, of a de facto situation already established for a long time.
These "advances" in terms of legal recognition of part of the population in Cuba do not solve the most crucial problem of family composition. Despite recognition of people in vulnerable conditions: minors, the elderly, people with disabilities, etc., to whom sections are dedicated, there is no effective provision in terms of assistance.Despite including the word "disability" 92 times in the new Code, as well as including the word "food" 92 times, for practical purposes, this code recognizes the inability of the guardianship of the State to provide a service that from the beginning of the Revolution was one of the greatest flags of the Regime: nobody goes hungry in Cuba.
And it is that the situation of food insecurity does not give up. The rise in the price of the dollar on the international currency market, which is due, among other things, to the increase in interest rates proposed by the United States Federal Reserve, _cc781905-5cde -3194-bb3b-136bad5cf58d_ya has a strong impact on the chicken and flour market for Cuban households that translates into price inflation.The exchange rate exceeded the indicators of the Special Period, reaching 150 Cuban pesos (CUP) per dollar, affecting the exchange rate of the MLC and the Euro, which is dizzyingly close to 200 CUP in both cases.Despite the fact that there are apparently favorable provisions for Cuban families, what the new Family Code actually manifests is the State's inability to provide the right to food. In a more or less direct way, the State transfers the problem of food to society, but it still does not grant the openings and freedoms necessary to be able to guide a free market or mixed economy that has the necessary conditions to be sustainable.
It is worth saying that the State has begun to have new measures so that small and medium-sized companies in the non-state sector (euphemism to say private) can produce and export some staple foods. Thinking about the future, the regime is looking to create the conditions so that these companies can compete on an equal footing with State exporting companies. In reality, as CubaNet reported last month, it is a reconversion of established companies, most of them state-owned, and the implementation of a cumbersome process for private companies, which surely will not have the possibility of participating on equal terms. conditions due to the procedures to which they must be submitted.
And the endorsement of the Code comes with sinister omens. Material responsibilities are transferred when the capacity of the State will face the greatest tensions to its diminished power. Already with an approval of 66%, its own supply remains in the hands of society. In the middle of the cyclone season, Ian is approaching the western part of the island, already with "lethal for people" winds and with the certainty that it will make landfall near the capital, according to the report of theNational Hurricane Center from United States. According to this analysis, floods, landslides and heavy rains are expected in this part of Cuba. It will be necessary to add, then, to the power cuts, difficulties for the terrestrial supply, of drinking water and other essential services for the Cuban society. This, without counting the forecast of material damage and the potential loss of life, human and animal, that hurricane winds can bring.
This symptom of trying to resolve material situations through legal means is a sign of the weakening of the State and, eventually, it could be the door for more demonstrations in the remainder of 2022.
Además, el informe señala que la división de alimentos tuvo un efecto de 70,34 puntos sobre la variación general. La presión inflacionaria está concentrada casi exclusivamente en el consumo básico.
El salario medio mensual del sistema empresarial y presupuestado cerró 2025 en 6 989,2 CUP. Cuando se contrasta con los precios observados en mercados minoristas: carne de cerdo entre 700 y 950 CUP por libra, frijoles entre 350 y 400 CUP, ajo con máximos que superan ampliamente los 1 500 CUP según territorios, se vuelve evidente la tensión estructural.
Una compra básica de proteína, granos y vegetales puede consumir rápidamente más de la mitad del ingreso mensual. Si a eso se suman transporte, electricidad, higiene y medicamentos, el margen residual es casi inexistente.
La Encuesta Nacional de Seguridad Alimentaria 2025, que pronto publicará FMP, confirma lo que el IPC sugiere: la media declarada del porcentaje del ingreso destinado a alimentación es de 81,24%, con una mediana de 80%. Cuatro de cada diez hogares reportan gastar más de 80% de su ingreso en comida.
Este dato proviene de 2 505 respuestas válidas. La concentración de respuestas en rangos altos indica una percepción generalizada de asfixia presupuestaria.
De los encuestados, 47,6% reportó haber perdido alimentos refrigerados debido a apagones. Sin embargo, el análisis estadístico muestra que la diferencia en el porcentaje de ingreso destinado a alimentos entre quienes perdieron comida y aquellos que no lo hicieron no es significativa (chi² = 0,308; p = 0,579). Dicho de otro modo, la pérdida por apagones profundiza la vulnerabilidad, pero no explica el fenómeno central. El gasto alimentario extremo es estructural, no episódico; se agrava con las condiciones actuales, pero el flagelo viene desde, por lo menos, la Tarea Ordenamiento.
En enero de 2026 se recibieron 240 578 viajeros, 9 puntos porcentuales menos respecto al mismo período del año anterior. La caída de visitantes implica menos divisas, menor capacidad de importación y mayor presión sobre la oferta interna. En economías con alta dependencia de insumos importados, la restricción externa se traduce rápidamente en inflación alimentaria.
Aunque no exista una cifra oficial que establezca que 80% del gasto familiar se destina a alimentos, la evidencia converge: el IPC alimentario casi duplica el índice general, el salario medio no compensa el aumento de precios, la encuesta muestra una media real superior a 80% del ingreso destinado a comida, la crisis energética agrava un escenario ya crítico y, finalmente, la caída del turismo restringe divisas y oferta.
La restricción energética estructural se verá agravada con cada día que pase. El sistema eléctrico aumentará su déficit y los apagones afectarán toda la cadena de valor alimentaria: transporte, procesamiento, riego, distribución, conservación, etc. La amenaza de las tarifas ad valorem y la situación de interdicción de petroleros tendrá un efecto negativo en las importaciones y en el turismo. Solo el aumento de las primas de riesgo para las cargas marítimas hará que los costes de transporte se encarezcan y, eventualmente, podrán disuadir a pequeños aliados del gobierno cubano a la hora de hacer envíos. A esto se le suma su creciente incapacidad de pago, que en numerosas ocasiones se ha quedado corto para cumplir con sus obligaciones con sus acreedores internacionales.
Este no es un episodio coyuntural. La crisis actual conlleva una reorganización forzada del gasto familiar en torno a la supervivencia básica.