On Thursday, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel announced that his communist-run administration had secured a supply of key subsidized food rations. The announcement comes just two weeks after protesters took to the streets over intense food scarcity.
Cuba Secures Food Rations
During a midday TV show, Diaz-Canel claimed his government had made an "enormous effort" to guarantee the island's 11 million residents would have access to food.
He also said that April and May would be better and noted that the Cuban government would continue to guarantee that people would have the essentials.
Since Fidel Castro's revolution in 1959, Cuba has given its people a monthly ration of basic items like rice, beans, sugar, cooking oil, and coffee.
However, the economic crisis has resulted in shortages and overpriced goods, so deliveries have decreased.
The food shortages, as well as severe, nationwide blackouts lasting between 10 and 20 hours, prompted hundreds of protesters to hit the streets on March 17 in and around Santiago de Cuba.
In response, the administration almost immediately increased electricity generation to defuse tensions, largely eliminating the blackouts that had affected a substantial part of the island.
Protests have since decreased.
On a state-run program, Oscar Pérez, the Vice Minister of Foreign Commerce, announced that basic food items will be guaranteed until June.
"We can confirm without a doubt that we have the availability of fundamental products such as rice until June," he said.
He added that efforts were also underway to ensure that there would be enough wheat flour for children to make bread and milk.
A report said that the monthly cost of Cuba's food ration program is $230 million.
Tough U.S. sanctions, a poorly managed state economy, and a tourism sector still reeling from the coronavirus pandemic make it difficult for Cuba to raise the budget required to fund social programs.
Cubans Protest Amid Blackouts, Hunger
On the outskirts of Santiago, Cuba's second-largest city, a crowd swarms the steps of a small state-run market, shouting and sweating as they compete for a once-monthly allotment of chicken.
Using the black market exchange rate, a $5-pound bag of chicken thighs is a steal. However, the situation spirals out of control when word gets out that there might not be enough for everyone.
Mauri Macias, a 39-year-old chef with two children, spoke with reporters as he waited his turn to buy a handful of the government-subsidized poultry. He described life in Cuba and said that they live without being able to make daily food plans.
Yoni Mena, a 34-year-old who runs a vegetable stand in Abel Santamaria, a hillside neighborhood, said living without electricity is primitive. She added that there are mosquitoes, excessive temperatures, and sometimes no water.
She also claimed that people are losing their minds, which can lead to other problems, such as violence.
