‘A country that’s dying every day’: 94% of Cubans live in extreme poverty
According to the “9th Study on Social Rights” in Cuba published on Aug. 13, 94% of Cubans live in extreme poverty, eight out of 10 have been forced to skip a meal during the day, and 95% disapprove of the governmentʼs economic and social management.
Yet behind these figures lie the stories of people who don’t know what they will eat the next day, the sick who can’t get their medications, and families surviving thanks to aid received from abroad.
Osvaldo Gallardo, a writer and Catholic layman originally from Camagüey, emigrated to the United States but maintains frequent contact with family and friends who remain on the island. From abroad, as a religious freedom activist, he closely follows a situation he says has become increasingly unbearable.
“What strikes me most is the infinite sadness, the absolute hopelessness, the listlessness, the desperation, and the anguish with which my relatives and everyone I know in Cuba live their daily lives,” Gallardo stated in an interview with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.
“It’s immeasurable; it’s a total lack of meaning in life, a loss of any sense of where we are headed or what our goals are,” he added.
The study, based on 1,318 interviews conducted across the country’s 15 provinces and the special district of Isla de la Juventud, reveals a severe deterioration in such fundamental areas as food, healthcare, housing, and public services.
Sixty-eight percent of the households surveyed report monthly incomes of less than 20,000 Cuban pesos, approximately $ 30. Furthermore, 80% state that they have skipped breakfast, lunch, or dinner due to a lack of money or food shortages.
Power outages are the primary issue cited by respondents (70%), followed by the food crisis (52%), the cost of living (45%), and the state of public health, including access to medicine and medical care (34%).
For Gallardo, these figures reflect a reality that can be confirmed simply by speaking with those who remain on the island.
“Hardships on the island have always been immense, but right now, the outlook is bleaker than at any other time in the history of Cuba’s nearly 70-year dictatorship,” he stated.
8 out of 10 Cubans go without a meal
One of the most concerning findings of the study relates to food. Eighty percent of Cubans report having gone without a meal during the day, compared with 70% the previous year.
Gallardo said this reality comes up constantly in conversations with his relatives and on social media.
“I couldnʼt tell you what people do to survive. I donʼt know how. There are people who manage to survive. And I donʼt think Iʼm wrong to say that there are people who arenʼt surviving. There are people who are starving to death,” he stated.
He said he personally makes an effort to periodically send food, medicines, and hygiene products to his relatives. However, he acknowledged that there are limits to the help he can give.
“Given my financial situation, I can’t provide everything they need,” he lamented.
The study indicates that 63% of respondents struggle to acquire even the most essential goods, while another 30% have incomes that barely cover basic needs. All told, nine out of 10 Cuban households are in a state of economic survival.
“I imagine that 90% of Cubans right now wake up without knowing what they’re going to have for lunch, without knowing what they’re going to eat, without knowing what they’re going to have for breakfast,” Gallardo said.
In his view, there is no need to wait for an investigation to confirm this reality.
“That is a reality one can sense the moment one looks at social media. You don’t need to conduct a study; you need do nothing more than check social media in the morning to see for yourself that the 94% poverty rate cited in the report is an undeniable fact,” he pointed out.
‘It’s a country that’s dying every day’
Food shortages are not the only problem. The crisis is also hitting hard those in need of medical care.
The study identifies public health and the lack of medicines as top concerns for Cubans. Gallardo warned that the situation is particularly difficult for the chronically ill and the elderly.
“People are dying. The chronically ill are dying. People are dying of hunger. There are photos of elderly people in truly pitiful conditions. There are reports. People are dying. It’s a country that’s dying every day,” he lamented.
“Young people are also dying due to health issues. People who see no future and commit suicide,” he added.
Precarious conditions are also evident in housing. According to the study, 47% of homes need repairs, 25% require urgent repairs, and 7% are at risk of collapse. Another 4% of respondents report living in shelters or makeshift camps, while 2% live on the street.
Public services have not escaped this deterioration either. Ninety-five percent rate the condition of the electrical grid as poor, while garbage collection receives a negative rating from 87% of respondents. Dissatisfaction is at 86% regarding internet and telephone services; 84% for water and sewage systems; and 82% for hospitals and healthcare centers.
The Church is trying to respond to the crisis
Amid the situation, the Catholic Church appears to many people as one of the few places where they can find help.
Gallardo highlighted the charitable work carried out by the Catholic Church and other Christian communities in Cuba, especially through the distribution of aid sent from the United States.
“There are many people for whom, if they had a substantial meal once a week, or a pill or medication once a week to relieve pain, it was thanks to the Church,” he noted.
However, he also warned that the needs are too great for the Church to meet on its own.
“It’s not enough, because the Church in Cuba itself needs help and has often survived on aid from abroad,” he stated.
For Gallardo, the Church offers something that goes beyond material aid.
“People in Cuba can find solace in the Church; they can find a helping hand, a listening ear, and sometimes material aid, though that will never be enough,” he noted.
The writer also pointed out the limitations the Church faces in expanding its social work.
“The Church doesnʼt have the autonomy to run a soup kitchen. The Church doesn’t have the autonomy to run a nursing home; it does operate them, but under very tight state control, and this cannot expand because the Church doesn’t have the financial capabilities,” he explained.
95% disapproval rating
Economic deterioration is accompanied by strong disapproval of the way the government is running things.
The study indicates that 95% of respondents view the governmentʼs economic and social management negatively, while only 3% rate the performance of President Miguel Díaz-Canel and Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz positively.
Furthermore, 84% have no confidence in the latest economic measures announced by the authorities and don’t believe they will contribute to improving the countryʼs situation.
For Yaxys Cires, director of strategy at the Cuban Observatory for Human Rights, these results reflect “the Cuban regime has completely exhausted its political and economic capabilities.”
“Their administration is widely rejected by the public, and their measures fail to inspire confidence. Yet, it is the people who bear the burden of this decline, especially the elderly and the chronically ill,” Cires pointed out.
A desire for change also clearly emerges from the respondents' answers. Seventy-six percent want both political and economic transformations. Only 7% believe that lifting the U.S. embargo should be the primary change, and virtually no one favors maintaining the status quo.
‘The Cuban people are alone’
Gallardo said he believes Cuban discontent is nothing new. For decades, he said, successive generations have sought ways to express their rejection of the political system.
In this context, the protests of July 11, 2021, marked in his view a turning point.
“For a long time, the Cuban people have been told that they haven’t done enough. That’s not true. When you look at history, there have been many forms of rebellion among the Cuban people and in the diaspora since the Cuban dictatorship was imposed in 1959,” he pointed out.
“But if there was one thing that changed the game, it was July 11, 2021. Since then, protests in Cuba have not stopped,” he noted.
The study shows that there is still an expectation that things could change. Half of the respondents believe that a significant and favorable change for the Cuban people could occur within the next six months.
Gallardo, however, warned of the vulnerable situation facing the population.
“It is an unarmed people, a hungry people, a repressed people. And Cuba’s rulers — the dictatorship — will not yield,” he stated.
For this reason, he believes that international pressure could be decisive.
“People are waiting for something to happen, and without outside help, without significant international pressure on the Cuban dictatorship, it’s unlikely that anything will, because the people could rise up only to be ruthlessly suppressed in the streets,” he explained.
“But the reality is that the Cuban people are dying, and while the Cuban people are dying, people are looking the other way,” he added.
Christian hope
Despite everything he observes and hears from his relatives and compatriots, Gallardo said he still holds onto hope.
He places that hope, at least for now, not in immediate political change but in his faith.
“If you ask me today whether I have hope, I believe I have the Christian hope that God, the Lord of history, will look upon us with mercy,” he said.
“But that is my hope. My hope does not lie in any human event right now, at least not in the medium term. I hope and trust in the Lord,” he affirmed.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
