"We never leave anything without taking it out, everything is taken out here, everything is taken out, everything is taken out, nothing is left in the cellar here" HERE IS EVERYTHING Diana Sánchez is 35 years old, lives with her husband and two minors of age in San Miguel del Padrón Who in your family usually does the shopping at the grocery store? Well, my husband does the shopping in my store, he's the one who goes every month to run errands. Do you buy other “controlled”, “regulated” or “regulated” products? for this system? Through this supply book system, we buy products from the warehouse and once a month in the local currency store, which used to be in CUC, now in national currency, we buy chicken, detergent and oil; that's the same for the notebook there once a month. What products from the supply book do you consume most frequently? Do you leave any without removing in the month? From the basic food basket, what we consume the most is rice and beans, and we never leave anything untaken, everything is taken out here, everything is taken out, everything is taken out, nothing is left in the cellar here. Nothing is going to be returned to the State here, in short, that does not return to the State, but hey, you and I know how things are, here nothing is left anywhere, everything for your house. How much of your formal income does the monthly purchase of the products in the notebook represent? Do you consider that your ability to acquire them has been affected since the monetary reform? This monthly purchase of products from the supply book represents 6% of our income. And, I do consider that my purchasing power has been affected since the monetary reform, before with less than 100 pesos we used to buy 3 people's errands here, now we need more than 400 pesos. How many days of the month would you say that the basic products of the notebook are enough for the family? We could say that these products last approximately 12 days, that is, they are enough for me for 12 days, an average more or less 12, 15. In my case, the rice lasts for me at the end of the month, because we do not consume that much rice, or be the children eat little rice. Here the one who eats the most is Jose and he doesn't have lunch here, since he works he has lunch at his job. But hey, the beans last a week, the coffee more or less 15 days, because I don't strain in the afternoon, I just do it in the morning, it lasts a little longer for me, there are those who last less. The chicken is 2 to 3 meals, if you distribute it in portions, here the chicken is divided into portions, and well, you distribute it and well, more or less you get 2 to 3 meals. The picadillo per child is enough for 1 meal, the oil for 10 to 12 days because that doesn't last any longer, and it lasts for me from 10 to 12 days, because I don't get cold that much, because Jose doesn't eat fried foods, because we take care of ourselves, because I try not to eat excess fat, anyway, but there are those who don't get it after 12 days, at least it gets to me, but there are those who don't. Does any member of your family receive a special diet? Here Jose, my husband, receives a special diet, but it is because it is a diet that they gave him when he was a child, as a gastro. Now diets, so they grant you diets for any diagnosis, that has completely changed. Because of any diagnosis they don't give you a diet , and well, since he has been on that diet for so long, and as such, what he has is chronic: "it's intestinal malabsorption syndrome", well the his diet yes no Now diets, so they grant you diets for any diagnosis, that has completely changed. Because of any diagnosis they don't give you a diet they have removed it. We are going to see, because they already said that they were going to remove the diets, we are going to see if they leave his diet, because that is once a month, a little piece of beef, I don't know if the two pounds will arrive In fact, I think the two pounds are not enough, but well, at least once a month (laughs) you eat a little piece of something different, you see? But hey, it's once a month, or you give a meal or maybe two, and that doesn't matter either. And sometimes they don't give him beef, sometimes what they give him is chicken, but hey, it solves something, at least once a month that you have something there. Do you trade, buy, resell or give away any products from the what do they assign you? What I do is that sometimes I give a little rice to a friend or someone from the church who I know does not have enough to make ends meet. Where Jose has lunch, precisely there I send rice to the one who cooks, because she doesn't have enough for the end of the month, and so he has lunch there every day, and well, since here it works well for me, I always set aside a little and gift always a little rice, Do you think that the family diet could survive without the notebook? I consider that the family diet cannot survive without the notebook, at least, even if it is that little bit, a few days help. Even if it's a few days, that helps you, because where are you going to get it from? At least you know it's there in the warehouse, and well, it solves a few days for you, that's my consideration, that without the notebook you can't survive the family diet. We are not prepared for that, for them to remove the notebook like that, I think not. I consider that the family diet cannot survive without the notebook, at least, even if it is that little bit, a few days help. If they delivered more released products, do you think you could pay for them with your income and that it would be a positive change or would you prefer more subsidies? Well, I think that if there is such a deficit in supply, the delivery of other released products would help, in the sense of more or less equitable distribution, that is, each person could access a product. But I think that if they delivered more products they should subsidize it, since the basket has increased its price more than 4 times, it has become too expensive and there are also other needs to meet, if prices continue to rise, if they continue to sell things like that, what he! There are those who will not be able to afford them. Do you consider that the products assigned by the notebook supply condition the way you prepare food? I believe that the products assigned by the notebook condition the way food is prepared, for example, you can't fry bananas when you don't have oil, if you run out of oil, in that case you have to eat it boiled. And then yes, it does condition in a certain way. Have you received any donation or external product at prices subsidized during the Covid19 period by the book? Can describe it, as well as its origin? Well, during the pandemic I remember at the beginning they gave some products from the agro-market, at the beginning of the pandemic. I remember some aubergines that weren't even good, cornmeal also of poor quality, Ah! And some spaghetti all parties. This, I believe that, if it was at a subsidized price, these products are. And, they also gave two little toys for children under 10 years old, that is, the rest are not children, from 10 and under, the others are not children. They gave two little toys; They charged those two little toys at their value equivalent to national currency, because at that time the CUC still existed, and well, they took it to national currency, but it was at the same price, at the same store price, as in national currency. And well, after July 11, well, the events of July 11 gave a module, that is if they didn't charge for it, because they are very intelligent. So, he brought poor quality Venezuelan rice, by the way, he brought spaghetti, lentils or beans depending on some places, and a bag of powdered milk; that was what that module brought. They did not charge it, but for what it was. And, well, now they are no longer going to give milk diets, they already said they were going to remove powdered milk, so they gave that milk that time, to finally remove the diets, really no one understands them, but hey . Read all interviews on Food Monitor Program HERE

Por ejemplo, se vende en vez de carne de res, una masa cárnica que nadie sabe qué elementos la constituyen, ni aparecen los componentes ni los nutrientes desglosados... "We never leave anything without taking it out, everything is taken out here, everything is taken out, everything is taken out, nothing is left in the cellar here" HERE IS EVERYTHING Eugenio Diaz Bonilla Who in your family usually does the shopping at the grocery store? Well, my husband does the shopping in my store, he's the one who goes every month to run errands. Do you buy other “controlled”, “regulated” or “regulated” products? for this system? Through this supply book system, we buy products from the warehouse and once a month in the local currency store, which used to be in CUC, now in national currency, we buy chicken, detergent and oil; that's the same for the notebook there once a month. What products from the supply book do you consume most frequently? Do you leave any without removing in the month? From the basic food basket, what we consume the most is rice and beans, and we never leave anything untaken, everything is taken out here, everything is taken out, everything is taken out, nothing is left in the cellar here. Nothing is going to be returned to the State here, in short, that does not return to the State, but hey, you and I know how things are, here nothing is left anywhere, everything for your house. How much of your formal income does the monthly purchase of the products in the notebook represent? Do you consider that your ability to acquire them has been affected since the monetary reform? This monthly purchase of products from the supply book represents 6% of our income. And, I do consider that my purchasing power has been affected since the monetary reform, before with less than 100 pesos we used to buy 3 people's errands here, now we need more than 400 pesos. How many days of the month would you say that the basic products of the notebook are enough for the family? We could say that these products last approximately 12 days, that is, they are enough for me for 12 days, an average more or less 12, 15. In my case, the rice lasts for me at the end of the month, because we do not consume that much rice, or be the children eat little rice. Here the one who eats the most is Jose and he doesn't have lunch here, since he works he has lunch at his job. But hey, the beans last a week, the coffee more or less 15 days, because I don't strain in the afternoon, I just do it in the morning, it lasts a little longer for me, there are those who last less. The chicken is 2 to 3 meals, if you distribute it in portions, here the chicken is divided into portions, and well, you distribute it and well, more or less you get 2 to 3 meals. The picadillo per child is enough for 1 meal, the oil for 10 to 12 days because that doesn't last any longer, and it lasts for me from 10 to 12 days, because I don't get cold that much, because Jose doesn't eat fried foods, because we take care of ourselves, because I try not to eat excess fat, anyway, but there are those who don't get it after 12 days, at least it gets to me, but there are those who don't. Does any member of your family receive a special diet? Read all interviews on Food Monitor Program HERE

Visitamos familias en las 15 provincias de Cuba para conocer sus formas de vida en torno a la alimentación y recogimos fotos para comparar las experiencias con la comida con el fin de evidenciar que el hambre no se ha erradicado y hay profundas desigualdades en el acceso a la alimentación. LA ACERA DE ENFRENTE Recorrido fotográfico por la segración alimentaria en Cuba 2024 2025 2022 2023

Encuentra entrevistas semi-estructuras sobre las experiencias alimentarias de los ciudadanos cubanos. Para más información: contacto@cuido60.com · Facebook · Twitter · Instagram. Interviews Let's talk about Food Safety A related issue is that if policy concern macro economics  y commercial is for the poor, so a policy that focuses on corn, for example, does not address the central issue. By: Eugenio Diaz Bonilla Let's talk about Food Safety A related issue is that if policy concern macro economics  y commercial is for the poor, so a policy that focuses on corn, for example, does not address the central issue. By: Eugenio Diaz Bonilla Food insecurity as domination  FAO officials, very close to the Cuban government, have declared that Cuba is an example in the area of food security and this is due to a subsidized ration book that does not cover the needs of the citizens. By: Marlene Azor The myth of food security in Cuba For Cuba, the FAO was more of an instrument of propaganda and influence abroad, while technical interventions, or in the worst case, advice on sectoral policies, was not well seen. By: Theodor Friedrich

Grade. Routes for justiciability of Human Rights Food Monitor Program presented the course titled "Routes for the justiciability of Human Rights" . The course was held on July 11, 12, 13 and 14 from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. (Cuba) Todos los videos... Play Video Play Video 02:20:09 Sesión de Bienvenida e Introducción - Curso de Rutas para justiciabilidad de los derechos humanos . Presentamos nuestro curso “Rutas para la justiciabilidad de los #DerechosHumanos” orientado por nuestra investigadora Nastassja Rojas. Play Video Play Video 02:46:31 Sesión 2. Curso - Rutas “Rutas para la justiciabilidad de los DerechosHumanos Segundo día de nuestro curso “Rutas para la justiciabilidad de los #DerechosHumanos” donde se busca responder ¿En que consiste el Derecho Internacional Público? y ¿A qué hace referencia la judicialización de los Derechos Humanos? Play Video Play Video 02:45:37 Sesión 3. Curso - Rutas “Rutas para la justiciabilidad de los DerechosHumanos Tercer día de nuestro curso “Rutas para la justiciabilidad de los #DerechosHumanos” donde se busca responder ¿Qué es el Sistema Universal de Derechos Humanos? y ¿En qué consiste el Examen Periódico Universal (EPU)? Play Video Play Video 02:51:33 Sesión 4. Curso - Rutas “Rutas para la justiciabilidad de los DerechosHumanos Último día de nuestro curso “Rutas para la justiciabilidad de los #DerechosHumanos” donde se busca responder ¿Qué es y cómo acceder al Sistema Interamericano de Derechos Humanos?

Ante la compleja situación alimentaria y sociopolítica que atraviesa el país, a nivel local se han implementado una serie de medidas de carácter especial, que comprenden la micro asignación de recursos como mecanismo de control y contención del descontento social... The abundance of scarcity For: German Quintero January 04, 2022 precariousness for the Cuban population. For December 31 of last year, the government distributed rum and cigarettes to the entire population, assuming that rum and cigarettes would alleviate the situation of discontent. The government did not take into account that an important part of the population, not only children and pregnant mothers, does not consume rum or cigarettes, either because they are not part of their consumption habits, or simply because the products are of poor quality. . These state courtesies, obtained in the warehouse through the Booklet, were resold at more than five times the value established by the regime. Last week, independent media denounced the fines imposed on citizens who wanted to resell products that they did not consume in order to complement a fragile basic basket, lacking eggs and milk, but full of cigarettes and poor quality rum. The year 2021 will be remembered as one of the most difficult for Cuban citizens in terms of consumption, after the Special Period. Tourism income and remittances were strongly affected by the tightening of some of the embargo measures, of the health measures to mitigate the pandemic and, above all, by the spectacular failure of the regime's administrative management, which since the implementation of the Ordering Task at the beginning of that year, where in addition to not promoting domestic production, unifying the Cuban peso with the CUC, promoting the MLC and ignoring the situation of the international market, it was unable to meet the import quota and implemented sufficient measures to maintain or increase internal production. Cuba's economic crisis and the scarcity of goods is largely due to this implementation, which also had the misfortune of coinciding with the rise in international prices of consumer goods and a spiral of prices that shot up and moved away out of reach many foods that were obtained in foreign currency. For the sample, a button: the levels of fishing -affirmed government officials- would not return to those of three decades ago . The fishing laws of 1996 and the most recent of 2020 still do not have the necessary tools to be able to bring fish to the tables of Cubans. How is it possible that on an island, which has not only the sea but also important river sources, it is not easy to procure fish? How is it explained that there is an overexploitation of fishing resources on the island, but there is a shortage of this food? According to official sources, the annual per capita consumption of fish was 16 kg; today it barely reaches 3.8 kg. In short, following official data, each person in Cuba eats about 300 grams of fish per month. This year's forecast is no better than 2021: Going into 2022, essential foods continue to be in short supply and the prices of inputs such as beef, pork, rice, milk, butter and beans are rising. The concern among the population is widespread: some people seek solutions through the rituals of "feeding the land" of the Santeros, while others prepare social mobilizations that echo the cries of "we are hungry" and "freedom" of the 11J demonstrations. Added to this is the massive migration of many of the political dissidents who have been forced to leave the country due to the pressures to which the political regime has subjected them. The panorama of economic crisis in Cuba and the consequent food crisis will be one of the greatest challenges to be faced for this year. The 13% drop in the Gross Domestic Product during 2020 and 2021, as well as the reduction in tourism issues, will be important burdens that will make a dent in the food supply. For now, ordinary Cubans will continue to have to trade rum and cigarettes for basic necessities. AND AND he year 2021 has ended with a situation of extreme 1/1 The article only came to make "official" a reality that  was already evident at the popular level, months ago self-employed workers have had difficulty accessing the purchase of wheat flour, for what bread and other derivatives  have become luxury products.  One of the main issues aired in street debates is the difficulty of mothers to provide their children  at least two loaves a day, one at breakfast  and another at snack time, an equation that is complicated for those who have more than one child at school age.  These  families, who usually supplemented the scarce supply of standardized bread, with what they could purchase through the network of state or private bakeries, have been limited  by the price increase. Today a bag of eight or ten loaves oscillates  between 180 and 350 cups without the supply remaining stable. Although the price in state bakeries is lower, the stability of the product is subject to scheduled power cuts and the supply of flour. In addition, the lines to buy this product   can reach up to five hours, an unthinkable time for people who have to comply with work hours. Teresa is an 80-year-old retiree, lives alone and ensures that her diet basically consists of bread and milk, two products that are currently difficult to access. Until recently, he bought bread at the bakery near his home, but  according to him, the queues have become  unbearable and some end up with the intervention of the police due to to violent fights. On some occasions, he waited for the resellers and bought the same bread for a slightly higher price, still affordable to his checkbook, however, with the shortages of the last few days and the inspectors' stalking, the price has skyrocketed and now he barely survives with the bread from the cellar. 1/1 One loaf a day was the minimum food that low-income people on the island could aspire to. It was also the rationality to which each member of the family nucleus “had the right”, which is popularly “played by the winery”. Since the monetary rearrangement policy, regulated bread ceased to be a product subsidized by the State and its price increased ten times, without this implying an improvement in quality. This condition has placed a wide range of population in greater vulnerability, increasingly deprived of economic resources. According to figures  revealed in the 2021 Statistical Yearbook, published  by the National Statistics Office  the number of beneficiaries and information (ONEI) of social assistance shot up in 2021 by 111% [two] , which means that more Cubans have joined the list of extreme poverty and completely depend on the State to survive.  This can be verified  when walking the streets of Havana , where the number of people begging in the doorways or "diving" in the garbage tanks in search of food and other necessary supplies is increasing. 1/1 The repeated power cuts that occur throughout the country show other damage caused by this energy crisis. Some time ago, the quality of the food that arrives at state outlets, smaller than normal, acidic or simply  absent, has further diminished. Although the issue is not new, the fuel crisis also affects the transfer to the points of sale, an action that is often carried out without the minimum hygienic-sanitary conditions, so the bread is transferred and stored in dirty spaces, exposed to insects. and humidity.    Contrasted with all this is the existence of a functional market that gains more space in the lives of those with relatives abroad. In online mode and offering a wide range of products that are scarce in the rest of the freely convertible currency (MLC) stores or in the almost extinct stores in Cuban pesos (CUP), there are hypermarkets such asSupermarket23 eitherMallHavana , where they offer a way to acquire quality bread, in the variety that the customer wants and without quantity limitations. Accessing these products on a regular basis is unthinkable for ordinary Cubans, however some self-employed workers, owners of paladares, restaurants or rental houses report that on occasions they have been forced to access this market in search of bread. as the only alternative to scarcity and to avoid having to close their businesses permanently. 1/1 [1] http://www.cubadebate.cu/especiales/2022/10/26/el-pan-nuestro-ii-produccion-de-harina-en-molinos-cubanos-mercado-del-trigo-financiacion-y-factor- human/ [two] http://www.onei.gob.cu/node/18491 Read all of German Quintero's columns on the Food Monitor Program HERE

Realizamos una encuesta anual para monitorear la seguridad alimentaria en Cuba Encuesta de inseguridad alimentaria 2022 2023 2024 2025

Desde 1975 se conmemora cada 8 de marzo el Día Internacional de la Mujer como un día para el reconocimiento y la reflexión sobre los derechos de las mujeres y las brechas que, en diferentes ámbitos, aún no se logran reducir... The crisis does not distinguish species For: Nastassja Rojas January 25, 2022 It is a titanic task, considering that the needs and suffering are innumerable. And we are not only talking about crises sustained over time, such as those that occur in contexts with depressed economies such as the misnamed "Special Period in times of war" in Cuba in the 1990s, but also health crises with economic and social impacts such as the COVID-19 in the year 2020 in almost every country in the world. But crises are not experienced the same in all countries and even more so if one takes into account that the pandemic arrived in contexts where structural difficulties were already being experienced, in such a way that a "crisis within the crisis" was experienced. A fact that led to truly dramatic situations for the population of countries like Cuba, which, forced by circumstances, had to ration food, even more than what they had been rationing for years, but what about other species? especially in a context of isolation in which they become emotional support and main company. And it is that in contexts where the scarcity of products is common, human beings are not the only ones who suffer the ravages of the lack of food and medicines, but other sentient beings also live this situation in a really dramatic way. If the animals in the midst of crises ate the leftovers from the house; what are they going to eat when there are no leftovers and when food is limited even for humans. Certainly, their place goes into the background and therefore their food and health situation is even more critical. Even so, in the midst of the difficulties in which Cuba lives, there are many who assume these other species as members of the family, and therefore seek to feed them at the expense of their own well-being. But when the situation reaches extremes, some find it necessary to let them go out to look for their food or to abandon them to reduce the mouths of the house, which exposes them to being collected by the State and that in accordance with the provisions for "control of street populations" can be sacrificed. In addition to this, several cases have been documented about the sacrifice of animals or their use for rituals, so this outing, in addition to being critical, is dramatic. This is how animal supporters in Cuba have understood it, who have faced the inaction of the regime and the recalcitrant positions of an anachronistic party, which privileges the interests of the political class and fails to identify true progressivism in the defense of the rights of animals and equality of species. The surreptitious approval of the Animal Welfare Decree-Law published by the Council of State on April 10, 2021 is not enough, if one takes into account that the advances continue to maintain the businesses of the party bosses and justice is selective with those who do not agree with the regime. Although fines are established there "for animal welfare violations", animal activists have stated that State security has poisoned their animals as an inhuman action of reprimand and no person has received any type of sanction, in addition, the Law itself is insufficient because it excludes the rites associated with the cultural heritage of Cuba from what is punishable within violence against animals. In this sense, a context of crisis in which the Law is selective and fails to authentically guarantee the rights of all species, their lack of protection is total and their vulnerability grows with the needs of the population. It is difficult to blame or point a finger at a family for not feeding their animals, while children or older adults must also suffer from serious limitations and often have to skip meals to be able to eat. Here the responsibility lies with an indolent regimen that puts a choice between the members of a family, regardless of species, who should be fed. P P prioritize problems and the population in the midst of crises Read all the columns of Nastassja Rojas in Food Monitor Program HERE

A traves de encuestas monitoreamos la (in)seguridad alimentaria en Cuba MAPA DE HAMBRE Conoce nuestro Mapa de HAMBRE

Aquí encontrarás los libros que los investigadores de Food Monitor Program han escrito sobre inseguridad alimentaria en la Isla. Libros Geografías del hambre: crónicas sobre inseguridad alimentaria en Cuba Ver más detalles Las políticas alimentarias bajo regímenes autoritarios: los casos de Cuba y Venezuela Ver más detalles Vocabulario cubano de crisis y cocina Ver más detalles Cultura, Comida, y Poder Diálogos con artistas e intelectuales cubanos Ver más detalles ¿Cómo se come en Cuba? Diálogos sobre seguridad alimentaria Ver más detalles

Ante la compleja situación alimentaria y sociopolítica que atraviesa el país, a nivel local se han implementado una serie de medidas de carácter especial, que comprenden la micro asignación de recursos como mecanismo de control y contención del descontento social... The abundance of scarcity For: German Quintero January 04, 2022 precariousness for the Cuban population. For December 31 of last year, the government distributed rum and cigarettes to the entire population, assuming that rum and cigarettes would alleviate the situation of discontent. The government did not take into account that an important part of the population, not only children and pregnant mothers, does not consume rum or cigarettes, either because they are not part of their consumption habits, or simply because the products are of poor quality. . These state courtesies, obtained in the warehouse through the Booklet, were resold at more than five times the value established by the regime. Last week, independent media denounced the fines imposed on citizens who wanted to resell products that they did not consume in order to complement a fragile basic basket, lacking eggs and milk, but full of cigarettes and poor quality rum. The year 2021 will be remembered as one of the most difficult for Cuban citizens in terms of consumption, after the Special Period. Tourism income and remittances were strongly affected by the tightening of some of the embargo measures, of the health measures to mitigate the pandemic and, above all, by the spectacular failure of the regime's administrative management, which since the implementation of the Ordering Task at the beginning of that year, where in addition to not promoting domestic production, unifying the Cuban peso with the CUC, promoting the MLC and ignoring the situation of the international market, it was unable to meet the import quota and implemented sufficient measures to maintain or increase internal production. Cuba's economic crisis and the scarcity of goods is largely due to this implementation, which also had the misfortune of coinciding with the rise in international prices of consumer goods and a spiral of prices that shot up and moved away out of reach many foods that were obtained in foreign currency. For the sample, a button: the levels of fishing -affirmed government officials- would not return to those of three decades ago . The fishing laws of 1996 and the most recent of 2020 still do not have the necessary tools to be able to bring fish to the tables of Cubans. How is it possible that on an island, which has not only the sea but also important river sources, it is not easy to procure fish? How is it explained that there is an overexploitation of fishing resources on the island, but there is a shortage of this food? According to official sources, the annual per capita consumption of fish was 16 kg; today it barely reaches 3.8 kg. In short, following official data, each person in Cuba eats about 300 grams of fish per month. This year's forecast is no better than 2021: Going into 2022, essential foods continue to be in short supply and the prices of inputs such as beef, pork, rice, milk, butter and beans are rising. The concern among the population is widespread: some people seek solutions through the rituals of "feeding the land" of the Santeros, while others prepare social mobilizations that echo the cries of "we are hungry" and "freedom" of the 11J demonstrations. Added to this is the massive migration of many of the political dissidents who have been forced to leave the country due to the pressures to which the political regime has subjected them. The panorama of economic crisis in Cuba and the consequent food crisis will be one of the greatest challenges to be faced for this year. The 13% drop in the Gross Domestic Product during 2020 and 2021, as well as the reduction in tourism issues, will be important burdens that will make a dent in the food supply. For now, ordinary Cubans will continue to have to trade rum and cigarettes for basic necessities. AND AND he year 2021 has ended with a situation of extreme 1/2 The article only came to make "official" a reality that  was already evident at the popular level, months ago self-employed workers have had difficulty accessing the purchase of wheat flour, for what bread and other derivatives  have become luxury products.  One of the main issues aired in street debates is the difficulty of mothers to provide their children  at least two loaves a day, one at breakfast  and another at snack time, an equation that is complicated for those who have more than one child at school age.  These  families, who usually supplemented the scarce supply of standardized bread, with what they could purchase through the network of state or private bakeries, have been limited  by the price increase. Today a bag of eight or ten loaves oscillates  between 180 and 350 cups without the supply remaining stable. Although the price in state bakeries is lower, the stability of the product is subject to scheduled power cuts and the supply of flour. In addition, the lines to buy this product   can reach up to five hours, an unthinkable time for people who have to comply with work hours. Teresa is an 80-year-old retiree, lives alone and ensures that her diet basically consists of bread and milk, two products that are currently difficult to access. Until recently, he bought bread at the bakery near his home, but  according to him, the queues have become  unbearable and some end up with the intervention of the police due to to violent fights. On some occasions, he waited for the resellers and bought the same bread for a slightly higher price, still affordable to his checkbook, however, with the shortages of the last few days and the inspectors' stalking, the price has skyrocketed and now he barely survives with the bread from the cellar. 1/2 One loaf a day was the minimum food that low-income people on the island could aspire to. It was also the rationality to which each member of the family nucleus “had the right”, which is popularly “played by the winery”. Since the monetary rearrangement policy, regulated bread ceased to be a product subsidized by the State and its price increased ten times, without this implying an improvement in quality. This condition has placed a wide range of population in greater vulnerability, increasingly deprived of economic resources. According to figures  revealed in the 2021 Statistical Yearbook, published  by the National Statistics Office  the number of beneficiaries and information (ONEI) of social assistance shot up in 2021 by 111% [two] , which means that more Cubans have joined the list of extreme poverty and completely depend on the State to survive.  This can be verified  when walking the streets of Havana , where the number of people begging in the doorways or "diving" in the garbage tanks in search of food and other necessary supplies is increasing. 1/3 The repeated power cuts that occur throughout the country show other damage caused by this energy crisis. Some time ago, the quality of the food that arrives at state outlets, smaller than normal, acidic or simply  absent, has further diminished. Although the issue is not new, the fuel crisis also affects the transfer to the points of sale, an action that is often carried out without the minimum hygienic-sanitary conditions, so the bread is transferred and stored in dirty spaces, exposed to insects. and humidity.    Contrasted with all this is the existence of a functional market that gains more space in the lives of those with relatives abroad. In online mode and offering a wide range of products that are scarce in the rest of the freely convertible currency (MLC) stores or in the almost extinct stores in Cuban pesos (CUP), there are hypermarkets such asSupermarket23 eitherMallHavana , where they offer a way to acquire quality bread, in the variety that the customer wants and without quantity limitations. Accessing these products on a regular basis is unthinkable for ordinary Cubans, however some self-employed workers, owners of paladares, restaurants or rental houses report that on occasions they have been forced to access this market in search of bread. as the only alternative to scarcity and to avoid having to close their businesses permanently. 1/4 Esta opción de ordenar desde casa, aunque reservada para un mínimo de la sociedad, parece ser la más recomendable a juzgar por las advertencias de todos: no andar solo de noche, tomar por calles transitadas e iluminadas, no sacar el celular en la calle, nada de joyería que llame la atención, si estás solo no le abras la puerta a ningún extraño aunque se identifique como cobrador, fumigador, etc. Todo este orden de cosas imposibilita otros aspectos de la vida más allá de buscar productos básicos para la subsistencia. Un amigo al que no veía hacía tiempo postergó su visita durante todo un día por estar en trámites y colas inaplazables (una vez que llega un producto refrigerado a un punto de venta que no tiene las condiciones para mantenerlo la compra debe ser inmediata). Al final, cuando pudo liberarse de sus ocupaciones, decidió esperar al día siguiente porque “ya se había hecho tarde y no era seguro andar por estas fechas y a esta hora solo en la calle”. Tanto la elevada criminalidad, los precios inaccesibles y las ocupaciones diarias para conseguir comida más barata son las razones de mayor peso por las cuales las calles de La Habana en estas fechas, siempre llenas de personas festejando, estén desiertas. Con las excepciones de las personas en diferentes modos de espera y colas, incluso los puntos de recreación más frecuentados en el Vedado o la Habana Vieja resultan más solitarios que de costumbre. Aún cuando existen ofertas culturales durante los fines de semana estas tienen una concurrencia ridícula. Justo antes de Navidad, un sábado a las 10:00 pm un DJ “pinchaba” frente a la Casa de las Américas con tres policías como únicos espectadores. El fin de semana siguiente, en pleno curso del Aquelarre, un festival nacional del humor bastante popular, el cine Yara tenía solo sus seis primeras filas ocupadas. Los asistentes se reían de los temas en boga: el racionamiento, la moneda “dura”, “los volcanes” y los diferentes ritos religiosos para lograr “hacer la travesía”. 1/3 La Habana es la capital de un país donde la realidad toca todos los resortes plausibles del sentido común, del orden social, del imaginario popular. Un día un bodeguero vende los mandados de sus vecinos y se va del país con lo recaudado, dejando a sus clientes sin la cuota del mes. Otro día el Ministerio de Salud Pública admite que dos trabajadores de un hospital en Santiago de Cuba han estado vendiendo órganos de procedencia humana, sustraídos de la morgue, presuntamente para venderlos como comida o como artículos religiosos; ya el objetivo final no importa ante las especulaciones de un horror cotidiano que se normaliza. En este año que finalizó más de cuatro bebés han sido abandonados en diferentes provincias del país, algunos corriendo suertes lamentables. Pero esos son solo los casos que trascienden en las redes. Como sea, la sociedad cubana parece vivir en un estado de alarma perpetuo, naturalizando precariedades y alegrándose por mínimos derechos que reciben como milagros. Ni siquiera los chistes resultan subversivos cuando el contexto cotidiano supera la ficción. La Habana no se ha vuelto repentinamente tranquila; si en un año se han ido más de 300 000 cubanos solo por Estados Unidos, según la demografía habanera al menos una persona de cada diez ya no está, esto puede variar según los grupos etarios. La gente joven se va, los mayores se atrincheran, muchas familias contemplan eventualmente un viaje que depare un futuro menos desgastante. A los que no pueden aspirar a ese cambio les espera envejecer a un ritmo cotidiano donde prima el hastío y la incertidumbre. 1/2 Read all of German Quintero's columns on the Food Monitor Program HERE

En los últimos meses se ha discutido el Proyecto de Ley de Soberanía Alimentaria y Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional en Cuba... The abundance of scarcity For: German Quintero January 04, 2022 00:00 / 09:16 precariousness for the Cuban population. For December 31 of last year, the government distributed rum and cigarettes to the entire population, assuming that rum and cigarettes would alleviate the situation of discontent. The government did not take into account that an important part of the population, not only children and pregnant mothers, does not consume rum or cigarettes, either because they are not part of their consumption habits, or simply because the products are of poor quality. . These state courtesies, obtained in the warehouse through the Booklet, were resold at more than five times the value established by the regime. Last week, independent media denounced the fines imposed on citizens who wanted to resell products that they did not consume in order to complement a fragile basic basket, lacking eggs and milk, but full of cigarettes and poor quality rum. The year 2021 will be remembered as one of the most difficult for Cuban citizens in terms of consumption, after the Special Period. Tourism income and remittances were strongly affected by the tightening of some of the embargo measures, of the health measures to mitigate the pandemic and, above all, by the spectacular failure of the regime's administrative management, which since the implementation of the Ordering Task at the beginning of that year, where in addition to not promoting domestic production, unifying the Cuban peso with the CUC, promoting the MLC and ignoring the situation of the international market, it was unable to meet the import quota and implemented sufficient measures to maintain or increase internal production. Cuba's economic crisis and the scarcity of goods is largely due to this implementation, which also had the misfortune of coinciding with the rise in international prices of consumer goods and a spiral of prices that shot up and moved away out of reach many foods that were obtained in foreign currency. For the sample, a button: the levels of fishing -affirmed government officials- would not return to those of three decades ago . The fishing laws of 1996 and the most recent of 2020 still do not have the necessary tools to be able to bring fish to the tables of Cubans. How is it possible that on an island, which has not only the sea but also important river sources, it is not easy to procure fish? How is it explained that there is an overexploitation of fishing resources on the island, but there is a shortage of this food? According to official sources, the annual per capita consumption of fish was 16 kg; today it barely reaches 3.8 kg. In short, following official data, each person in Cuba eats about 300 grams of fish per month. This year's forecast is no better than 2021: Going into 2022, essential foods continue to be in short supply and the prices of inputs such as beef, pork, rice, milk, butter and beans are rising. The concern among the population is widespread: some people seek solutions through the rituals of "feeding the land" of the Santeros, while others prepare social mobilizations that echo the cries of "we are hungry" and "freedom" of the 11J demonstrations. Added to this is the massive migration of many of the political dissidents who have been forced to leave the country due to the pressures to which the political regime has subjected them. The panorama of economic crisis in Cuba and the consequent food crisis will be one of the greatest challenges to be faced for this year. The 13% drop in the Gross Domestic Product during 2020 and 2021, as well as the reduction in tourism issues, will be important burdens that will make a dent in the food supply. For now, ordinary Cubans will continue to have to trade rum and cigarettes for basic necessities. AND AND he year 2021 has ended with a situation of extreme Read all of German Quintero's columns on the Food Monitor Program HERE