The crisis does not distinguish species
September 28, 2022
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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.
La seguridad alimentaria no solo cuenta con los problemas que le son propios de la escasez, el acceso y la estabilidad, sino que, en el caso cubano, también demuestra que hay un problema serio relativo a la inocuidad de los alimentos. La mala preparación, conservación y manipulación de los alimentos afecta todas las variables de la seguridad alimentaria desde un enfoque de salud. En este sentido, la ocasión de los alimentos mal preparados no solo afecta los objetivos de nutrición, sino que supone un riesgo de salud que, en algunas ocasiones, puede ocasionar la muerte.
La ruptura de la burbuja del sector turístico permite a los viajeros comprender, o al menos vislumbrar, una problemática mucho más profunda y sistémica que afecta no solo a los turistas, sino, principalmente, a la población cubana. La narrativa de “el bloqueo”, en este caso, pierde todo sentido y alcance en relación con el sector turístico; pues, por ejemplo, muchos de los alimentos provienen de México.
Los episodios de intoxicaciones alimentarias reportados por turistas pueden verse como la punta del iceberg de un problema mayor que incluye la falta de condimentos, ingredientes de calidad y, sobre todo, de prácticas de higiene adecuadas en la manipulación de alimentos. Estas condiciones no solo son peligrosas para la salud; también reflejan la precariedad de los sistemas de control y vigilancia sanitaria en el país.
Frente a este escenario, es imperativo cuestionar la sostenibilidad de un modelo que prioriza el desarrollo turístico por encima de las necesidades básicas de su gente. La paradoja de una isla que construye hoteles de lujo mientras sus ciudadanos enfrentan una severa crisis alimentaria no puede pasar desapercibida. Es necesario un replanteamiento de las políticas económicas y sociales que ponga en el centro el bienestar de los cubanos, garantizando su derecho a una alimentación adecuada, segura y nutritiva.