This indictment is handed out by Roberto Alvarez-Quinones, a Cuban journalist, economist and historian who after working in Cuba for Granma and Cuban television stations has been doing that work since 1996 in Los Angeles, California.[1]
Summary of His Indictment
“Never in the history of the entire West has there been such an overwhelming economic and social crisis that it has affected practically 99% of the total population of a country, without having been caused by a natural catastrophe or a war, but by the Government of the nation.”
“That record is held by Castroism . The current Cuban crisis is unprecedented, deplorably exceptional. It strikes today and with no possible solution in sight, because the dictator Raúl “El Cruel” refuses to dismantle the political-economic-social system that has caused the collapse of the economy and of Cuba in general.”
One example of the current collapse is Cuban sugar production. “Today, without a global crisis, and with the international price of sugar higher than ever on average (26 cents per pound at the end of November, Cuba produces 390,000 tons of sugar and imports . . . [more] to cover national consumption.”
The reason, Quinones says, is that “there is no free market, which creates wealth, distributes it and regulates the market. . . . Communist -Castro totalitarianism prevents the existence of the natural spectrum of seven social categories that exist in normal (capitalist) countries: very rich, rich, upper middle class, lower middle class, poor, very poor and the totally helpless. This diverse social range is reduced in Cuba to first, second, and third class citizens.”
“At the top of that social pyramid is embedded a tiny, very rich and privileged patriciate, screwed in power, or attached to it by family, “historical” ties, very high bureaucracy, or by lucrative mafia commitments. My estimate is that this elite of communist first-class citizens may belong between 0.02% and 0.03% of the total population. We are talking about between 2,140 and 3,210 people more or less, in a total population of 10.7 million inhabitants. . . . That Castro patriciate is practically immune to the crisis, although not completely. Only the dictator, the most conspicuous historical figures such as Ramiro Valdés, Machado Ventura, Guillermo García, Alvaro López Miera and his families have absolute immunity, and a few more privileged high-ranking officials and civilians. They make up the crème de la crème of the regime.”
“Then come those who the communist claque considers second class citizens, despite the fact that they enjoy some advantages, these not of political, historical or caste origin, but because they have a lot of money, or receive remittances and packages from their relatives abroad. They are rich peasants, business owners, MSMEs plugged into the dictatorship, and the 28% of ‘dollarized’ Cubans who can buy in shopping malls. The rich in this case are ‘virtual,’ holograms. They accumulate money that they have no way to spend or invest. The State does not produce anything to offer them, and it matters less and less. And the sale of land and rental of real estate, or entire beaches, is only for foreign capitalists.”
“We then reach the most oppressed or third class citizens. Poor, extremely poor, and helpless. The vast majority are very poor since they receive a daily income of less than $2.15 a day, the minimum established by the World Bank to identify extreme poverty.”
“Battered by one of the highest inflation rates in the world and a staggering devaluation of the peso, today the average salary in Cuba, of about 5,000 pesos (40.65 dollars), barely covers 29.4% of the family basket, almost 17,000 pesos (138 dollars).”
“And the Cuban minimum wage is 17.64 dollars per month (2,170 pesos), almost eight times lower than the cost of the basic basket.”
“[T]he pensions of the 1.7 million retirees are 1,901 pesos per month on average, nine times less than what the basic basket costs. How do the elderly manage to eat and satisfy their minimum needs? The Government doesn’t give a damn about that. It is already known that if they die of hunger they attribute the death to other causes.”
“The [Cuban] Minister of Agriculture, Ydael Pérez, admitted that the production of pork, rice and beans (basic foods in Cuba) fell by more than 80% this year compared to 2019. Only “40% of the fuel has been imported” . . . [and] 4% of fertilizers and 20% of animal feed. Chicken imports from the US fell 40% in September, compared to August. The debacle of national production aggravates everything. Already on the black market, a carton of 30 eggs costs 3,000 pesos, 38% more than a full minimum wage.”
In short, Cuba is suffering a “suffocating crisis consciously caused to more than 99% of the inhabitants. Something never seen in the Western world.”
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[1] Quinones, 99% of the population of Cuba suffers the worst economic crisis ever in America, Diario de Cuba (Dec. 9, 2023); Roberto Alvarez-Quinones, Hispanic L.A.