recognizing that   the restriction of Civil and Political Rights and the instrumentalization of social and economic rights is one of the common ways of sustaining authoritarian regimes ;  

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Considering that food shortage has been an opportunity to exercise political and social control by authoritarian regimes at different times in history and in equal measure by leftist and rightist regimes;  

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Bearing in mind that the Cuban population has been affected by the deficient inputs for production, the statist control in the forms of food preparation , the precarious forms of distribution and the shortage of basic elements;

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Noting that in Cuba, access to basic goods is a complex task Because the State exercises control over the importation of basic goods from the basket, it maintains a tariff regime that doubles the price of inputs, among other arbitrary measures ;

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Emphasizing that The official narrative has used the economic sanctions of the United States to justify shortages , the breach of promises to citizens and the violation of human rights , through the dogma of the "blockade", which even when it has had an impact on Cuban civil society , it is not the fundamental reason for the economic imbalance, the lack of social opportunities and the political persecution ;

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Appreciating that civil society organizations independent they have made enormous efforts to guarantee access to food for special protection groups such as the elderly;  

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highlighting that the people who were part of the historical generation and believed in the revolutionary process, are today one of the main affected due to shortages and access to quality food, due to the low purchasing power of pensioners and the queues to access food ;

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Given that access to food is guaranteed by the State through the ration book, which is insufficient in both variety and quantity to complete the diet of the month;

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Understanding that access to regulated food requires sacrifice of one or several members of the family who, through waiting, pay with their time the subsidy provided by the State;

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accepting that  access to food calls for additional strategies by Cuban families who are forced to go to the black market to obtain goods that do not exist in the official distribution networks;

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The initiative to create the Food Monitor Program,  responsible for showing that the right to food has been used as an instrument of domination in Cuba since the incorporation of the supply book in March 1962. It is assumed that the greater intervention of the State-Party eliminated the power of agency of the citizens, transformed their food practices, controlled their time and managed their private life . The promise of guaranteeing social and economic rights such as food was paid for with the subtraction of civil and political rights.

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Cuba is an emblematic case in the matter, not only because it was recognized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations -FAO- for having eradicated hunger, but also because it has expanded its model of food sovereignty to other countries such as Venezuela. Food Monitor Program aims to deconstruct the myth of food sovereignty in Cuba, dismantling the justifications for the blockade and evidencing its political instrumentalization, it also hopes to serve as a reference to prevent these models from continuing to be promoted in the region and serve as a way to dismantle democracy. and the rule of law.

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Thus, the principles on which the Food Monitor Program is founded are:

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1. Food security and the right to food.

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Food security is based on four dimensions: 1. the physical availability of food; 2. economic and physical access to food; 3. food utilization; and 4. the stability over time of the first three dimensions. Therefore, any strategy aimed at guaranteeing the population's food supply that does not include the four dimensions of food security is understood to pursue goals other than those related to the right to food.

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2. Interdependence of Human Rights.

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Taking into account  the indivisibility and interdependence of Human Rights, it is understood that there is no hierarchy between them, nor can their violation be considered separately. In this sense, the instrumentalization of social and economic rights, such as the right to food, not only threatens this in particular but also undermines the integrality of the human being.

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3. Exercise of freedoms as an intrinsic value of democracy.

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Any strategy developed by the State to guarantee access and availability of food must be based on the freedom of citizens to choose according to their preferences, so that social assistance strategies must be accompanied by competitive markets and stable production systems that guarantee affordable prices and permanent availability of food for the entire population.

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And the lines of action on which the activities of the Food Monitor Program are developed are:

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1. Monitor the conditions of access, availability, use and stability of food in the different provinces of Cuba.

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2. Analyze gender roles in the search, preparation and distribution of food within Cuban homes.

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3. Determine the forms of social control that operate in the distribution and purchase of food in Cuba.

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4. Expose the violation of rights that occurs in the Cuban context as a result of the food policy  developed by the Cuban regime.

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5. Establish relationships between the food practices of Cubans and the conditions of precariousness and crisis caused by the Cuban regime.

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6. Characterize the various social representations around food and its role in the construction of food identity in Cuba.