As Belkis Fajardo, 69, walks through the dense streets of downtown Havana with a small bag of lettuce and onions in hand, she wonders how she\u2019ll feed her family over the holidays.<\/p>\n
Scarcity and economic turmoil are nothing new to Cuba, but Fajardo is among many Cubans to note that this year is different thanks to soaring inflation and deepening shortages.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll see what we can scrap together to cook for the end of the year,\u201d Fajardo said. \u201cEverything is really expensive \u2026 so you buy things little by little as you can. And if you can\u2019t, you don\u2019t eat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Basic goods such as chicken, beef, eggs, milk, flour and toilet paper are difficult and often impossible to find in state stores.<\/p>\n
When they do appear, they often come at hefty prices, either from informal shops, resellers or in expensive stores only accessible to those with foreign currency.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s far out of the range of the average Cuban state salary, approximately 5,000 pesos a month, or $29 USD on the island\u2019s more widely used informal exchange rate. Nearby, a pound of pork leg was selling for 450 pesos (around $2.60).<\/p>\n
\u201cNot everyone can buy things, not everyone has a family who sends remittances (money from abroad),\u201d Fajardo said. \u201cWith the money my daughter earns and my pension, we\u2019re trying to buy what we can, but it\u2019s extremely hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
In October, the Cuban government reported that inflation had risen 40% over the past year and had a significant impact on the purchasing power for many on the island.<\/p>\n
While Fajardo managed to buy vegetables, rice and beans, she still has no meat for Christmas or New Year\u2019s.<\/p>\n
The shortages are among a number of factors stoking a broader discontent on the island, which has given rise to protests in recent years as well as an emerging migratory flight from Cuba. On Friday, U.S. authorities reported stopping Cubans 34,675 times along the Mexico border in November, up 21% from 28,848 times in October.<\/p>\n
The dissatisfaction was made even more evident during Cuba\u2019s local elections last month, when 31.5% of eligible voters didn\u2019t cast a ballot \u2014 a far cry from the nearly 100% turnout during Fidel Castro\u2019s lifetime.<\/p>\n
Despite being the highest voting abstention rate the country had seen since the Cuban revolution, the government still hailed it as \u201ca victory.\u201d However, in an address to Cuban lawmakers last week, President Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel acknowledged the government\u2019s shortcomings in handling the country\u2019s complex mix of crises, particularly food shortages.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel an enormous dissatisfaction that I haven\u2019t been able to accomplish, through leadership of the country, the results that the Cuban people need to attain long-desired and expected prosperity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The admission provoked a standing ovation in the congressional assembly, made up solely of politicians from D\u00edaz-Canel\u2019s communist party.<\/p>\n
But Ricardo Torres, a Cuban and economics fellow at American University in Washington, said he saw the words as \u201cmeaningless\u201d without a real plan to address discontent.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople want answers from their government,\u201d he said. \u201cNot words \u2014 answers.\u201d<\/p>\n
For years, the Caribbean nation has pushed much of the blame for its economic turmoil on the United States\u2019 six-decade trade embargo on Cuba, which has strangled much of the island\u2019s economy. However, many observers, including Torres, stress that the government\u2019s mismanagement of the economy and reluctance to embrace the private sector are also to blame.<\/p>\n
On Friday, a long line of Cubans waited outside an empty state-run butchery, waiting for a coveted item: a leg of pork to feed their families on New Year\u2019s Eve.<\/p>\n
About a dozen people The Associated Press asked for an interview said they were scared to speak, including one who said, \u201cit could have consequences for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Estrella, 67, has shown up to the state butcher every morning for more than two weeks, waiting her turn to buy pork to share with her children, grandchildren and siblings. So far, she\u2019s come up dry.<\/p>\n
Although pork is available to buy from private butchers, it\u2019s often far more expensive than at state-run facilities, which subsidize prices.<\/p>\n
So she waits, hopeful that she\u2019ll be able to cook Cuba\u2019s traditional holiday dish.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we\u2019re lucky, we\u2019ll be able to buy it today,\u201d she said. \u201cIf we\u2019re not, we\u2019ll come back tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Source: Voice of America<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As Belkis Fajardo, 69, walks through the dense streets of downtown Havana with a small bag of lettuce and onions in hand, she wonders how she\u2019ll feed her family over the holidays.Scarcity and economic turmoil are nothing new to Cuba, but Fajardo is amo…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n